Agra's Black Taj Mahal, is it more than a legend?

Taj Mahal is one of the most important landmarks in the country. Of course, it is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, and sees lakhs of tourists visiting it every year. It has also been hailed as the most Intagrammed monument in the world and this white-marble beauty is one of the finest specimens of design, architecture, imagination and thoughtfulness on the planet.

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But, do you know about India's Black Taj Mahal? As intriguing as it might read, there have been mentions of a black Taj Mahal time and again, often making people wonder if there were plans for a black copy of the Taj as well or, if the foundations were already put in place for one such structure.

A very popular legend, the belief about a black Taj stem from the writings of French traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier. His writings mention about Shan Jahan's idea of building a black Taj Mahal, right across the existing one! He also wrote that the plans were thwarted by Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb. The evidence that supported this theory were the black stones that were found in Agra's famous garden, Mahtab Bagh, across the river. As intriguing and wild as this thought is, there has been no evidence of the same and historians have refuted any such claims as well. In fact, it is reported that excavation work in 1990s found that the black stones were actually discoloured stones that, over time, turned black! But of course, rumours always run thicker than truth, and so does the story of a black Taj Mahal.

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Now comes the more interesting part of the story. India indeed has a black Taj Mahal, but this one is not in Agra. Also known as the Kaala Taj Mahal, it houses the tomb of Shahnawaz Khan. It is also believed to be the place where the base of Taj Mahal was designed.