It is India's most renowned monument, a visual wonder steeped in romance and visited by millions every year. But the task of cleaning the Taj Mahal has left national heritage officials with a problem: how to scale and scrub the building's delicate dome?
The man in charge does not yet have an answer.
"There are a lot of calculations we need to make," said Bhuvan Vikrama, the Taj Mahal's superintendent, in Agra. "We're having to think very hard about it."
Mr Vikrama works for the Archaeological Survey of India, which is responsible for the cleaning.
For centuries after the Taj Mahal's completion, in 1653, it required only a wash of rain to sweep away any dirt that may have coated the marble. But in the industrial age, the facades began to be coated in more persistent grime.
Workers started the current cleaning in the summer of 2015, in an attempt to restore its exteriors to their familiar, spotless-white brilliance.
But airborne pollution from factories in and around Agra left residues on the surface of the monument. Right next to the Taj Mahal, the Yamuna has become one of India’s filthiest rivers; the water pollution has, in turn, led to an explosion of a midge-like insect called Goeldichironomus.
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BJP officials attempt to wipe Taj Mahal off the tourist trail
The Taj Mahal has been caught in a rising tide of narrow nationalism
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The insects frequently rise in clouds from the Yamuna and settle on the back wall of the Taj Mahal, the wall closest to the river. Here they excrete a substance full of chlorophyll, which leaves green stains upon the shining marble.
The monument, built as a mausoleum by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, attracts seven to eight million visitors every year, according to government statistics.
Roughly 800,000 come from overseas just to see the Taj Mahal, its profile so seemingly perfect that the poet Rabindranath Tagore described it as "a teardrop on the cheek of time".
The cleaning project has been conducted despite visitors tramping through the site. Workers have had to be careful not to use chemicals that risk pitting or dissolving the marble. Instead, as if the Taj Mahal were a customer at their beauty parlour, Mr Vikrama administered it a mud pack.
"We use Fuller’s earth," a clay mineral, "in a paste and apply it on the marble," he said. "When it dries, it tends to naturally extract the impurities from the surface. Then it's taken off, and the surface is washed down with water."
The process is slow. Fuller's earth needs time to dry, and workers can work on only a small patch at a time. Between 30 and 40 workers at a time have been treating small sections of the walls and the minarets with Fuller’s earth over the last two-and-a-half years, using scaffolding to access the upper reaches.
But the same scaffolding cannot be used on the onion-shaped dome, which spans 58 feet across and 115 feet in height. The dome weighs more than 12,000 tonnes, but it is still a delicate structure, and vulnerable if any significant load is added upon it.
"The usual metal scaffolding would be too heavy," Mr Vikrama said.
"We’re calculating the load of the scaffolding. Maybe if there's a lighter version of modern scaffolding, that's a possibility."
An alternative might involve bamboo. In the 1940s, when minor repairs were carried out upon the dome, a bamboo scaffold was erected.
Once work on the dome begins, it will require an estimated nine to 12 months to complete the cleaning. "We have to be careful, but we'll eventually get there.”," Mr Vikrama added.
Although the stains aren't damaging, they are hard to miss. When Prakash Srikumar travelled from Chennai to Agra with his family in December, he noticed the splodges of green upon the wall.
"It definitely ruins the beauty of the Taj Mahal," Mr Srikumar told The National.
"From afar, when you're walking towards it, it looks white and pristine. But you get up close and you see all this grime and these green spots as well."
The scaffolding and disruption are not the only worry for the building's caretakers.
Many believe the number of visitors is reaching unsustainable levels. In December, not long after Mr Srikumar visited, a temporary ban on entering the main crypt of the Taj Mahal, which holds replicas of the graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, was invoked.
From April 1, when the crypt reopens, tourists will have to pay an additional 200 rupees to enter it, in addition to the 50 rupee admission ticket for the Taj Mahal itself.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
Al Nasr 2
(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
(Jaber 13)
57%20Seconds
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
What is 'Soft Power'?
Soft power was first mentioned in 1990 by former US Defence Secretary Joseph Nye.
He believed that there were alternative ways of cultivating support from other countries, instead of achieving goals using military strength.
Soft power is, at its root, the ability to convince other states to do what you want without force.
This is traditionally achieved by proving that you share morals and values.
Everything Now
Arcade Fire
(Columbia Records)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
Book%20Details
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Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Handicap | US$135,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres
7.05pm: Handicap | $135,000 (Turf) | 1,200m
7.40pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (T) | 2,000m
8.15pm: UAE Oaks | Group 3 | $250,000 (D) | 1,900m
8.50pm: Zabeel Mile | Group 2 | $250,000 (T) | 1,600m
9.20pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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