Bollyblog, Chapter 10 - It can't be made of marble

Bollyblog, Day 10, September 10, 2012

Whatever you think about the Taj Mahal - whatever cliche', over-exposed, iconic, yes, among the 7 wonders of the world, yes, but come on, how different could it be than the countless pictures we've all seen from childhood on - thing you think you know.  You don't.

So the point in even putting this picture in this chapter is, well, 'monumentally' stupid. But Great Ganesh almighty, the Taj Mahal is maybe the single most glorious structure I'll ever see. A thing of such concentrated beauty that it almost pulses like a quasar, emanating light for eons..
                  Finished in 1653, it was built over 20+ years by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Granted, she was his favorite wife, among many, which of course left me wondering exactly how many food tasters were in her employ in the day.. but oh, he must have loved her fiercely, because love actually seems to be a living component in this structure. It is made of solid marble.

"How can that be?," Dave the engineer asks.  "The sheer weight of this thing..." followed by his jaw dropping as we both slowly walked the perimeter, gaping like thirsty bird dogs on a Mississippi dirt road in the middle of July.

Of course we couldn't be in Mississippi because our car engine was a camel.