最愛の妻のためにタージマハル、インド人実業家がレプリカ建設

【ブルハンプルＡＦＰ＝時事】愛と歴史を重んじるインド人実業家が、世界でもっとも有名な夫婦の「愛の記念碑」をまねて、最愛の妻のためにタージマハルのレプリカを建てた。（写真はインド中部マディヤプラデシュ州ブルハンプルで、タージマハルのレプリカの前で見学に来た子どもたちと写真撮影をするアナンド・プラカシュ・チョクシーさん）
　本物は、１７世紀にムガール帝国の皇帝シャー・ジャハーンが、出産が原因で死亡した妻のムムターズ・マハルの霊廟（れいびょう）として建設した。
　アナンド・プラカシュ・チョクシーさん（５２）がレプリカを建てたいきさつに悲劇的なエピソードはない。妻は健在で、建設プロジェクトの相談にも乗った。
　「妻の唯一の要望は、瞑想（めいそう）室だった」とチョクシーさんはＡＦＰに話した。「妻によれば、建物のドームの影響で環境が変わり、ポジティブなエネルギーがたくさん生じるそうだ」
　本物は首都ニューデリーの南方アグラにあるが、レプリカは８００キロ離れたブルハンプルに建てられた。
　レプリカの大きさは本物の約３分の１で、建築期間は本物よりも十数年短い３年だった。費用は１５００万ルピー（約２３００万円）かかった。
　「タージマハルに使われたものと同じマクラナ産の大理石を使った」とチョクシーさんは明かした。
　メインドームの上にインド国旗を掲揚し、建物を囲む四つのミナレット（塔）にはインドの信者数上位４宗教のシンボルを入れる計画だ。
　チョクシーさんは「平和と宗教間の調和のメッセージを伝えたい。どこも憎しみがあふれているが、愛は人生のすべての問題を解決する。タージマハルはその象徴だ」と話した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/11/29-13:31）

A lovestruck and historically minded Indian husband has emulated the world's most famous display of marital devotion by building for his wife a replica of the Taj Mahal.
The original Monument to Love was constructed on the orders of heartbroken Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz, in the 17th century.
Anand Prakash Chouksey's beloved remains very much alive, and even helped consult on the project and his version of the marble wonder of the world, around one-third the size of the original.
My wife's only demand was for a meditation room. She's a spiritual woman, the 52-year-old businessman told AFP.
She says the dome creates a different environment and there is a lot of positive energy.
- Teardrop -
The original Taj Mahal -- dubbed a teardrop on the cheek of time by writer Rabindranath Tagore -- is in Agra south of Delhi, however the new replica is 800 kilometres (500 miles) away in Burhanpur.
But the central Indian city is none other than the place where Mumtaz died while giving birth to her 14th child in June 1632, having accompanied Shah Jahan to quell a local revolt.
Mumtaz's body was even initially buried there too, and according to locals Shah Jahan had at first wanted to build the Taj Mahal for her on the banks of the river Tapti.
The soil structure back then was not suitable to build the Taj here that's how it was decided to be built in Agra, Chouksey explained.
The city is still home to the dilapidated remains of the palace where the royals lived, including a once-beautiful hammam or bathhouse built by Shah Jahan for his wife to relax in before she died.
- Message of peace -
Chouksey's story has none of the tragedy and building his new home has taken him three years -- a dozen less than the mausoleum that inspired it.
It cost 15 million rupees ($200,000) to build.
We used marble from Makrana to build the house, which is the same that was used to build the Taj Mahal, he said.
Chouksey plans to mount an Indian flag on top of the main dome and add symbols from India's most popular religions to the four minarets surrounding his new manor.
We want to send a message of peace and religious harmony. There is a lot of hate around. Love solves all problems in life and Taj Mahal is a symbol of that.