U9 Part3 B1 exercise

    The twist to the story of the Taj Mahal is in the nearby Red Fort where the final tragic episode of Shah Jahan’s life was played out. It’s here where the myth of the Taj was born, where it enters the world of legend. Shah Jahan, the great emperor, became ill. He suffered a stroke and this provoked a ruthless, vicious struggle for power among his four sons. They fought, they battled and Aurangzeb, the most skilful, the most vicious I suppose of the four sons, prevailed. He killed his three brothers in battle
and by treachery and when he had his father, Shah Jahan in his power, he imprisoned him here in the Fort. So for Shah Jahan his great empire had been reduced to the area of this courtyard, and he would stand where I am standing now, contemplating the view, looking at the great mausoleum over there. This is a spectacular view, but it could have been more spectacular still. It is said that Shah Jahan, if he hadn’t lost control of his empire, would have built himself a mausoleum opposite that of his wife, and his one would have been clad in black marble, to match the white marble of the Taj Mahal. The story of the black Taj is an invention of the 18th century, but one that reflects, reinforces the fantasy surrounding a building dedicated to love and to what could have been.