Name: Agra
Rating: 3.4

Taj Museum, Agra Overview

Located inside the Taj Mahal complex, the Taj Museum was established in 1982 on the western ends of the Taj Gardens. The tiny but terrific depository is a double-storeyed building with a quadrangle projection outside. Situated a little left on the main gate of the mausoleum inside the Jal Mahal, the museum provides the wonderful opportunity to have a close look at the blueprints, arts and artefacts used in the construction of the world-class monument. It also houses paintings displaying the construction and planning of the graves of the Emperor and his Emperess and the angles measured are so, that the foot of the graves always faces the spectators.

As the name suggests, the museum is all about telling the tale of the Taj. It is a popular place of visit among the travellers as it is home to the facts and history relating to the magnificent monument. You can also find gold and silver coins minted in Agra at the time. We recommend you to visit the place if you are in for a little historical and factual retreat.

Construction of Taj Museum

Spread over two floors, the museum boasts of three galleries in addition to the main hall. The main attraction is the 17th-century ivory portraits of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal. Other than that, there are a dozen paintings, frescoes and sketches of the planning and designing of the Taj Mahal, in addition to umpteen antiques, miniature paintings, manuscripts, government decrees, arms, utensils, specimens of inlay works etc. The first gallery is a pure depiction of the brainstorming involved behind the construction of Taj, site plans, and various letters sent to and fro between Shah Jahan and Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur ensuring the smooth supply of makrana marble. The second gallery showcases some jade and porcelain objects including a jade Quran stand, beautifully ornamented vase of the same material, nifty celadon ware utensils, arms and specimens of other semi-precious stones etc. The third gallery is a display of documents, farmans, famous calligraphy works and the paintings of the monument post completion.

How To Reach Taj Museum

The museum is situated inside the Taj Mahal complex. Reaching Taj Mahal and getting around the city can be done in tongas, electric buses and tempo. There are also auto rickshaws and state buses. In order to minimise pollution effects on the monument, the vehicles are not allowed in the vicinity of Taj and the vehicles need to be parked in the parking lots which is at a short distance from the mausoleum. There are non-electric tourist buses for the visitors from the parking lot.