The story behind Taj Mahal

I know a few of you will be angry with me for being so rude. But having been married, I guess it is time for me to understand that there is no such thing called love between husband and wife.

If somebody told me that Shah Jahan built Taj Mahal for his lover Mumtaz Mahal…I would readily agree. Now that historians say he built it for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, I don`t buy the story.

I have arrived at this after taking into account my own experiences. The last thing I built for Rekha was neither a railroad nor a ‘River over the Bridge Kwai`. Instead, it was a three-legged stool whose one leg was purposefully made shorter so that Rekha doesn`t get too comfortable sitting on it.

Here are a few things my men friends have come up with, for their wives –

1) Stories (but the ladies are not buying them)
2) Single cots (but the ladies still need the husband`s warmth)
3) Large sized-pillows (They say husbands can never be replaced by pillows)
4) Wooden purses with security combination (but the ladies did not cut down on shopping)
5) Fake credit cards (The ladies never got caught)

You could argue that Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal lived during a period when true love blossomed. But even then, I am sure…it would not have been possible for Shah Jahan to love his wife the same for over 20 years. Perhaps, it was good for Shah Jahan that his wife was not alive when he started building Taj. Otherwise he would have stopped it a hundred times.

Today, wives lose the royalty ten days after honeymoon (I heard some women say…that men lose theirs the day they tie the nuptial knot).

Remember that story about Shah Jahan cutting the thumbs of the craftsmen so that they never create another Taj Mahal? That is all crap. Here is the true story: The day the thumbs were cut, Shah Jahan remembered how one day Mumtaz had refused to serve him dinner. Mumtaz had been on the phone with her mother the whole day long, and hence could not serve dinner for Shah Jahan. This had pissed off the King of the World. Then, he could not do anything…but now that she was dead he could take independent decisions ……so he stopped stopped work at the Taj, and ordered the thumbs of all craftsmen to be cut.

It was not until the next morning that Shah Jahan ordered the work to resume. My guess is, Shah Jahan remembered how his wife served him otherwise (don`t forget that the couple had 14 kids).

Initially, Taj Mahal was supposed to be the tribute to Mumtaz only. But when she died, Shah Jahan decided to combine the five other tributes he was planning to build (for his earlier girl friends) with the Taj Mahal. That is why today, you see one tomb and four minarets. You probably wonder what happened to the fifth girlfriend. That is why the Taj Mahal is built on the banks of river Yamuna…his fifth girl friend`s name was Yamuna.

I know you don`t believe it…but neither do I.

By Jamshed V Rajan

Jammy, as Jamshed V Rajan is affectionately called, is a wannabe stand up comedian. He has a funny take on most things but documents only some of them. If you are interested in chatting up with him, do drop him an email at jv.rajan@gmail.com or message him at +919650080255.

3 replies on “The story behind Taj Mahal”

rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl@mumtaz was on d phone all d day rofl dude dey had no phones in d period u talkin bout rofl

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *