"teardrop on the cheek of time..."

Turf: on the hot nest
Dash: watching pinoynovela



I was in high school when my teacher in Asian History told us about the beautiful and charming Taj Mahal not only because it's one of the eight wonders of the world that makes me wonder about it and desire to visit it personally, but what caught my attention is the underyling love story behind it (Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal). His 3rd wife Mumtaz Mahal died during giving birth to their 14th child.

a: the photo is from lifestyleasia magazine travel column (the one I'm reading right now) and inset is the cute little hands of my nephew playing around with the magazine while I'm taking a shot at it.

My Asian History teacher though she's so old but she is so wonderful in illustrating about the Taj Mahal that makes you glued and listen carefully on how this Mughal architecture of India built beautifully. As she is telling the story it seems that you go back in time and see through your eyes how majestic the mansion is where Shah Jahan's loving wife's body is lying in. Shah Jahan also describes the Taj in these words.

Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display there the creator's glory.

For how this mansion describes by Shah Jahan, these rich words are flowing from his heart and not from his mind that can truly touch someone's heart. So, Rabindranath Tagore described it as "teardrop on the cheek of time" and Sir Edward Arnold described it as "the proud passions of an emperor's love wrought in living stone." Rudyard Kipling called it "embodiment of all things pure" while Emperor Shah Jahan said it made "the sun and moon shed tears from their eyes."

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