In the movie, Slum dog Millionaire, we see the boys end up at the Taj Mahal. I decided to do some research on this historical site.
The Taj Mahal was built by Muslim emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his dear wife Mumtaz Mahal in Agra, India. Many sources say that Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal were very close, which is why Shah decided to build the monument. Mumtaz is said to have died during child birth of their 14th child.
The city of Agra can be found southeast from New Delhi and lies along the Yamuna River.
The building of the Taj Mahal was started in 1631, soon after Mumtaz Mahal's death, and completed somewhere between 1648 and 1653, taking 17-22 years to be built. Over 22,00 men worked on the building, using over 1,000 elephants to transport materials. Several buildings, including the main gateway, a mosque, rest house, tomb, and a guest house, as well as a garden surround the Taj Mahal.
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| View of the Taj Mahal and area around it from Google Maps. (Sorry if it's blurry, I copied and cropped it myself!) |
Many visitors come to the Taj Mahal whenever it is open to learn the story of why it was built and who it was built for. Some have even come to call it "the epitome of love."
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| Mumtaz Mahal |
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| Shah Jahan |
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