Erstwhile Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan’s death anniversary came as a boost to the tourism in the North-Indian state of Agra presently. It is the only time of the year when the grave of the emperor and the queen is open for all, whether be it a foreign tourist or a local citizen. On this occasion, visitors do have got the chance to view the original graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz located in an underground chamber.
This year it was the occasion of 364th death anniversary of Shah Jahan. Widely known as ‘Urs’, the occasion is a religious one and is observed every year at the Taj Mahal to commemorate the death anniversary of the emperor. So a large number of tourists visited Taj Mahal on the ground.
A 1221m long, multicoloured chadar was being offered by the visitors this year, while they marched towards the grave of the Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz.
The Taj Mahal observed the annual ‘Urs’ of Emperor Shah Jahan from April 2 to April 4. The graves under the main dome, that we usually see is not the real one, but the chamber with original graves is placed underneath it. Visitors do get a free entry to the spot on this special occasion and they participated in the celebrations from all across the globe.
Mohbesh Shabi, one of the visitors of the monument, who came all the way from Kerala, said, “I am celebrating the occasion here with my family. The best part is that there is no entry fee, as one generally needs to shell out INR 50 as the entry fee.” According to one of the organisers, Syyed Munawar Ali, “For the event we have waived the entry fee, people as per their devotion can offer colourful cloth pieces (chaadar chadana) at the grave.”
Standing majestically on the banks of River Yamuna, Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the globally appreciated masterpieces of the world’s heritage”. It was declared a winner of the New7Wonders of the World (2000–2007) initiative in 2007. As per the official website of Uttar Pradesh Tourism, the Taj Mahal attracts around 7 to 8 million visitors annually, with more than 0.8 million from overseas.
