The taj mahal

This architecture of the Indian subcontinent was originally of timber and mud-brick of which nothing survives. Early Budhist monuments, chaitya halls, stupa rails, and toranas clearly imitate wood construction, and timber buildings appear on relief representations. All surviving architecture is of stone, using exclusively a structural system of post and lintel, brackets, and corbels. The basically simple Indian architectural forms are generally obscured and overwhelmed by a rhythmical multiplication of pilasters, cornices, moldings, aediculae, roofs, and finials, and an exuberant and sensuous overgrowth of sculptural decoration.

Perhaps the most famous building in the world, and one which has been called the most perfect, is this great marble mausoleum built to house the body of an Indian empress by her grieving husband.

The Mogul emperor Shan Jahan began its construction, near the city of Agra, in 1630, the year after the death of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Over 20,000 workmen took 11 yers to complete the mausoleum itself, and a further 11 for the surrounding wall, mosques, gateway, and minarets. The perfect proportions, intricate decorations, and pure-white marble surface belie the size of the Taj Mahal and the massiveness of its structure.

BRICKWORK

At the building's four corners stand what are, in effect, the main parts of the structure: four octagonal towers with small domes on each summit. The inside faces of these are linked so that together they carry a central inner dome, 80 feet high and 58 feet in diameter, above the tomb of the empress.

Though pictures can give the impression that the Taj Mahal is more like a sculpture than a building, it is, in fact, taller than the great Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

THE TOMB

The central chamber of the Taj Mahal is octagonal. In the center are marble monuments (called cenotaphs) dedicated to Shah Jahan and his wife. They are surrounded by fantastically delicate carved marble screens inlaid with precious stones.

Beneath the chamber, in a vault sunken within the podium on which the visible bulk of the building stands, are the sarcophagi, or stone coffins, containing the two bodies.

THE LAYOUT

The whole complex measures 1,903 feet by 997 feet, and within this the Taj Mahal itself is 614 square feet in plan on each of its four identical facades an arch rises to a height of 108 feet.

THE DOME

The feature which caps whole design and completes the world-famous profile of the buildings is the second, or outer, dome in the center. Its outer wall curves outward in the characteristic slightly bulbous East Indian fashion before curving inward to its topmost point nearly 200 feet above the floor of the building.

1. Answer the following questions:

1. What was the architecture of the Indian subcontinent originally built of?

2. What were Indian architectural forms overwhelmed by?

3. Who began the construction of Taj the Mahal?

4. Who was this mausoleum dedicated to?

5. What material was used to build this monument?

6. What kind of towers was used in this building?

7. What is the size of the Taj Mahal?

2. Give the Russian equivalent of the following words and phrases:

timber; mud - brick; Early Budhist monument; chaitya hall; stupa rail; toranas; bracket; corbel; to obscur; to overwhelm; molding; aediculae; mausoleum; mosque; gateway; minaret; tomb; octagonal; cenotaph; bulbous.

3. Give the description of:

1. the tomb; 2. the layout; 3. the Dome.

4. Say, in connection with what, these figures are given:

1630; 20.000; 58; 1,903; 108; 200.

5. Translate the following sentences from russian into English:

1. Архитектура Индии была, в основном, из саманного кирпича.

2. Основные архитектурные конструкции сильно перегружены многочисленными элементами.

3. Мавзолей Тадж Махал был посвящен умершей жене императора Шан Исахана Муштаз Махал.

4. В четырех углах здания стоят четыре восьмиугольные башни с маленькими куполами на вершинах.

5. Мраморные монументы (сенотапы) посвящены императору и его жене и содержат драгоценные камни.

6. Чтобы построить мавзолей, более чем 20 тысячам рабочих потребовалось 11 лет.

6. Retell the text.