You hear the phrase “well, it’s not exactly the Taj Mahal,” thrown around a lot in the presence of sub-standard architecture.

One also often comes across fluorescent signage bearing the legend “Taj Mahal Motel” over seedy establishments nearly anywhere in the world. Just remember that all these ordinary, run-of-the-mill examples are trying to summon the image of what Charles Bartlett has painted here. Ever seen anything like that in Queens?

No, you’d have to venture out to Agra, India to catch a glimpse of this architectural marvel. The Mughals, who once ruled my country and the one next door, i.e. Pakistan and India, were famously known for their love of paradisiacal gardens and grand architecture. I think they must’ve inspired Arab kings to live like they do. Anyhoo, one of these Mughal monarchs, known as Shah Jehan, commissioned a palace to be built for bae, his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Get you a guy who can build you a palace, girls! This token of his affections took twenty years to build, with expensive material shipped in all the way from China and Tibet, while that white, virginal marble was bought over from Rajasthan. So, in 1653, the world’s most photogenic building was completed.

While guys like Bartlett tried to capture its beauty on canvas, I can honestly say that it’s one of those places that you just gotta see in person. Because there’s a lot of architectural awesomeness going on there that one can’t get on film/camera/cell phone. But this wonder of the world wasn’t kept as pretty back in the 19th century. Housekeeping sucked and the place almost fell apart. But then the British rolled in and took over the restoration of the place, right after which Bartlett visited and made pictures of it. And when I say “took over” that includes the rest of the sub-continent too! There were precious few perks of colonialism but I suppose we can include good building maintenance as one of them…