Taj Mahal

14 Stories

He Told His Wife, 'I Will Make a Taj Mahal You Can Live In'

That's exactly what India's Anand Prakash Chouksey has now done

(Newser) - It took 22 years to build India's Taj Mahal, but only three years to build a replica roughly a third of its size, now home to an Indian couple in Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh. Businessman Anand Prakash Chouksey, 52, says he built the "monument of love" at a cost...

Guards Ward Off Monkeys With a New Weapon

Tourists suffer at least two monkey attacks per month

(Newser) - In a bid to ward off marauding monkeys that gather around the world-famous Taj Mahal, security guards have taken to patrolling the area with something new: slingshots, the New York Times reports. Indeed, the gangs of cheeky critters in Agra, India, may look cute, but tourists tend not to appreciate...

Fed-Up Judge Wants Taj Mahal Cleaned—Quickly

'You all appear to be helpless,' he tells government officials

(Newser) - The Taj Mahal, that shining white monument to love, is turning a little ... green. And yellow. And black. And India's Supreme Court is not pleased. "You all appear to be helpless," a Supreme Court judge told government officials earlier this week, after an environmental lawyer argued that...

India Seeks Help as Taj Mahal Changes Color

'Privatization' of monument alarms critics

(Newser) - India's most famous monument is slowly turning from white to yellow, brown, and green—and the country's Supreme Court is accusing the government of not caring. At a hearing Tuesday, India's top court ordered the government to seek advice from overseas and spend whatever it takes to...

5 Places You Shouldn't Visit in 2018

Maybe hold off on that Taj Mahal trip till 2019

(Newser) - At the beginning of each calendar year, travel companies and publications often push out lists of places around the world you should try to explore in the coming months. Fodor's takes a different tack with its "No List," detailing the locations it thinks you should avoid in...

Taj Mahal Becoming 'Disfigured' Due to Insect Poop

Authorities blame polluted river

(Newser) - Swarms of insects breeding in a polluted river near the Taj Mahal are threatening the intricate marble inlay work at the 17th-century monument to love by leaving green and black patches of waste on its walls, archaeological experts say. Workers scrub the walls clean every day, but the regular scrubbing...

William and Kate Recreate Princess Di's Taj Mahal Photo

A 'day when a new royal narrative was written'

(Newser) - Ever since Princess Diana posed for a photo there in 1992, visitors to India's Taj Mahal have been told about the "Diana bench," the BBC reports. On Saturday, two such visitors who posed for a photo on the marble bench had a more personal connection to it...

Tourist Dies Taking Selfie at Taj Mahal

He reportedly fell from stairs, though reports conflict

(Newser) - A Japanese tourist died while visiting the Taj Mahal Friday, and one eyewitness tells the BBC the man was taking a selfie at the time. He reportedly fell down the stairs at the monument, lost consciousness, and died of head injuries at a nearby hospital; one of the three other...

India: Let's Jail Miss Universe for Taj Mahal Photo Shoot

Olivia Culpo shot a shoe commercial there

(Newser) - Indian police have filed a case against Miss Universe, American Olivia Culpo , for an unauthorized fashion shoot at the Taj Mahal, India's white-marble monument to love, a police officer said today. Police Inspector Sushant Gaur said Culpo and others in her group are accused of violating India's Heritage...

21 Killed in India Train Wreck
 21 Killed in India Train Wreck 
Oct 21, 2009 3:18 AM CDT

21 Killed in India Train Wreck

Train plows into rear car reserved for women, disabled

(Newser) - An Indian passenger train plowed into another near the Taj Mahal early today, killing 21 people and injuring more than a dozen. The rear car of the struck train, which was reserved for women and disabled passengers, took the brunt of the impact. Soldiers and villagers near the accident in...

Taj Knockoff Angers India
 Taj Knockoff Angers India 
Dec 12, 2008 2:21 PM CST

Taj Knockoff Angers India

Say there might be a copyright issue somehow

(Newser) - A knockoff of the Taj Mahal has caused a full-blown diplomatic incident between India and Bangladesh, the London Times reports, and potentially one of the weirdest copyright disputes ever. Bangladeshi film mogul Ahsanullah Moni began showing his $80 million copy of the Taj this week, enraging Indians. “You can’...

Riots Break Out Near Taj Mahal
Riots Break Out Near Taj Mahal
Aug 30, 2007 8:09 AM CDT

Riots Break Out Near Taj Mahal

Deaths of 4 Muslims sends Agra into chaos; officials order tourists off the streets

(Newser) - Riots broke out in northern India yesterday after four Muslim youths were crushed to death by a truck while participating in a religious festival. Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, was under a curfew after cars were torched, 50 officers were injured by protesters throwing rocks, and one civilian was...

7 New Wonders Wear Crown
7 New Wonders Wear Crown
Jul 7, 2007 6:26 PM CDT

7 New Wonders Wear Crown

Online poll spreads the wealth to South America, Asia

(Newser) - The largest online poll ever conducted wrapped up yesterday, and today the results became official. The seven wonders of the modern world, which were announced in Portugal, include an Asian engineering triumph and a South American religious monument, but not the Great Pyramid of Giza—the Egyptian government refused to...

Taj Mahal Needs a Facial
Taj Mahal
Needs a Facial
May 16, 2007 6:52 AM CDT

Taj Mahal Needs a Facial

India considers mud pack to clean yellowing monument

(Newser) - The Taj Mahal doesn't have any problems that couldn't be cured by a day at the spa. Centuries of pollution have left the enormous mausoleum with a yellow tinge; to restore its marble to pristine white, India is considering applying a clay mask.

14 Stories