TAJ HISTORY Taj Mahal, a love story in marble, is one of the wonders of the architectural world.

It was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his beloved departed wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Not only is the Taj an architectural marvel with respect to its strict symmetry followed everywhere in the complex, but also one of the most beautiful building ever built. Its iridescent white marble changes color according to the sunlight and its parchinkari work, which depicts the flowers of heaven, is breathtaking.

Extent of the Mughal Empire 1530 - 1707 A.D The Mughal dynasty in India started with the invasion of Babur in 1526, a descendent of Timur (also known as Timurlane). The Mughals were originally Mongols and also related to Genghis Khan. The fifth king in the generation of Mughals was Shah Jahan. His full name was Shahanshah Shahab-uddin Muhammad Shah Jahan I. He was born in 1592 and died in 1666 at the age of 74. He is considered to be one of the greatest Mughals. His reign has been called the Golden Age of the Mughals and one of the most prosperous ages of the Indian civilization.

Shah Jahan, by Payag, 1640 A.D. He built the beautiful mausoleum ,the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, whose name means the chosen one of the palace. Her real name was Arjumand Banu Begum and she was the niece of Nur jahan (Wife of Jahangir, Shah Jahans father). This was a special name bestowed upon her by Shah Jahan after their marriage in 1612 AD. She stood by the emperors side not only as a wife but also as an advisor, a confidante and a friend for 19 years. None of the emperors consorts could rival his affection for her.

Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal She bore him 14 children, out of which only 7 survived and she passed away giving birth to her fourteenth child in Burhanpur in 1631. Torn by her death, Shah Jahan immediately began construction of a mausoleum in Agra in 1632. It was to be unlike any monument the world had ever seen. The construction finally finished in 1653, taking a total of 21 odd years to complete a

magnificent monument with a love story at its heart. There were 22000 artisans engaged in building the Taj which explains the sheer magnificence of the building.

Unlike the other buildings during the times of the Mughals in red sandstone, Shah Jahan decided to build this building with the finest grade of white marble. The marble was obtained from a quarry situated in Makrana, a small city in Rajasthan, a state of India. It is about 340 kms from Agra. But just plain white marble was not used in its construction, the marble was inlaid with precious and semiprecious stones like lapis lazuli, turquoise, jasper, chalcedony, coral, onyx, jade, amethyst, green beryl or emerald. These precious and semi-precious stones form a mosaic of flowers, leaves and geometrical patterns both outside and inside of the Taj. This particular form of mosaic work is called parchinkari. It is an amalgamation of the Persian, Italian and the Indian artform of pietra dura. Pietra dura is an Italian artform which originated in Florence in the 16th century. It involves inlaying stone upon stone to create a mosaic work which looks like a painting. Hence the inlayed flowers in the Taj Mahal look like paintings.

Mumtaz and Shah Jahan were both buried at the centre of the building with both their cenotaphs studded with semi-precious and precious stones. This symbol of love has withstood the test of time for more than 350 years on the banks of the river yamuna and it will serve as an eternal resting place for both Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan for centuries to come. PARCHINKARI Parchinkari - The art of inlaying semi-precious stones in marble. The art of Parchinkari had begun in India in the early 17th century with Shah Jahan being its patron and pioneer. This art is derived from an Italian artform known as pietra dura (hard stones) which originated in Florence in the 16th century. It involves shaping small pieces of semi-precious stones in the form leaves, flower petals etc. and fitting them together so that they look like one complete flower or animal or any other shape the artist intended it to look like.

Tomb of I'timd-ud-Daulah

Agra Fort The European travellers brought pietra dura works as presents for Shah Jahan. The Mughal emperor was impressed with the technique and immediately incorporated it in his architectural endeavours. He refined and perfected the technique over several years which came to be known as Parchinkari in India. The art became more intricate, symmetrical and distinct from pietra dura. The inlaid stone pieces were made smaller and precious stones were introduced in the masterpieces. The Taj Mahal is the shining example of the perfection to which parchinkari was taken during Shah Jahans rule.

Tomb of I'timd-ud-Daulah

Taj Mahal Pishtaq

Jali of the Cenotaphs in the Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is the shining example of the perfection to which parchinkari was taken during Shah Jahan's rule. The most beautiful work is seen on the cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal in the interior tomb chamber, where the same flowers are repeated with exactly the same number of stones in each one. This beautiful and precious art has been passed down since the Mughal times through generations of parchinkars and is still alive in Agra after more than 350 years. METHOD OF INLAY The method of inlay used currently in Agra has not changed very much from the times of the Mughals, but the patterns have evolved and have become more refined over the centuries. Here is a brief method of the inlay work done at our premises. Step 1

The first step involves getting a high grade of marble. The marble can be white, black, pink or green. The marble is then cut according to the size of the article to be made. The marble used at Akbar International is the same type of Makrana marble that was used for the construction of the Taj Mahal. Step 2 Next in line are the semi-precious stones. The semiprecious stones used in the inlay work were brought from many different places during the time of Shah Jahan. Amber was brought from Myanmar, turquoise from Tibet, jade from Burma, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan etc. Here is the list of the most common ones that are used in the inlay.

Lapis Lazuli

Malachite

Jasper

Cornelian

Coral

Amethyst

Mother of Pearl

Paua Shell

Tiger Eye

Turquoise

Black Onyx

Step 3 The stones are now taken and cut into thin slices. These small fragments are then shaped by using a hand operated machine called the hone. The hone allows for better control of the artist on the shape of the stone. The artist holds the tiny bit of stone in his left hand and brushes it against the hone to shape it. Each artist is responsible for a different motif. Some are responsible for making leaves, some for flowers and some for stems. The master artisan called the ustad (in Persian) is responsible for conjuring up the overall design. We at Akbar have the pleasure of working with a few such ustads.

Artists working on the Hone, shaping the semi- precious stones

Step 4 While the stones are being shaped, the marble is smeared with color which is either powdered ochre or heena. Heena is the traditional paste made of plant by the same name. It gives a deep orange to rust color after application on hands. This heena is used for decorating the hands of the brides during Indian weddings. It is a symbol of luck, joy and beauty.

Step 5 The marble is now chiselled to make space for the stones to be set. This way the chiselled spots are easily highlighted against the orange background of the heena making it easier for the artist to work. The chiselling work is done using two chisels, one pointed and one flat. The tools are made of iron but the tips are made of tempered steel. For tempering the steel a process of heating and reheating the steel to upto 650 degree celcius is used.

Artist chiselling out the marble

Step 6 Now the stones are ready, the chiselling is done, the only thing left is setting the stones. They are set one piece at a time into the carved out space using a special glue. After the glue dries and the stones set, the finished piece is scrubbed gently with sandpaper to even out any rough edges. The henna is washed off to reveal the dazzling white purity of the stone.

Finished table top

Step 7 After the final polish for a high finish protective shine, a piece of the history is ready.

Finished table top

The skill of the inlay craftsmen of Agra is simply amazing. They can create a flower with 32 pieces within a small diameter of 0.25cm. Flowers with petals having veins and serrated edges may have as many as 164 pieces each.

Tourists getting hands-on experience at Parchinkari

Our dedicated team of Parchinkari artists

One of the most celebrated Indian Poet, Rabindranath Tagore describes the Taj Mahal as rising above the banks of the river like a solitary tear suspended on the cheek of time. And here at Akbar International you can own a part of that history and the tear.

OVERVIEW Akbar International has been the preserver of the art of Parchinkari since 1979. What started more than 30 years ago as a single showroom with a handful of pieces, has now turned into 2 branches with a total of 10 showrooms. We have thousands of articles and a few hundred masterpieces for the connoisseurs of art. Hundreds of families of artisans who depend on Parchinkari for their livelihood have been linked to us for years and we take pride in supporting them and in keeping this art alive.

Branch 1 - Established in 1979

Branch 2 - Established in 2011 Through a span of 3 decades, we have had people visit us from all over the world who after witnessing the beauty of this art have found great appreciation for it. We have live and exclusive demonstration of Parchinkari by very skilled artisans on our premises. Parchinkari is an art passed down from generation to generation. Most of the artisans have been handed down this art through forefathers who learned this art from craftsmen of the Mughal era. The demonstration is

translated by people who speak fluent English along with foreign languages like French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Russian. We take our product quality very seriously and procure the best quality marble from the city of Makrana in Rajasthan, India. The marble for the Taj Mahal was obtained from quarries in Makrana and we use the same quality marble. Genuine quality, rare and beautiful semi-precious stones go through a tough process of selection and only the best are put to use. Customer service is one of our biggest forte. All of our products shipped are insured to 110% of their value and great care is taken in packaging through state of the art packing machines. The articles are couriered through DHL, Fedex and UPS by air and through Quicksilver by sea. As soon as a product is shipped we provide the client with the tracking number or Airway Bill number (AWB) so that they can track their shipment in real time. We are in constant touch with the client till he/she receives the shipment on time and in perfect condition. It is because of the hard work of the entire Akbar family and the trust we have maintained with our clients that we have had guests visit our premises over again. Atithi Devo Bhava is a popular saying in India which means Guest is God and we believe in the same, delivering to our guest the best possible experience. Message From the Founder It took a period of 22 years and 22000 artisans to build the Taj Mahal. Clearly it makes us wonder why a building merely a few hundred feet high took so long. Only a nearer view reveals the reason and its perfection. When in our hasty times we see enormous structures of hundreds of stories raised in a few years like the Burj-al-Khalifa in Dubai (nearly a kilometre high and built in merely 5 years), it becomes imperative to consider why 22,000 men worked for 22 years on this little tomb. We begin to sense the difference between industry and art and perhaps more importantly, we sense the ultimate lesson it offers: beauty, and that which lasts, is based on love. Such has been the history of Akbar International. What started 35 years ago as a single showroom with a handful of pieces, has now turned into a total of 10 showrooms with thousands of inlayed articles and a few hundred masterpieces, as a result of the hard work of the entire Akbar family. It has been the preserver of the art of Parchinkari since 1979. The art which adorns one of the wonders of the world, the shining example of Indian architecture at its pinnacle : The Taj Mahal. It was introduced by the Great Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in the 17th century. It involves the inlay of rare and beautiful semi-precious stones on dazzling white marble from Makrana, a city in Rajasthan, India. In the span of more than 3 decades, I have met people from all over the world and have helped them decorate their homes with this exquisite art. Many of these people have revisited Akbar more than once. It fills me with great joy to share this art over the internet with the thousands of people who have embraced it and the countless more who will be inspired by it. This art is one of the lesser known arts which makes it all the more surprising and exciting for people from all corners of the world. And here I proudly introduce you to it.

Enjoy the beauty! Salim Uddin (Proprietor and Founder) HOW TO CLEAN MARBLE? To clean marble use Fila floor cleaner. If fila floor cleaner is not available then use a soft moist cloth for cleaning on a daily basis. Mild detergents can be used to clean the surface of the marble when it appears too dusty. This will instantly give it a glow which will last with regular cleaning. Although Makrana marble doesn't stain very easily ,still Spills (gravies, milk, coffee etc) should be immediately cleaned up with a moist cloth. For polishing the surface, regular car wax can be used .The instructions are as follows:

Warm the car wax a little. Place it on the table surface. Take a soft muslin cloth and twist it into a bun. Gently rub the wax onto the surface of the marble in circular motion. Continue rubbing for 15 minutes or until the surface is evenly polished.

WHAT IF THE SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES COME OUT? The stones used as inlays are delicate by nature. Hence, rough use , excess heat or abrasive liquids can at rare times lead to popping out of the stones. You can use epoxy in these cases and set the stones back in their place. WHAT TO DO IF MARBLE SURFACE BECOMES ROUGH OVER TIME? The stones used as inlays are delicate by nature. Hence, rough use , excess heat or abrasive liquids can at rare times lead to popping out of the stones. You can use epoxy in these cases and set the stones back in their place. HOW TO HANDLE MARBLE PRODUCTS? While it can take rough use , it should however be handled with care. For other questions contact: http://akbarinternational.com/faq.html SHIPPING INFO Our products are shipped all over the world. We use both air and sea freight. The companies we work with are:

By Air: DHL

UPS

FEDERAL EXPRESS By Sea (Delivery to the nearest seaport)

QUICKSILVER

The products shipped are insured to 110% of their value. Please allow 15 days for delivery from the date of purchase. Note: The customer has to pay the additional taxes and duties (to customs) when clearing the merchandise from customs according to the norms of their respective countries. These taxes and duties in most cases are very nominal and is exempt in some countries.

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