Central to Shahjahan’s imagination of the Taj was the Yamuna River. To oversee its construction and later to pay homage, he would have travelled by long boat from the Agra Fort, his entire vision of the complex defined by this view. This was his concept of ‘jannat’ as much as it was the apogee of Mughal architectural ambition. Far from being restricted to the char bagh beyond, it is more than possible that the river was the centre of his grand plan. That he could appropriate the river was a stupendous idea, but he was the Emperor of India. The monument would be reflected always in the river; the metaphors are immense. Across the river from where this photograph is taken, lies Mehtab Bagh. It is a mirror image of the scale of the Taj, its central platform the same size as the Takht of the Taj. This was the moonlight garden or the pleasure garden designed for the Emperor to view the mausoleum in all its glory in the moonlight. TAJ MAHAL, AGRA, UTTAR PRADESH Thought by ILF Expert Amita Baig