DIE Essay

This was our first essay, fittingly called D.I.E (Describe Interpret Evaluate). That was pretty much all the instruction we got, so I did mine on my experience of tourist at the Taj Mahal.

Introduction
The Taj Mahal (also known as the Taj) is more than just a monument—it is an icon. There are many detailed publications regarding the Taj with much more information than I could adequately cover in the length of this essay. I am not an architecture scholar, and I observed the Taj without any prior historical information. I only spent approximately four hours at the Taj without a notebook—due to security—therefore this essay will provide the basic history and examine my initial observations of the Taj Mahal and its tourists. Tourists go to the Taj Mahal because it is perceived as an essential element in visiting India and a social marker of recognized “things to do before one dies.”

Brief History of the Taj Mahal
While specific dates are disputed, the following account is the basic agreed narrative of the Taj Mahal. Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during the birth of their fourteenth child. Construction of the symmetrical complex began soon after her death and was completed with the help of 20,000 workers approximately twenty years later. The Taj Mahal is made primarily of white marble with inlayed semi-precious stones and sits on the Yamuna River in Agra, India. Shan Jahan planned on constructing an identical monument made of black marble across the Yamuna. However, soon after the Taj Mahal’s completion, Jahan’s son Aurangzeb usurped and imprisoned him until Jahan’s death in 1666. Jahan’s cenotaph is the only element that offsets the Taj Mahal’s symmetry, situated next to his wife’s cenotaph, which is centered under the main dome . In 1983, the Taj Mahal was named a World Heritage site.

Entering the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is open from “sunrise to sunset” and two tickets are required to enter. The Agra Development Association (ADA) ticket purchased at the Taj costs Rs. 500, and provides discounts to other sights in Agra. The ticket to the Taj Mahal itself is Rs. 250, so foreigners must pay Rs. 750 altogether. However, local Indians only need to pay Rs. 20. Long-term visitors with FRRO cards will have no luck trying to get the local price here. With the entrance fee comes a free bottle of water and shoe covers, though no signs point this out and the ticket sellers do not inform visitors.
I heard that sunrise was the best time to see the Taj Mahal because there would be fewer people. I woke up at 5:30 am, checked out of my guesthouse, and arrived at the Taj’s west gate at 6:10 am to catch the 6:30 am sunrise. I was greeted by a large crowd of people—half in line at the gate and the other half in line to purchase tickets—and joined them to wait for the ticket booth to open until well after the sun had firmly established its place in the morning sky. Signs stated that no tobacco, matches, alcohol or food were allowed inside. After obtaining my tickets, I moved to another line at the red gate where men and women were separated to be searched by security. Though the men’s line was twice as long, it moved twice as fast because there were multiple male security check points whereas the women’s line only had one. Once my ticket was checked there were new signs informing visitors that in addition to the previously stated prohibited items, no books or electronic goods were allowed. As I inched closer to the Taj Mahal—hoping they might overlook my journals, iPod and various wires—I saw people turned away from the check point for chargers, books, backpacks and even a pen; it was not looking good for me. Of course I was turned away. Blue signs that said “lockers” pointed to a building with yet another line of people—on the door were handwritten signs saying “Lockers: Rs. 20. Storage: Rs. 10.” After reluctantly paying for my “free storage,” I pushed back through the crowd assuring the glaring eyes I had already been through the line. Over an hour and half after I arrived, I completed my rites of passage to view the Taj Mahal up close.
Past the red gates, the most crowded areas at the Taj Mahal were the gardens along the reflection pool in front of the tomb and inside the actual tomb. The population at the front of the Taj Mahal consisted primarily of amateur photographers and various posers. Some people stood and smiled sweetly, some made peace signs, and some tried to hold the white dome in their palm. Other people formed dams in the flow of human traffic as they posed for group photos. The sides and the back facing the Yamuna were slightly less crowded, but still consistently speckled with people.

The Taj as an Icon of India for Tourists
The relatively high admission price in comparison to other India sites discourages repeated entries and demonstrates the higher value tourists place on seeing the Taj. Higher security reflects the value to India of securing the monument as well as the high volume of people that visit everyday. Tourists view the Taj as an emblem of the country. To visit the Taj is to visit India. Tourists and people “back home” perceive visiting India as incomplete without visiting the Taj. Even at other beautiful sites such as the Agra Fort, the most crowded areas were those in which the Taj could be seen in the distance.
The Taj Mahal is understood as icon. Though I have never been formally taught anything about the Taj Mahal, I could view the detailed Taj in my mind as if I had visited it multiple times. Guidebooks market India with the Taj Mahal’s image and make statements like “who visits India without visiting the Taj?” implying that anyone who does not see the Taj while in India is an anomaly. Other quotes include “You might expect to be disappointed when coming face to face with an icon that is almost an archetype, but nothing can really prepare you for the beauty of the Taj Mahal.” enforcing its assumed majesty and debasing anyone who questions the proliferated adjectives of “ephemeral,” “beautiful,” or “magical.” The Taj Mahal’s image is firmly established in the minds of tourists due to its repeated use in advertisements, photographs, and films. The familiarity of the Taj Mahal through images makes the it an inviting place to visit for tourists dealing with culture shock in a place as unique as India.
Perhaps this assumed familiarity with the Taj Mahal is why the rites of passage to enter the complex came as a surprise. While the Taj’s image is frequently marketed, the entrance process is not. Though the ordeal of entering was not much different from any other task in India, it felt like an exhausting battle because the Taj Mahal felt like something I had a right to as a tourist. By the time I entered I was exhausted, frustrated and sweaty.

Is the Objective Taj Possible?
I believe the importance placed on the Taj Mahal by tourists is due to its global iconography—few things in this world share the Taj Mahal’s popularity with tourists. It is not difficult to understand why the Taj Mahal is seen as an emblem of architectural beauty. Given the massive amounts of precious material used, it is a standard with which anyone can understand it is valuable without understanding its complex artistry.
However, it is impossible to view solely the Taj Mahal due to all the constant tourists. The floating dots in the distance and people snapping photographs are part of the monument, for it is hopeless to expect to view the Taj Mahal without the crowds. Furthermore, due to it iconographic status, it is very difficult to see the Taj Mahal with fresh eyes and to observe its qualities without attaching the established flattering adjectives automatically. When one goes to see the Taj, one has in fact already seen it countless times.
The expectations brought by tourists to the Taj Mahal diminished my experience. Either by feeling entitled to the comfortable familiarity of the Taj Mahal or expecting to be blown away by its beauty, the experience of visiting the Taj Mahal does not always add up to the guidebooks. As a result of the Taj’s hype and popular image, there is immense bandwagon pressure to agree with the perception of the Taj as “amazing.” Though I enjoyed the visual aesthetics of the Taj immensely, a part of me felt disappointed because the experience was built up so much that nothing could fulfill my expectations. I also felt guilty to admit my discontent because of the collective social agreement of its splendor. I suspect that if I was not exposed to the prescribed expectations of the Taj I would have in fact felt all the “majesty” touted without the complex guilt.
People want to visit the Taj Mahal because it is a valuable social marker to a tourist. It is a relatable experience to the tourist’s community back home and an established symbol of visiting the “beauty” of India. The image is so common that the Taj is most likely already seen without ever visiting India. Even so, tourists gladly pay the expensive admission, wait in long lines and struggle with other tourists attempting to snap the same picture in order to physically be in the Taj’s presence.

Conclusion
The Taj Mahal’s basic history reinforces the tourist’s understanding of it as being a magical element in a royal fairy tale. While its value can be easily understood in terms of material used, its value is greatly heightened by repeated use of its imagery, its emblematic status, its marketing and its status among social groups. So was the Taj worth going to? Definitely, but mostly because I wanted to say I went to see the Taj Mahal.