CompleteMartialArts.com - Taj: A Story of Mughal India: A Story of Mughal India
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List Price: $13.00
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Manufacturer: Penguin Global
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780143031161
ISBN: 0143031163
Label: Penguin Global
Manufacturer: Penguin Global
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: 2005-05-16
Publisher: Penguin Global
Studio: Penguin Global
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Editorial Reviews:
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When his queen Arjumand Banu-Mumtaz-i-Mahal-the Chosen One of the Palace-died, Shah Jahan wanted to build a monument that was the image of his perfect love for her. For twenty-two years, twenty thousand men laboured day and night to fulfill the emperor's obsession. The result was the Taj Mahal, a marble mausoleum lined with gold, silver and precious jewels.
This powerful novel narrates the story of the Taj on two parallel levels. The first one tells the passionate love story of Shah Jahan and Arjumand. The second recounts the later years of Shah Jahan's reign, the building of the Taj Mahal and the bloody pursuit of the fabulous Peacock throne by his sons. Intertwined in the building is the story of Murthi, the Hindu master craftsman sent as a gift to the emperor to carve the famous marble jail around Arjumand's sarcophagus.
Murari has skilfully recreated the period against which the story is set, the sensual opulence of the palace, the grinding poverty of seventeenth century India, the vicissitudes of Shah Jahan's reign and the historical background of the conflict between men of different faiths.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Comment: This book is one of the best I've ever written. I first read it at 14, and have been fascinated by the Taj and it's complicated history, ever since. I was heartbroken when I learned it was out of print, as my own copy was in tatters from constant reading, and I wanted to gift it to some 10 different friends.
It's been reprinted now, and I know what everyone's getting for their birthdays this year!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sex and Death
Comment: A story of unimaginable power and suffering and how the two interrelate, Taj is a novel that is both serious and compelling. Unknown to many in the West, the Mughal Emperors of India ruled a vast kingdom and enjoyed unlimited power within their lands. To make their reign the setting for a book is a challenge; the reader must be transported into a very different time and place, and yet made to identify with the characters. The book succeeds on both counts. The characters are well developed and unique, while the details of their lives unfold in all of their exotic difference. Throughout, the question is asked what is the limit of power? The answer resounds darkly: death. The terse Mughal proverb Taktya Takhta Throne or Coffin is repeated along the bloody journey of Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who commissioned the Taj Mahal, to the throne and beyond. Along with the historically accurate account of the political struggles of the time, a fictionalized yet plausible love story unfolds between Shah Jahan and his wife Arjumand Banu, a love that culminates in one of the most iconic monuments in the world, the Taj Mahal. The story is fictional because so little is known of the woman for whom the Taj Mahal was built. A few passages from old manuscripts and a giant mausoleum are all that remain of her, yet Timeri Murari does a beautiful job reading the architecture itself and the few written clues available in order to construct a moving tale of love and power.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book so far
Comment: Great Book so far. I wish there was a glossary or better explanations of the Hindi and Muslim words used in the book but other than that the book is hard to put down. I love the story.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Takht ya Takhta
Comment: The book is a well-woven historical fiction. If you have passion for history or cultural studies go for it. The writer introduces us to Taj Mahal glimpses of Mughal traditions and grandeur.
The two parallel narratives cover both sides of the Taj, an epic of love on one end, while the agony of a lifelong dread for the craftsmen on the other end. Taj Mahal is much more than a love story. Uptill now it has only represented the love and Shah Jahan. It is highly indebted to thousands of marginalised workers.
There is an unseen shadow of tragedy bandy in the corridors of the Red fort of Agra continuously echoing "Takht ya takhta". The glory and splendour of the throne justifies the successor killing his male siblings. The treasures are a powerful incentive for the rebellions. There is the unfolded story of Khusrau, Jehangir's son who was blinded by his father.
Nur Jahan is worsgipped by many as a forceful, persuasive, powerful and the legendary beautify. There is a conspiratory role attached to her.
The story is informative and to the point. Writer is well versed in research matter.
It reveals that India is not any ordinary land; full of tales, traditions, mystics and treasures.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, historical book--leaves you wanting more
Comment: This is a beautifully written book, which is a wonderful love story, but also gives a great deal of historical understanding about the Mughals and the construction of the Taj Mahal.
If you like historical fiction, this book is for you!
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