Posted on 08/13/2018 8:55:29 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The saying goes that the Taj Mahal is pinkish in the morning, milky white in the evening, and golden when the moon shines. Though this may once have been true for the famously pristine marble monument, a mixture of pollution and poor management has now burdened the Taj with a 24-hour layer of yellowy-brown. Condemning the "lethargy" of restoration efforts, India's Supreme Court recently told the government to restore the Taj or demolish it.
Located in Agra, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, the Taj Mahal is one of the most iconically beautiful buildings in the world. Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a testament to his grief, following the death of his first wife Mumtaz Mahal, Rabindranath Tagore called it "a tear running down the cheek of time".
The Taj was constructed of translucent white marble, brought to Agra from the north-west Indian region of Rajasthan. It was then inlaid with semiprecious stones, including jasper, jade, turquoise, lapis lazuli, sapphire and carnelian. The whole riverside complex, including the gardens and surrounding sandstone walls, was finished in 1653...
Allegedly, excrement from the many insects that thrive in the contaminated river water has hastened the damage, but the effect is surely negligible compared to that of fossil fuel-derived sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.
Since 1998, a range of Indian research institutes have explored restoration methods, and millions have been spent trying to reverse the discolouration. One attempt involved smothering the Taj with damp clay poultices similar to face packs. It was hoped they would draw the damaging acids out of the surface layers of marble, but, if anything, they seem to have made the situation worse.
(Excerpt) Read more at theconversation.com ...
I visited the Taj two years ago... Two of the minarets were scaffolded and were undergoing the “mud treatment” described in the article. I doubted then that such a treatment would be effective.
Maybe it’s yellowing some... but, it remains a BEAUTIFUL structure and one of the most amazing places I have been in my life.
Getting INTO the place wasn’t so thrilling. But, the grounds are breathtaking.
LOL!
That's been a puzzle for a long time. I read a cogent explanation not that many years ago, but it's not in the noggin, or at least it's not near the top of the pile. The other possiblity was that just the portico was original, and the rest of the temple built by Marcus Agrippa was wood and brick, didn't survive the fire of Rome, and the portico was left standing./blockquote>
How air pollution, a dying river and defecating insects threaten the Taj Mahal
Garbage covers the area by the Yamuna River near the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.
http://www.telegraphherald.com/ap/international/article_32ec8874-e028-5641-8515-50f49bcf77b9.html
The once mighty Yamuna — after being dammed upstream to provide electricity for the region surrounding India’s capital, New Delhi — now runs low and thick with trash and untreated waste, and blooms with insect-attracting algae.
...He walked over to a derelict sewage treatment plant whose windows were broken and watched a pipe deliver effluent directly into the riverbed, foaming with chemicals as it cascaded down.
All it needs is a good pressure wash.
I got some guys I know...
5.56mm
Yeah, the world's only takeout restaurant that's on the UN list of World Heritage Sites.
It wouldn't be the most farfetched thing they've tried.
Thanks cynwoody, I set it up to make that easier. There's another pic at the article that is apparently larger format than that, but my 20+ year old machine wouldn't load it. :^)
That would require more clean water than there is in all of India. There's a chunk of southern India, coming off the west coastline, that is a desert now, and that's probably the place India should spend development resources, otherwise it will overgrow the rest of the subcontinent.
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