Nishas world and baby Alisha

to my dear friends i want to put down a note about the splendid mausoleum built upon the sands of our very own India and infact one of the seven wonders in the world, the taj mahal... its sad that once, what was considered most beautiful, outstanding and the greatest symbol of love is now waiting for its fate to be announced.i really feel it doesnt need "votes" in order to prove its a wonder.it was a wonder and always will be...

i have been to the taj just last year and was just astounded to be in front of such a beautiful structure... what i always read and seen images of, now i was facing it with praises worthy of its beauty.i did take a few pictures out there with my family and spent moments gazing and touching the pretty carved flowers on the marble... no vote or announcement that it will be a wonder, match the of beauty it possesses.

thats what i feel but as we Indians have to do something in order to stand up for our wonder, a vote is what we should return to the taj in the form of our gratitude to our king shah jahan who built the taj as a symbol of love for his wife.he really gave India a mark so precious... am sure its not only am who thinks so???

please vote for the taj, just a few days to go.. am sure taj mahal will still have its place!! will you vote? i and my family have voted too...

some facts about the taj below

Lovers die, but love shall not and death shall have no dominion...
In the year 1607 when a prince of the royal Mughal household strolled down the Meena Bazaar, accompanied by a string of fawning courtiers, he caught a glimpse of a girl hawking silk and glass beads. Five years and a wife later (in those days princes did not marry for love alone) the regal 20-yr-old went to wed his 19-yr-old bride. It was a fairytale union from the start, one that withstood court intrigues, battles for succession and finally, the grand coronation. And when she died on the 19th year of their marriage, he etched her story in stone. The Taj Mahal is the living symbol of the monumental passion of Shah Jahan and Arjumand Banu. Which other love story has so grand a memorial?


Agra, The Chosen City for Taj Mahal
Agra was the chosen city of the Mughal emperors duringthe early years. It was here that the founder of the dynasty, Babur, laid out the first formal Persian garden on the banks of the River Yamuna. Here, Akbar, his grandson, raised the towering ramparts of the great Red Fort. Within its walls, Jehangir built rose-red palaces, courts and gardens. Shahjahan embellished it with marbled mosques, palaces and pavillions of gem-inlaid white marble. Agra is globally renown as the city of the Taj Mahal, a monument of love and imagination, that represents India to the world.

History of Taj Mahal India
The origin of the name the "Taj Mahal" is not clear. Court histories from Shah Jehan's reign only call it the rauza (tomb) of Mumtaz Mahal. It is generally believed that "Taj Mahal" (usually translated as either "Crown Palace" or "Crown of the Palace") is an abbreviated version of her name, Mumtaz Mahal (Exalted One of the Palace).

The Taj Mahal is a deserving resting palace for an Emperor's Empress. It stands on the banks of the river Yamuna, which otherwise serves as a wide moat defending the Great Red Fort of Agra, the center of the Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. She died while accompanying her husband in Burhanpur in a campaign to crush a rebellion after giving birth to their 14th child.

MUMTAZ MAHAL - "Build me a Taj"
As Mumtaz Mahal lay dying, she asked four promises from the emperor: first - that he build the Taj, second - that he should marry again, third - that he be kind to their children, and fourth - that he visit the tomb on her death anniversary. He kept the first and second promises. Construction began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty thousand people were deployed to work on it. The principal architect was the Iranian architect Istad Usa; it is possible that the pietra dura work was coordinated by an Italian artist.

TAJ MAHAL - Wonder of the World
To people the world over, the Taj Mahal, mausoleum of Mughal Emperor shah Jana's chief wife, Mumtaz Mahal, is synonymous with India. Its curving, gently swelling dome and the square base upon which its rests so lightly is a familiar image from hundreds of brochures and travel books. The Taj is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular buildings of the world. Renowned for its architectural magnificence and aesthetic beauty, it counts among man's proudest creations and is invariably included in the list of the world's foremost wonders. As a tomb, it has no match upon earth, for mortal remains have never been housed in greater grandeur