charbagh

The main pathway that led from the Great Gate on the south to the tomb itself in the north would be similarly interspersed with fountains; the pathway crossing it, from east to west—thus dividing the gardens into the traditional charbagh —would be a blank walking path.

Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

Here—once they moved Mumtaz yet again—would be the top left quadrant of the charbagh gardens in front of the Taj Mahal.

Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

Within, there were two streets, one north-south, the other east-west, and these two streets, which sliced the Taj Ganj into its own charbagh shape with four quadrants, were the main access roads within the walls.

Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

It was long and flat, cut through the center with the charbagh, and its main pathway was cleaved with a long pool of water that flowed into the canal below.

Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

The bisecting pathways created the charbagh —or the four compartmentalized gardens.

Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

The elevated stone pathways that created the charbagh met in the center of the garden, and here was another raised red sandstone platform, on which the tomb stood.

Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

The main pathway that led from the Great Gate on the south to the tomb itself in the north would be similarly interspersed with fountains; the pathway crossing it, from east to west—thus dividing the gardens into the traditional charbagh —would be a blank walking path.

Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

It was long and flat, cut through the center with the charbagh, and its main pathway was cleaved with a long pool of water that flowed into the canal below.

Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

Here—once they moved Mumtaz yet again—would be the top left quadrant of the charbagh gardens in front of the Taj Mahal.

Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

Mehrunnisa laughed, clad herself in a veil of white, still in mourning for Emperor Jahangir, and sat openly on a bench on one of the four stone pathways that bisected the garden to create the charbagh in front of the tomb.

Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010