The Taj Mahal is known far and wide as a stunningly beautiful teasement to love, and it has enchanted lovers, poets and tourists for over 350 years. Built in the memory of Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Moghul King Shah Jehan, it is an exquisite architectural masterpiece built using marble, turquoise, jade, lapis lazuli and many precious stones.
It has survived the rise and fall of many empires but has fallen prey to looters, who have carried away silver doors from its gates and precious stones from its marble walls. However, these long ago depredations are incomparable to the threat posed by modern-day pollution.
Sadly, the Taj Mahal has been tainted by pollution. Its once sparkling white walls have acquired a shade of yellow due to the emissions from the coal-fired steel foundries, thermal power stations, brick kilns, cars and a nearby oil refinery.
Agra's climate swings from very hot to very cold have cracked the marble slabs of the mausoleum. Toxic waste carried by the Yamuna River, which flows right behind the Taj Mahal, further pollutes the air around it, emitting a foul smell.
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