Best of India

Story of Taj Mahal
Shah Jahan met Mumtaz Mahal and fell in love. He married her after five years and they were leading a very happy life. While giving birth to their last child, Mumtaz Mahal died due to some complications. A few years later Shah Jahan built the world's most beautiful monument "Taj Mahal" in the memory of his wife.

One of the wonders of the world "Taj Mahal" has a beautiful love story behind its construction. Taj Mahal love story is about Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan, initially named Prince Khurram, took birth in the year 1592. The son of Jehangir, the fourth Mughal emperor of India, he fell in love in Arjumand Banu Begum at first time. At that time he was 14 years old and she, a Muslim Persian princess, was 15. After meeting her, Shah Jahan went back to his father and declared that he wanted to marry her. Read on to know more about the love story behind Taj Mahal of Agra.

The match got solemnized after five years i.e., in the year 1612. Shah Jahan became the Emperor in the year 1628 and entrusted Arjumand Banu with the royal seal. He also bestowed her with the tile of Mumtaz Mahal, meaning the "Jewel of the Palace". Though Shah Jahan had other wives also, but, Mumtaz Mahal was his favorite and accompanied him everywhere, even on military campaigns. In the year 1631, when Mumtaz Mahal was giving birth to their 14th child, she died due to some complications.

It is said that Shah Mahal was so heartbroken after her death that he ordered the court into morning for two years. Some time after her death, Shah Jahan undertook the task of erecting the world's most beautiful monument in the memory of his beloved. It took 22 years and the labor of 22,000 workers to construct the monument, which is also said to be the last wish of Mumtaz Mahal. This magnificent monument came to be known as "Taj Mahal" and now counts amongst the Seven Wonders of the World.

This is the true story of the Taj Mahal of India, which has mesmerized many people with its bewitching beauty.


India's $42 billion travel and tourism industry today has secured itself the fifth rank amongst the 134 most preferred tourist destinations in the world. With over 3 million tourists visiting the the Seventh Wonder of the World - the Taj Mahal - alone every year, the floodlights were focused at Agra, until globetrotters began to look around. They found India studded with delights more than many and gradually the attractions were unraveled, one after the other. 

The architectural archipelago that India is, owes its genesis to the various dynasties that ruled different parts of India at different periods. The most significant embossing on the Indian landscape was that of the Mughals and the erstwhile British masters. The Mughals believed in luxuriant living and their palaces were a rich blend of Indo-Islamic and Persian architecture. Their fascination for gardens got a whole legion of them laid at different parts of their territory. The British brought in their Victorian and Gothic elements and built monuments of use (railway stations, educational institutions, museums et al), while the Rajput and the Gupta rulers, keeping in with their jealous territorial stronghold, got some of the most splendid Palaces and Forts built. South India, of the Chandelas and the Pallavas, boasts of some of the most magnificent temples. India's coastline, hill-stations, adventure trails and so on, are recent boosts of the tourism industry and needless to say, they have surpassed the oldies.

We have randomly handpicked the most popular tourist attractions in India so that you know what not-to-miss.