For the past 350 years, the Taj Mahal has faced challenges such as assaults, thefts, and disregard. However, the magnificent marble tomb in Agra, situated in northern India, is presently struggling to confront its contemporaneous foes contaminated air and polluted water.  Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor, commissioned the Taj to commemorate his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. 

The Taj's exterior was once an immaculate white, but it has now transformed, partially if not completely, into different shades of brownish-black, green, and yellow. The Supreme Court of India, which has previously given its verdicts on Taj's ownership and who is permitted to pray there, has recently directed the Uttar Pradesh government to either "close down the Taj, demolish it, or renew it. Two months ago, the court had urged the authorities to seek assistance in preventing the "alarming transformation in colour." What is the issue with the Taj?  

The Symbol Of Love “Taj Mahal” 

Agra's Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world  more than just its grandeur. Adding soul to its grandeur is the history of the Taj Mahal.

Love, loss, regret, and a loving soul again. Without love, the world would be deprived of a good example for people to build relationships. An example of how much a man loved his wife.The man gave birth to his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It was the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who was madly in love. She was a Muslim Persian princess (her name before marriage was Arjumand Banu Begum) and Shah Jahan  was the son of Mughal emperor Jahangir and grandson of Akbar the Great.

Mumtaz  Mahal, who was inseparable from Shah  Jahan, died in 1631 giving birth to her 14th child. In memory of her beloved wife, Shah Jahan erected her magnificent monument in her honour. This monument is now known as the 'Taj Mahal'. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1631. Masons, layers, sculptors, painters, calligraphers, dome builders, and other craftsmen were conscripted not only from the empire, but also from Central Asia and Iran, and spent some 22 years building what we built. constructed. See today The epitome of love, he employed 22,000 workers and his 1,000 elephants.   

What is the Taj Symbolise? 

After the death of Mumtaz Mahal in 1631, the emperor reportedly postponed the wedding of his two sons and refused to attend court festivities until the construction of the Taj was finished. These anecdotes have contributed to the Taj Mahal's reputation as a romantic architectural "symbol of love".

Some have proposed that the Taj was not solely a funerary monument and that Shah Jahan may have erected a similar structure even if his wife had not passed away. Another theory, based on the metaphorical peculiarities of the Quran and other inscriptions as well as the emperor's reverence for the throne, suggests that the Taj Mahal symbolises God's throne - the throne of God - on the Day of Judgment. A third perspective proposes that the monument was constructed as a replica of the House of Paradise. Under the "mansion of paradise" hypothesis, the Taj was a sort of vanity project intended to glorify Mughal rule and the emperor himself.

Shah Jahan's rise to power was not without difficulty, and his downfall was even more tumultuous. The emperor died not as a ruler, but as a prisoner, exiled to the Agra Fort and placed under house arrest for eight years until his death in 1666. During this time, he could only admire distant views of the Taj Mahal. Nonetheless, the magnificent marble mausoleum he built "for posterity" has endured for over 350 years since its construction and is now regarded as one of the world's most iconic landmarks. Buried beside his beloved wife in the Taj Mahal, the man once known as Padshah - King of the World - is remembered for commissioning one of the planet's most extravagant and unforgettable mausoleums. 

Reason Of Colour Fadness 

Polluted River-

The Yamuna River, adjacent to the palace, harbours sewage that invites insects to leave waste on the walls of the palace, causing unsightly stains.

The Taj Mahal is a renowned tourist destination worldwide, erected by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in Agra, attracting up to 70,000 visitors each day.

The challenge of grime is not novel- multiple times in the last two decades, the white marble of the palace has been smeared with a mud pack to clean it- but there are concerns that the situation is deteriorating.

The most recent mud application began in January. Workers climb up the walls on scaffolds and apply Fuller's earth, a mud paste that effectively absorbs dirt, oil, and animal waste. It's akin to a facial mask, but for a palace. The mud is then rinsed off, taking the dirt with it. The ongoing cleaning process is expected to conclude towards the end of this year.

Acid Rain-

The influence of the contamination of the Yamuna River on the Taj Mahal has not been extensively discussed, though it has not been completely disregarded. The main focus of efforts to safeguard the Taj has been on the industrial sector, which has led to the implementation of a range of measures since the 1980s to minimise industrial pollution in Agra, such as the closure and relocation of certain polluting factories.

The fight to protect the Taj Mahal from pollution has been ongoing since the 1970s, and particularly since 1984 when environmental activist MC Mehta brought the issue to the attention of the Indian Supreme Court, highlighting the discoloration and darkening of the Taj Mahal's marble in various sections, suspected to be a result of acid rain caused by emissions of sulphur dioxide. 

Corrosive Effect- 

The paper’s analysis is based on a study that took place at the Taj Mahal site from 2006 to 2010. The retrieved samples were then analysed at the National Metallurgical Laboratory in Jamshedpur.

Using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, researchers analysed the corrosion products on the metals and discovered that oxides and sulphides were the primary constituents. They argued that sulphates and nitrates would have formed from reactions with acid rain, but not sulphides. They also took Agra’s climatic data for the period into account. The authors, however, noted that the study should be extended to include samples of marble with similar composition, structure, and porosity to those used to build the monument at the Taj Mahal.

Because the process of forming tarnished patina on marble surfaces is slow, the duration of exposure should be long enough – around 10 years – to reach a definitive conclusion and obtain meaningful findings.

Co-author Pandya suggested placing metallic samples at a higher elevation during further studies to assess the gas’s impact at different heights, given the Taj Mahal’s significant height of 73 metres. 

Conclusion And What Steps Should Be Taken To Stop Colour Fadness Of Taj 

To safeguard these iconic structures, it is crucial to uphold a clean and sustainable environment on a global scale. As a short-term solution, experts propose a substantial tree-planting initiative in the surrounding vicinity, coupled with regular surface surveillance, upkeep, and refurbishment of the monument's affected area, which could potentially extend its longevity.