Madhya Pradesh educationist builds Taj Mahal's mini replica for his 'Mumtaz'
Anand Prakash Chouksey, a resident of Burhanpur district in Madhya Pradesh has built a mini replica of the Taj Mahal for his wife. To get the structure up, he called special artisans from Rajasthan and Agra while the marble used for the structure was the same as the one used in the 17th-century monument.
FollowOne of the world's seven wonders, the Taj Mahal, stands tall in Agra as the symbol of love. The beautiful monument was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in the 17th-century. It has 25,000 daily visitors, rising to 80,000 during the peak tourist season. Ages later, a mini replica of this beautiful monument has been resurrected in Madhya Pradesh's Burhanpur district, roughly 327 kilometres from the state capital, Bhopal.
Historians believe that the Taj Mahal was to be built on the banks of Tapti River in Burhanpur – the place where Mumtaz Mahal breathed her last, and not on the banks of Yamuna River in Agra. However, taking various reasons into account, it was built in Agra.
Anand Prakash Chouksey, an educationist from Burhanpur, went the extra mile to prove his love for Manjusha, his wife. He decided to get a Taj Mahal-like residence built for his wife. He got a two-storey home built for his wife, which has a dome of 29-feet-high and is a complete replica of the original structure.
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It was not only for his wife that Chouksey got this replica built. It was also for the recognition of Burhanpur, which today stands lost in the pages of history. The 52-year-old cited history, saying that the Taj Mahal was initially supposed to be constructed in Burhanpur since Shah Jahan's wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died here while giving birth. She was laid here (in Burhanpur) for several months.
The Taj Mahal, of course, was later built in Agra, but Chouksey, after all these years, wanted to have it constructed at its original location in Burhanpur. Thus, after the replica got built, he dedicated it to his wife. While the mausoleum's main structure was completed roughly in six to seven years and the entire 42-acre complex was finished in 22 years, Chouksey's Taj Mahal took nearly three years.
The two-storied building has a kitchen, four bedrooms, and a library. Similar to the original monument, the replica also has four minarets. The project began in 2018. Chouksey had visited the monument numerous times to understand the detailing of the original Taj Mahal, while the engineers had to study 3D visuals to replicate the exact structure.
Chief architect Praveen Chouksey, contractor Mushtaq and artisans from Burhanpur, Agra, Surat and Rajasthan helped Chouksey's dream come alive. The marble was sourced from Agra and Rajasthan, which matched the original quality, while the furniture came from Surat.
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