Aesthetics
Besides the miraculous
architectural features and the elaborate ornamentation of the Taj Mahal, many
additional features, 
which can often be overlooked,
help complement and enhance this spectacular monument.
Background
:
Unlike other Mughal tombs,
the garden of the Taj Mahal has been laid out entirely in front of the tomb and
does not play any part in the 'background'. Instead, the background has been
provided by the sky.
This background is not constant; it changes its colour and texture more
than often, and the Taj is always presented in a variety of tints and moods. Its
shades are subtly reflected on the white marble surface of the Taj Mahal which
changes its colour and complexion accordingly.
Marble : The Makrana marble used is of such a nature
that it takes on incredibly subtle variations of tint and tone, according to the
changes in the light, thus picturing the passing colour of the moment.
Forms and lines : The composition of the forms and
lines of the Taj Mahal is perfectly symmetrical. Here we meet with a beautiful
admixture of lines, horizontal with vertical, and straight with curved - all
harmoniously set together in the total unity. They adopt each other with amazing
uniformity. The combination is entirely rhythmic and melodic. Especially the
semi-octagonal alcoves at the chamfered angles which are perceptible from every
perspective view and give a 3-dimensional appearance from the outset. They
emphasise the diagonal lines and suggest depth.
Solids and voids : The great depth has also been
further suggested by the double arches, one over the other, on each side of the
central portal. The solids and voids have very judiciously been distributed to
provide a variety, yet an undiminished uniformity. These alcoves, the balconies
in each minaret, the chhatris near the dome, and certain pronounced
projections in each facade allow a beautiful play of light and shadow.
Soaring effect : The colossal height of the tomb, along
with its pyramidal appearance (which is obtained by the receding plinths, the
square tomb and the bulbous dome, along with the pilasters surmounted by
pinnacles, the tapering minarets and the decreasing volume of the dome
culminating in a kalasa) give it a soaring effect. It appears as if it is
about to rise into the sky...an ethereal quality full of lightness and grace.
Correction of Illusionary Effects
: The indigenous
builders of the Taj Mahal fully understood the deceptive nature of the human
eye. They knew that the reality and its perception and interpretation thereof
differed. The plinth of the main tomb is 2'10'' high on an average. But the
height varies at different places, particularly the central point between two
piers being in each case 0.5" to 0.7" higher than the sides. This
convexity has deliberately been given to the plinth in the centre of each arch,
or else the building would have appeared as if it were falling down! The facades
are not exactly at a right angle with the plinth, but are slightly inclined. The
finial is a stupendous crowning feature which measures nearly 10 meters!! The
architect fully anticipated the apparent size which a finial would present from
such a great height. It has therefore been very ingeniously been planned. These
features of construction demonstrate the ability of the Indian architects to
reconcile the illusionary effects created by distance and light.
Fluted pilasters?
: Sections in each facade have been
demarcated by semi-octagonal pilasters that rise from the plinth of the main
tomb. They have chevron patterns inlaid with black and yellow marble
horizontally along their whole height. They appear to be fluted on each side
though, as a matter of fact, there is no real fluting at all. They create a
beautiful illusionary effect which the architect has very skilfully manipulated.
Uniform size of calligraphic characters :
The letter of the inscription around archways at the Taj Mahal, are
generally supposed to become larger and larger above. On closer scrutiny,
however, they are found to be of uniform size. Instead, the letters have been
inscribed densely at the bottom, with little plain surface in between; the
inscription becomes more and more sparse as it rises with more plain surface in
between the letters. The diminution of the plain surfaces has been accurately
calculated. Thus, the optical perspective of the letters has been reconciled,
and unmistakable uniformity is obtained.
The gardens
A green carpet of garden runs from the main gateway to the foot of
the Taj. In essence, it is a Persian garden, a from born and nursed to maturity
in the desert flat of Persia. Such gardens were introduced to India by Baber,
the first mughal emperor, who also brought with him the Persian infatuation with
flowers and fruit, birds and leaves, symmetry and delicacy. Unlike other
Oriental gardens - especially those of the Japanese, who learned to accentuate
existing resources rather than formalise them - the Persian garden was
artificially contrived, unbashedly man-made, based on geometric arrangements of
nature without any attempt at a "natural" look.
Like Persian gardeners, landscape artists at the Taj attempted to translate
the perfection of heaven into terrestrial terms by following certain formulas.
In Islam, four is the holiest of all numbers - most arrangements of the Taj are
based on that number or its multiples - and the gardens were thus laid out in
the quadrate plan. Two marble canals studded with fountains 
and
lined with cypress trees (symbolising death) cross in the centre of the garden
dividing it into four equal squares. The mausoleum, instead of occupying the
central point (like most mughal mausoleums), stands majestically at the north
end just above the river. Each of the four quarters of the garden have again
been sub-divided into sixteen flower beds by stone-paved raised pathways. At the
centre of the garden, halfway between the tomb and the gateway, stands a raised
marble lotus-tank with a cusped and trefoiled border. The tank has been arranged
to perfectly reflect the Taj in its waters.
A clear, unobstructed view
of the mausoleum is available from any spot in the garden. Fountains and solemn
rows of cypress trees only adorn the north-south water canal, lest the attention
of the viewer would be diverted to the sides !! This shows how carefully the
aesthetic effect of the water devices and the garden were calculated. The deep
green cypress trees with their slender rising shapes and curving topmost crests
are mirrored in the water while between their dark reflections shines the beauty
of the immortal Taj.
The Water Devices
The architect who was fully aware of the unaesthetic appearance of
the grotesque pur-ramps and crude conduits, designed a clever system to
procure water for the Taj through underground pipes.
Water was drawn from the river by a series of purs (manual system of
drawing water from a water body using a rope and bucket pulled by bullocks) and
was brought through a broad water channel into an oblong storage tank of great
dimensions. It was again raised by a series of thirteen purs worked by
bullocks. Except for the ramps, the other features of the whole water system
have survived. An over-head water-channel supported on massive arches carried
water into another storage tank of still greater dimensions. Water was finally
raised by means of fourteen purs and passed into a channel which filled
three supply tanks, the last of which had pipe mouths in its eastern wall. The
pipes descended below and after travelling underground crossed into the Taj
enclosure. One pipe line runs directly towards the mosque to supply the
fountains in the tanks on the red sandstone plinth below the marble structure.
Copper pipes were used for separate series of fountains in the north-south
canal, lotus pond and the canal around it.
An ingenious method was devised to ensure uniform and undiminished
water pressure in the fountains, irrespective of the distance and the outflow of
water. The fountain pipes were not connected directly with the copper pipes
feeding them as this would have resulted in a gradual decrease in the volume and
pressure of the water. Instead, a copper pot has been provided under each
fountain pipe - which was thus connected to with the water supply only through
the pot. Water first fills the pot and then only rises simultaneously in the
fountains. The fountains are thus controlled by pressure in the pots and not
pressure in the main pipe. As the pressure in the pots is uniformly distributed
all the time, it ensures equal supply of water at the same rate in all the
fountains. It is really creditable that the planner spared no efforts -
belonging to art, architecture and engineering - to create a perfect production
without the slightest weakness, architectural or aesthetic.The main supply of
the water was however obtained through earthenware pipes. One such main was
discovered under the bed of the western canal. The pipe is 9" in diameter and
has been embedded in masonry at a depth of 5 feet below the level of the paved
walk. Evidently, the mughal water expert was a master of his art and
successfully worked out the levels in relation to the volume of water to ensure
its unobstructed supply for centuries. He anticipated no repair work and
therefore made no provision for it; hence the extraordinary depth at which the
pipe was sunk.
The garden is irrigated by the overflowing of canals. The north-south canal
has inlets of water through fountains. The east-west received its water through
an interconnection with the north-south canal. Thus the quarters near the canals
received an adequate supply of water and could be used for growing flower-plants
which would not obscure the general view, while the distant quarters got a
smaller supply of water and were suitable only for tall trees
