The immaculate Taj Mahal isn’t perfect after all, researchers have reported in the latest edition of the peer-reviewed science journal Current Science.
The key blemish lies in the iconic central dome long been considered the epitome of bilateral symmetry. By scanning several photographs, Dilip Ahuja and MB Rajani at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, found the edges were off in some places by 0.5% to as much as 5.5%.
Dr. Ahuja told The Hindu that Ms. Rajani, a satellite imagery specialist, divided a photo of the dome into several horizontal lines and, using software, counted the number of pixels that make up these lines. Perfect bilateral symmetry would mean an equal number of pixels from the central axis to the left and right edges of the bulbous dome and the researchers found that except for the base and the pinnacle, this wasn’t the case.
The researchers who have visited the monument multiple times say the flaw can even be crudely discerned if one cut out a picture of the dome along its edge and folded it across the centre.
Dr. Ahuja, who specialises in energy and environment policy but also has an interest in Mughal architecture, said he was surprised that no one had written about the anomaly before.
“The Taj’s architecture has been criticised and Rajani’s teacher John Marr a British art historian too referred to the asymmetry. But we couldn’t find any analysis in the literature,” he said.
The researchers, however, emphasise that the flaw doesn’t mar the beauty of the edifice but maybe a reason to investigate if the discrepancy poses a structural risk to the monument.
Stunning, nevertheless
“Many other modern buildings appear geometrically perfect but do not have the same effect on the viewer as the Taj. Would it have been less beautiful had the dome been more symmetric? We doubt it. It is imperative to determine whether the asymmetry poses any risk to the structural integrity of the monument,” they note in the article.
Historical accounts say thousands of artisans were involved in the construction of the monument dedicated to the memory of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz between 1631 and 1648.
The two researchers aver that Shah Jahan was likely quite aware of the flaw.
“It seems incredibly unlikely to us that for someone with his aesthetic sense, he would not have known. More likely, he chose to overlook it. It is quite possible that the artisans may have convinced him that there was no way to guarantee that a second attempt would lead to an improvement, given the ‘tools’ available to them and the complexity of the dome’s shape,” they said.
The key blemish lies in the iconic central dome long been considered the epitome of bilateral symmetry. By scanning several photographs, Dilip Ahuja and MB Rajani at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, found the edges were off in some places by 0.5% to as much as 5.5%.
Dr. Ahuja told The Hindu that Ms. Rajani, a satellite imagery specialist, divided a photo of the dome into several horizontal lines and, using software, counted the number of pixels that make up these lines. Perfect bilateral symmetry would mean an equal number of pixels from the central axis to the left and right edges of the bulbous dome and the researchers found that except for the base and the pinnacle, this wasn’t the case.
The researchers who have visited the monument multiple times say the flaw can even be crudely discerned if one cut out a picture of the dome along its edge and folded it across the centre.
Dr. Ahuja, who specialises in energy and environment policy but also has an interest in Mughal architecture, said he was surprised that no one had written about the anomaly before.
“The Taj’s architecture has been criticised and Rajani’s teacher John Marr a British art historian too referred to the asymmetry. But we couldn’t find any analysis in the literature,” he said.
The researchers, however, emphasise that the flaw doesn’t mar the beauty of the edifice but maybe a reason to investigate if the discrepancy poses a structural risk to the monument.
Stunning, nevertheless
“Many other modern buildings appear geometrically perfect but do not have the same effect on the viewer as the Taj. Would it have been less beautiful had the dome been more symmetric? We doubt it. It is imperative to determine whether the asymmetry poses any risk to the structural integrity of the monument,” they note in the article.
Historical accounts say thousands of artisans were involved in the construction of the monument dedicated to the memory of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz between 1631 and 1648.
The two researchers aver that Shah Jahan was likely quite aware of the flaw.
“It seems incredibly unlikely to us that for someone with his aesthetic sense, he would not have known. More likely, he chose to overlook it. It is quite possible that the artisans may have convinced him that there was no way to guarantee that a second attempt would lead to an improvement, given the ‘tools’ available to them and the complexity of the dome’s shape,” they said.