1. Power point presentation on
‘Taj Mahal’
Radhika R M
New B Ed College, Nellimoodu
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2. Taj Mahal
by Rabindranath Tagore

3. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

4. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Famous Bengali poet, playwright, philosopher and novelist.
reshaped Bengali literature and music as well as Indian art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for his Gitanjali.

5. THEME
Taj Mahal is perhaps the most beautiful monument ever made. Rabindranath Tagore in his poem ‘Shah Jahan’ pays a most fitting tribute to the greatness of the emperor as well as the monument he made.

6. TAJ MAHAL You knew, Emperor of India, Shah Jahan,
That life, youth, wealth, renown
All float away down the stream of time.
Your only dream
Was to preserve forever your heart’s pain.
The harsh thunder of imperial power
Would fade into sleep
Like a sunset’s crimson splendour,
But it was your hope
That at least a single, eternally-heaved sigh would stay
To grieve the sky.
Though emeralds, rubies, pearls are all
But as the glitter of a rainbow tricking out empty air
And must pass away,
Yet still one solitary tear
Would hang on the cheek of time
In the form
Of this white and gleaming Taj Mahal.

7. Shah Jahan

8. Mumtaz Mahal

9. DIFFICULT WORDS
Emerald

10. Stream

11. Sunset’s crimson splendour

12. Ruby

13. Pearls

14. Rainbow

15. Solitary tear

16. Yamuna

17. Summary
All of you know Shah Jahan, the great emperor of India. The poet says, the emperor knew that in the stream of life everything, including life, youth and wealth would float away. Shah Jahan’s only dream was to preserve his heart’s pain forever. The harsh thunder of imperial power would fade away as the crimson splendour of sunset fades. But Shah Jahan hoped that at least a single eternally heaved sigh would remain consoling the sky. The glittering of precious stones too fade away as the glitter of a rainbow vanishes just after making the sky bright for a few minutes. However, the white gleaming Taj Mahal would remain as a solitary tear on the cheek of time forever.

18. Review Questions
What, in the poet’s view, are the things that would float away down the stream of time?
What do you think was Shah Jahan’s ‘heart’s pain’?
Why is ‘imperial power compared ‘to the splendour of sunset?
Pick out two instances of simile from the poem.

19. THANK YOU