Vol. VI, No. 6.] Who Planned the Taj ? 285 



[JTA] 



fifteen millions of Spanish pesos were ordered to be spent, a sum 

 amounting to the three krors above-said ; and, for the better 

 understanding of the curious reader, let it be known that a kror 

 is a hundred lakhs, and a lakh a hundred thousand rupees, and 

 a rupee half a Spanish peso. ' ' 



This, then, is the text which must be got rid of. And 

 why? What are the insuperable difficulties, the "wild im- 

 probabilities " militating against it ? 



The Taj was begun in 1630 or 1631 and completed in 1648, 

 and here is a traveller who saw it, when the work was in full 

 swing. He spent at least 26 days in Agra, and was the guest of 

 the Jesuits, than whom he could have had no better informed 

 cieerones. They knew the place ; they knew its history. Since 

 the days of Father Jerome Xavier, from 1595 to 1641, there 

 had been no break of continuity in their stay at Agra. What 

 was more natural than that Manrique, who must have kept a 

 diary, should have questioned them on all matters of interest ? 

 Among the things worth recording, he noted that Veroneo had 

 supplied the plans of the Taj and superintended the work. 



Fathers de Oliveira and de Cruz were at Agra in 1641, and 

 they could know, since fame had carried far and wide the report 

 of Veroneo 's share in the matter, even to minute particulars of his 

 interviews with Shah Jahan. 



One who surely knew was Father J. de Castro. He had been 

 in the Mogul Empire since 1610, had occupied a high position of 

 influence under Jahangir, and acted as Chaplain to Mirza Zu'l 

 Qarnin, Court-poet under Jahangir, and Governor in Bengal, 

 (Patna ?) under Shah Jahan (1629 — 32). We have letters of his 

 dated Agra, 1633, 1637, 1638, 1640 and 1641. Finally, he was 

 Veroneo 5 s executor. During his stay at Lahore, Manrique was 

 Father de Castro's guest. He had ample opportunities of 

 satisfying his curiosity ; but, even after his conversations with 

 Father de Castro, Frey Manrique wrote as we have seen. What 

 interest had he to write otherwise than he heard ? Or what 

 interest had the Jesuits, the Portuguese and other foreigners, 

 with whom Manrique wa brought into contact, to speak other- 

 wise than they knew ? 



The a priori theories of some writers on the respective merits 

 and the peculiar character of Indian and Western art — in ap- 

 preciations of this nature a broad margin is left for the sub- 

 jective — cannot weigh up against the cool testimony of a level- 

 headed contemporary traveller. If Veroneo 5 s name were found 

 in Manrique only en passant, there might be room for carping ; 

 but, the circumstantial evidence adduced is such as must satisfy 

 the ' ' ordinary ' ' historian in matters historical. 



Mr. E. B. Havell, the late Principal of the Calcutta School 

 of Arts, has acquired some celebrity by his writings on the Taj. 

 Viewed in the light of Manrique's account, his opinions about 

 its origin are found wanting all round. Let me quote only one 



