The Taj Mahal
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people have written about the Taj Mahal. The iconic mausoleum has been inspiring people for almost 400 years. Even if you’ve never been there, you can close your eyes and picture it. Images of the Taj Mahal are on posters in schools, in magazines, and all over social media. But no picture or article can quite compare to seeing this almost perfectly symmetrical monument in person.
The Taj Mahal was the first Wonder of the World (from the New Seven Wonders list) that my husband and I visited together. At the time, we were engaged. While I knew I would be impressed by the Taj Mahal, I didn’t realize how deeply I would connect with the intertwining love story behind it. We visited with our guide in India, Deependra, and as we walked around the grounds, he shared the story of Shah Jahan and his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan was deeply in love with Mumtaz, and when she died, he built the Taj Mahal as her final resting place.
Being a devout Muslim, symmetry was very important to Shah Jahan. Everything—from the gardens to the surrounding mosques to the interior of the mausoleum—is perfectly symmetrical. Mumtaz Mahal was laid to rest exactly in the center of the mausoleum, reinforcing the symmetry that Shah Jahan valued so deeply.
As you move through the grounds and approach Mumtaz Mahal’s tomb, you begin to notice not just the grandeur of the buildings but the intricate details—carvings and inlays etched into the marble with extraordinary care. Every element reflects the meticulous craftsmanship meant to honor her memory. There are countless details, each unique to the Mughal Empire, and you could spend hours, days, even years studying the different facets of this monument.
Everything about the Taj Mahal was thoughtfully planned—from the grand entrance to the specific trees and flowers planted in the gardens. The white marble is luminous, even on a cloudy day. You could be the most cynical person on Earth, and I bet the Taj Mahal would still take your breath away.
When Shah Jahan later died, his family buried him beside Mumtaz Mahal—disrupting the perfect symmetry he had so carefully designed. All that precision—what he found most beautiful—was altered. And yet, somehow, this imperfection adds another layer of beauty.
We were lucky enough to visit the Taj Mahal on a warm and sunny afternoon. Everything about the day felt perfect. The Taj Mahal is breathtaking, and it’s easy to understand why it’s one of the most visited monuments in the world. We witnessed heartwarming scenes—engagement photos, family portraits, and everywhere we looked, we saw eyes filled with wonder and smiling faces. But as we admired this awe-inspiring monument, we were reminded that Shah Jahan himself might say it is no longer perfect.
To me, that’s exactly what makes it more beautiful. Life isn’t perfect, and things rarely go according to plan. The universe throws us curveballs, and so much is out of our control. But isn’t there beauty in that imperfection? That Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal loved each other so deeply, and now lie side by side for eternity—even if it is no longer perfectly symmetrical.
Visiting the Taj Mahal with my now-husband made me deeply grateful for the love we share—even if Jon hasn’t built a Wonder of the World in my honor (yet). Something very personal about me: Jon is my second husband. My life didn’t always go according to plan, but eventually, I found him. And the life we’ve built together is more incredible than anything I could have hoped for. The beauty in the imperfectness—the love that persists despite broken symmetry—is what truly makes life worth living.
I hope Shah Jahan has come to embrace that in the afterlife. His beautiful monument to his wife may not be mathematically perfect anymore. But maybe their love is what made it perfect all along.
