Taj Mahal, Bulandshahr

Taj Mahal or Mini Taj Mahal or Qadri's Taj Mahal, officially known as Maqbara Yadgare Mohabbat Tajammuli Begum[1] is a replica of the historic Taj Mahal of Agra[2] located in Kaser Kalan, a small village in Bulandshahr of Uttar Pradesh, India.[3] It was built by an 81-year-old retired postmaster, Faizul Hasan Qadri in the memory of his dead wife Tajamulli Begum, who died due to throat cancer in 2011.[4][5][6]

Construction edit

A total of Rs 15 lakh spent in construction of Qadri's Taj Mahal.[7] Faizul Hasan Qadri sold a piece of land for ₹ 6 lac and his wife's jewellery for ₹ 1.5 lac and got the mausoleum constructed with the help of a local. Qadri refused to take financial help of then CM Akhilesh Yadav,[8] as he wanted to build it from his saving.[9][10] The work for Qadri's 'Taj Mahal' has been halted due to lack of finances.[11]

About founder edit

In June 2017, it was reported by Hindustan Times that Faizul Hasn Qadri donated his last piece of land for a government school for girls, even when his ‘Taj Mahal’ project was incomplete, due to lack of finances.[12][13]

The founder of Taj Mahal, Bulandshahr, Faizul Hasn Qadri died on 9 November 2018 in a road accident.[14] He was buried next to his wife in the Maqbara Yadgare Mohabbat Tajammuli Begum that he made in Kaser Kalan village of Bulandshahr.[15]

In popular culture edit

In 2016, it was featured in History TV18's TV show OMG! Yeh Mera India of Season 2, hosted by Krishna Abhishek.[16]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Retired post office clerk builds his own 'Taj Mahal'". Rediff.com. 31 August 2015.
  2. ^ Ledbetter, Carly (11 November 2014). "7 Other Taj Mahals That Look Extremely Similar To The Original". HuffPost.
  3. ^ Haleem, Suhail (23 July 2013). "Indian builds a Taj Mahal for his wife". BBC.
  4. ^ Khandelwal, Peeyush (21 August 2015). "This retired UP postmaster built a Taj Mahal for his 'Mumtaz'". Hindustan Times.
  5. ^ "A humble Indian postman builds a Taj Mahal for his wife". No. 8 December 2014. The National.
  6. ^ "Small wonder: Indian postmaster builds own 'Taj Mahal' for late wife". The Express Tribune. 21 August 2015.
  7. ^ "OMG! बीवी की याद में बनवा दिया ताजमहल" (in Hindi). News 18. 6 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Uttar Pradesh Government to Help Retired Man Build 'Mini' Taj Mahal in Bulandshahr". NDTV. 22 August 2015.
  9. ^ Kapur, Manavi (29 August 2015). "Faizul Hasan Qadri is building a 'Taj Mahal'". Business Standard.
  10. ^ "Meet today's Shah Jahan, who's building new Taj Mahal". Zee News. 20 August 2015.
  11. ^ "In his journey of love, UP Muslim man surrenders his 'Taj Mahal' dream to build girls' school". OneIndia. 24 June 2017.
  12. ^ Khandelwal, Peeyush (24 June 2017). "Now a school for girls next to Bulandshahr's 'Taj Mahal', thanks to this retired postmaster". Hindustan Times.
  13. ^ "In his journey of love, UP Muslim man surrenders his 'Taj Mahal' dream to build girls' school". OneIndia. 24 June 2017.
  14. ^ "Mini Taj Mahal maker for wife dies in a road accident". The Sentinel. 10 November 2018.
  15. ^ "'Mini Taj' maker Faizul Hasan Qadri dies in accident; to be buried next to his Begum in his 'monument'". The Financial Express (India). 10 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Qadri's Taj Mahal". History TV18. 2 November 2016.