A LEGENDARY LOVE STORY …

The iconic Taj Mahal shot …

Ma holds the Taj in her hand …

Mother and daughter finally together in India …

And the legendary love story …

Mumtaz Mahal was a beautiful, sharp-witted girl, who sold silk in the local market.  Shah Jahan was the young, soon to be Emperor, who fell madly in love with her.  And married her though she was only a shopgirl.

Mumtaz became his trusted confidante — sharing her insights with him, even joining him on his military campaigns during pregnancy.

Mumtaz died bearing their 14th child.  She was 38 when she passed away, and he was just 41.  Shah Jahan never remarried.

He built the Taj Mahal in honor of her.  It took 22 years of construction, which he himself supervised.  He was said to have wept every day throughout the process because he missed Mumtaz so.  But he never entered her tomb for he believed she was still alive … she was … at least, in his heart.

For the hopeless romantics out there, it’s the ultimate soulmate tale.    

For the darker among us, there is a lesser known twist …  

Shah Jahan was also a cruel man who allegedly murdered all his brothers to ensure his rise to power. And so as karma would have it, Shah Jahan’s own son threw him in prison so he could take early hold of the throne. 

Shah Jahan was placed in the Agra Fort, right across the Taj Mahal.  His only comfort was that he could still see Mumtaz’s monument every day from his window.  He died in jail.