You knew, Emperor of India, Shah Jahan,
That life, youth, wealth, renown
All float away down the stream of time.
Your only dream
Was to preserve forever your heart's pain.
The harsh thunder of imperial power
Would fade into sleep
Like a sunset's crimson splendour,
But it was your hope
That at least a single, eternally-heaved sigh would stay
To grieve the sky.
Though emeralds, rubies, pearls are all
But as the glitter of a rainbow tricking out empty air
And must pass away,
Yet still one solitary tear
Would hang on the cheek of time
In the form
Of this white and gleaming Taj Mahal.
But as the glitter of a rainbow tricking out empty air
And must pass away,
Yet still one solitary tear
Would hang on the cheek of time
In the form
Of this white and gleaming Taj Mahal.
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (1861 –1941) was a Bengali writer who reshaped Bengali literature and music as well as Indian art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Author of Gitanjali and its ‘profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse’, he became the first non- European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. In translation, his poetry was viewed as spiritual and influential.
“The Taj Mahal rises above the banks of the river like a solitary tear suspended on the cheek of time.” ―
views on the transience of life and the transcendental nature of art which has the power to enlighten whole humanity. Tagore speaks of the immortal creation, the Taj Mahal, and the timeless appeal of that great monument. It is an eternal monument that immortalizes art. This poem tells about true love and if love is true it will live in the heart forever. The Taj Mahal symbolizes a drop of tear on the cheek of time because it is charming and sad at the same time.
The poet addresses Emperor Shah Jahan. He tells that the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan knew that life, youth, wealth, and renown would float away down the stream of time. His only dream was to save for the future his heart’s pain: his love for his wife Mumtaz. The harsh thunder of imperial power would fade like a sunset’s deep red splendor.
The poet says that precious diamonds like emeralds, rubies, and pearls which are like the shining beauty of a rainbow will be gone easily. However, Shah Jahan’s wish was that the Taj Mahal would hang on the cheek of time, like a solitary tear.
Inside TajMahal
TOMB CHAMBER (Source Internet)
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