Some

April 11, 2002 10:47 AM

Some say the Taj Mahal pre-dates Shahjahan by several centuries and was originally built as a Hindu or Vedic temple complex. Fascinating theory or a crackpot...more inside >
posted by bittennails (10 comments total)

These photographs are taken from an album that was found and then smuggled out of India. On the back of each photo there is a stamp mark that says, "Archaeology Survey of India." This signifies that they were the property of that institution. This means a number of things: That the Archaeology Survey of India (ASI) has been researching the evidence that proves the Taj Mahal and many other buildings were not of Muslim origin, and that they know this information but remain silent about it.

I found this quite fascinating, but am quite torn between the history I have always thought true (Shahjahan) and this hypotheses. Has anyone heard of this guy or have any knowledge of him? The photographs are great though, not their quality, but...take a look at these: Secret rooms and walled doors. He also takes on other monuments, eg. Red Fort and the Qutab Minar.

He does carry on, trying to prove the Vedic Influence in the rest of the world. Egypt/ Rome. This is when I started to lose it a bit.

The page with all the photographs is here.
posted by bittennails at 10:50 AM on April 11, 2002

Crack. Pot.
posted by y2karl at 11:08 AM on April 11, 2002

To go anywhere with thread, is most likely to enter the world of Indian religio/politics, a zone not unlike science fiction itself.
posted by Faze at 11:18 AM on April 11, 2002

The sealed rooms at Taj have always been a mystery. Archaeologists are probably worried about tinkering with it, because it might lead to a whole slew of Hindu vs. Muslim riots. You just have to look at what is happening in Ayodhya to know what would happen in Agra if the Taj was proved to be of Hindu origin.
posted by riffola at 11:47 AM on April 11, 2002

God, I hate religion.

Free the archaeologists!

and the scientists and the ....
posted by bittennails at 11:52 AM on April 11, 2002

Check this out: "An ancient underwater city has been discovered off the coast of south-eastern India. Divers from India and England made the discovery based on the statements of local fishermen and the old Indian legend of the Seven Pagodas."
posted by homunculus at 12:15 PM on April 11, 2002

Have any of you even been to these monuments? They have Islamic architectural features all over them, and I'm not just talking about superficial stuff like inlaid verses from the Qur'an (i.e. minarets, mihrabs, etc). Why would Hindus build a matching building that just happens to look like a mosque right next to the Taj Mahal, and just happens to be oriented towards Mecca?

Geez. The amount of crackpot stuff I'm seeing on MeFi these days...
posted by laz-e-boy at 2:09 PM on April 11, 2002

Most buildings in India are built with the four directions in mind. Vastushastra is very similar to Feng Shui.
I have been to the Taj, and it is very impressive, and I don't personally care who made it, it's a fine jewel that needs to be preserved. I went to see it in the mid '80s, so I wasn't old enough, but even then I was very curious as to why certain areas of the Taj were sealed off. Not to keep vandals out, but sealed off with bricks.
posted by riffola at 3:37 PM on April 11, 2002

Yup, that's the intriguing part for me, the smuggled album, sealed areas, the Archaeology Survey of India keeping mum...
posted by bittennails at 3:58 PM on April 11, 2002

Crack Pot, Bull Shit. same same.
posted by adnanbwp at 4:30 PM on April 11, 2002