MxMIndia

Tag: Agra

  • Quiz test post –The name “Taj Mahal” is of Urdu origin, and believed to be derived from Arabic and Persian,

    Quiz test post –The name “Taj Mahal” is of Urdu origin, and believed to be derived from Arabic and Persian,

    The Taj Mahal (/ˌtɑːdʒ məˈhɑːl, ˌtɑːʒ -/ TAHJ mə-HAHL, TAHZH -⁠; Hindustani: [taːdʒ ˈmɛɦ(ɛ)l]; lit. 'Crown of the Palace') is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658) to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

    Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, but work continued on other phases of the project for another five years. The first ceremony held at the mausoleum was an observance by Shah Jahan, on 6 February 1643, of the 12th anniversary of the death of Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around ₹32 million, which in 2015 would be approximately ₹52.8 billion (US$827 million).[4]

    The building complex incorporates the design traditions of Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture. It employs symmetrical constructions with the usage of various shapes and symbols. While the mausoleum is constructed of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, red sandstone was used for other buildings in the complex similar to the Mughal era buildings of the time. The construction project employed more than 20,000 workers and artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the emperor's court architect.

    The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Islamic art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". It is regarded as one of the best examples of Mughal architecture and a symbol of Indian history. The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction and attracts more than five million visitors a year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World initiative. The Taj Mahal and its setting, surrounding grounds, and structures are a Monument of National Importance, administered by the Archaeological Survey of India.[5]

    Etymology
    The name "Taj Mahal" is of Urdu origin, and believed to be derived from Arabic and Persian, with the words tāj mahall meaning "crown" (tāj) "palace" (mahall).[6][7][8] An alternative derivation of "taj" is that it was a corruption of the second syllable of "Mumtaz".[9][10] Abdul Hamid Lahori, in his 1636 book Padshahnama, refers to the Taj Mahal as rauza-i munawwara (Perso-Arabic: روضه منواره, rawdah-i munawwarah), meaning the illumined or illustrious tomb.[11]

    The building complex incorporates the design traditions of Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture. It employs symmetrical constructions with the usage of various shapes and symbols. While the mausoleum is constructed of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, red sandstone was used for other buildings in the complex similar to the Mughal era buildings of the time. The construction project employed more than 20,000 workers and artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the emperor's court architect.

    The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Islamic art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". It is regarded as one of the best examples of Mughal architecture and a symbol of Indian history. The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction and attracts more than five million visitors a year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World initiative. The Taj Mahal and its setting, surrounding grounds, and structures are a Monument of National Importance, administered by the Archaeological Survey of India.[5]

    Etymology
    The name "Taj Mahal" is of Urdu origin, and believed to be derived from Arabic and Persian, with the words tāj mahall meaning "crown" (tāj) "palace" (mahall).[6][7][8] An alternative derivation of "taj" is that it was a corruption of the second syllable of "Mumtaz".[9][10] Abdul Hamid Lahori, in his 1636 book Padshahnama, refers to the Taj Mahal as rauza-i munawwara (Perso-Arabic: روضه منواره, rawdah-i munawwarah), meaning the illumined or illustrious tomb.[11]

    Inspiration

    Shah Jahan, 17th century painting

    Artistic depiction of Mumtaz Mahal
    The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1631, to be built in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died on 17 June that year while giving birth to their 14th child, Gauhara Begum.[12][13] Construction started in 1632, and the mausoleum was completed in 1648, while the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later.[14][15]

    The imperial court documenting Shah Jahan's grief after the death of Mumtaz Mahal illustrates the love story held as the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.[16] According to contemporary historians Muhammad Amin Qazvini, Abdul Hamid Lahori and Muhammad Saleh Kamboh, Shah Jahan did not show the same level of affection for others as he had shown Mumtaz while she was alive. After her death, he avoided royal affairs for a week due to his grief and gave up listening to music and lavish dressing for two years. Shah Jahan was enamoured by the beauty of the land at the south side of Agra on which a mansion belonging to Raja Jai Singh I stood. He chose the place for the construction of Mumtaz's tomb after which Jai Singh agreed to give it to emperor Shah Jahan in exchange for a large palace in the centre of Agra.[17][18]

    Architecture and design
    Main article: Origins and architecture of the Taj Mahal

    The Taj Mahal complex is situated on a platform on the banks of the Yamuna River.
    The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture.[19] Inspirations for the building came from Timurid and Mughal buildings including the Gur-e Amir in Samarkand (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of the Mughal dynasty) and Humayun's Tomb in Delhi which inspired the Charbagh gardens and hasht-behesht plan of the site.[20][21] The building complex employs symmetrical constructions with the usage of various shapes and symbols.[19] While the mausoleum is constructed of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, red sandstone was used for other buildings in the complex similar to the Mughal era buildings of the time.[22] The entire complex sits on a platform measuring 300 metres (980 ft) in length and 8.7 metres (28.5 ft) in height on the banks of the Yamuna river. The platform is built with varying patterns of dark and light colored sandstone.[23]

    Exterior

    The eight sided main structure with large arched doorways and minarets on a square plinth
    The mausoleum building is the central structure of the entire complex. It is a white marble structure standing on a 6-metre (20 ft) high square plinth with sides measuring 95.5 metres (313 ft) in length. The base structure is a large multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners forming an eight-sided structure that is approximately 57.3 metres (188 ft) long on each of the four long sides.[24]

    The building has four identical sides with iwans (arch-shaped doorways), topped by a large dome and finial. Each side of the iwan is framed with a 33-metre (108 ft) high pishtaq (vaulted archway) with two similarly shaped arched balconies stacked on either side. This motif of archways is replicated on a smaller scale on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical.[25] At the southern side of the platform, facing the garden, there are two flights of stairs on either side which are partly covered and provide the only access from ground level up to the mausoleum building.[23]

    The large onion dome topped by a finial

    Finial, tamga of the Mughal Empire
    The predominant feature of the mausoleum is the 23-metre (75 ft) high marble dome that surmounts the tomb. The onion shaped dome sits on a 12-metre (39 ft) high cylindrical drum with an inner diameter of 18.4 metres (60 ft).[26] The dome is slightly asymmetrical and is topped by a 9.6-metre (31 ft) high gilded finial.[19][27] The intermediate zone between the drum and the dome is supplanted by an ornamental moulding with a twisted rope design.[23]

  • The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself.

  • The third edition of the annual Summit for PR and corp comm professionals starts today in Agra. An interview with event founder and mentor Amith Prabhu

    The Promise of Better PR at Praxis

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Not many moons ago, MxMIndia requested Amith Prabhu, earlier head of communications at Vivaki (Publicis Groupe) and then working at the Edelman office in Chicago to write an article on how Indian PR agencies had fared miserably at the Cannes Lions advertising awards. He then mooted the idea of a Lions-like conference for the PR industry, and even as we spoke with him to co-organise it, he had taken the lead with his friends to take things forward.

     

    We stepped back and offered him all the possible support in the effort, and are happy to report that the third edition of Praxis, as the PR conference is called, is being held starting today (September 12) in the historic city of Agra.

     

    So while MxMIndia is media partner, that didn’t prevent us from posing some ticklish questions to Amith Prabhu, founder and chief mentor of the event. Amith was not too keen on being interviewed and said the co-chairs of the conference should be doing the talking, but we could finally prevail upon him with an understanding that his pic will not appear as the Big Story image. Pssst, we’ve still sneaked in this headshot. We’ll try and feign ignorance. Read on…

     

    Pondicherry (or Puducherry), Lavasa and now Agra. How will the third edition of Praxis be different from the previous two?

    Each summit is unique in different ways. Praxis 2014 caters primarily to the professionals in the NCR. We call it the super, smarter, slicker edition. The theme is Communicating for a Better World and the focus is CSR. We have nearly 30 speakers of which eight are are international.

     

    In many ways it was for you a dream to build this forum for early and mid-career professionals. Do you think you’ve been able to achieve what you had set out to? Or is it still mission unaccomplished?

    From 250 professionals in the first edition, 22 months ago to almost 350 this time around we have come a long way. A large chunk of participants from both consultancies and in-house are young and raring to go. We want this to be THE forum that professionals of all levels head to every year and we have managed to achieve that.

     

    And would you say that the PR industry and professionals have gained from this?

    I still like to believe we are not an industry but a growing community of very smart professionals. These forums help celebrate the profession. It is for those who attend to say if they have gained or not. The response this year has been overwhelming which makes us believe we are on the right track.

     

    The format though is still very short, right. Like in this year’s edition, just as people would’ve warmed up, it’s time to say your goodbyes?

    Time is at a premium. We have experimented with an additional night in the second edition but the feedback was that it should be optional because half the time we are dealing with client crises which allows for minimal time commitment outside work.

     

    Why not have a longer format? Because it’s just an incremental extra hotel night that people have to pay for, na? You’ve already got them out of their office and spend on travel?

    As I mentioned earlier, time is at a premium for PR professionals. We have had 15% drop-outs in the last 5 days, especially from clients who would have been over 100 at the summit but are now about 85 at the summit because work exigencies. We offered an option for those who wanted to learn from experts to stay back a second night and attend the workshop at an additional fee. So it is really not shorter in the true sense. Also, an additional night would cost Rs 10,000 more on an average which we felt younger professionals would find hard to bear.

     

    Has this South-West-North rotation of venues worked? What will you have next year… East? How about a Praxis in Bangkok, Nepal or somewhere cheap and still away from it all?

    We are open to having Praxis in the Eastern part of India or even in another country which does not require visas. We are exploring that option. Hopefully, when the third edition ends the team of volunteers may have a location for 2015. Someday, we will plan it overseas for sure.

     

    There is a cross-section of top professionals who’ve been giving Praxis a miss? Dilip Cherian, for instance. Various veteran corporate communications professionals.  Comments?

    Like several other leaders, Dilip Cherian has been invited every year and we are hoping to convince him hard enough to be there next year. This year, the CEO of his firm will be chairing a session. We have nine of the Top 10 firms and 18 of the Top 20 firms present in India that are represented. Unlike most events of this kind that are organised by associations we are just a bunch of volunteers with full-time jobs who put this together. Given that, there are six firms participating for the first time this year which is an achievement. One Founder is making his stage debut in a public forum, though his firm has been around for 20 years, which is amazing.

     

    Also, I was just speaking to the CEO of a Mumbai-based PR firm Who was sadly just not aware of the forum. Would you say this is ignorance on the part of the CEO or still miles to go for Praxis (and the Promise Foundation) to promote the conference?

    We would not say it is either. If you were speaking to the CEO, he or she has now heard of it ;-). Sur summit has been built on word of mouth and primarily on social networks. We have a long way to go as a community. The Summit was sold out a month ago and we decided to increase the number from 300 to 330 which is 10% of the 3000 professionals in the country.

     

    So a little about this year: standout, must-attend sessions?

    We have the mother of cause marketing, Carol Cone, who is Edelman’s global practice chair of the CSR practice who has flown all the way from New York to deliver the opening keynote. Paul Holmes will do the second keynote on the Consultancy of the Future.  These are not to be missed. The other stand-out sessions are a presentation on Measuring Metrics and four panels – one by millenials, one by CSR experts, one celebrating Founders of India’s iconic firms and one with regional chiefs of PR firms.

     

    If you were given to chance to go back three years and re-curate Praxis, would you do it differently?

    Each Summit has been planned with learning from the previous one and built with passion. We are proud of the fact that we do not have more than one speaker from an organisation and that we typically do not repeat speakers. We also follow a cooperative sponsorship model where partnering companies pay our vendors directly. What we can do better is to make more Indian professionals in the middle east and far east attend.

     

    Is the organisation of Praxis really a collective, cooperative effort finally? Wouldn’t you want to give the job to an event organiser to do it on a professional basis?

    Praxis began as a movement and continues to remain so. The commitment of some of us is for ten editions. An event manager still helps put together the final look of the conference. With or without an event manager, we are a professionally run social enterprise. But the personal touch can only be there when those who conceptualised it, remain at the forefront of driving it. We are a dozen professionals who ideate virtually and come together at the summit to bring the event to life. The uniqueness is that the 12 volunteers represent 12 different organisations – some PR firms and some corporations.
    So what’s driving the organisers like yourself and others to spend a huge amount of time, effort and possibly monies to organise Praxis?

     

    People and passion for the profession are the cornerstones of this initiative. We needed to bring back the reputation to the profession that had begun to get affected by two important events – the controversy of 2010 that led to one of the largest firm shutting shop and the fact that almost all of the Top 20 global firms making their presence felt in India by the beginning of this decade. One would have worked for a non-profit, but instead we decided that we will create a non-profit that builds reputation for the profession. So here we are!