Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal (/ˌtɑːdʒ məˈhɑːl/, more often /ˈtɑːʒ/; Persian for "Crown of Palaces", pronounced [ˈt̪aːdʒ mɛˈɦɛl]) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658), to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 42-acre complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion rupees (US$827 million). The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the court architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.

Taj Mahal (musician)

Henry Saint Clair Fredericks (born May 17, 1942), who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He often incorporates elements of world music into his works. A self-taught singer-songwriter and film composer who plays the guitar, piano, banjo and harmonica (among many other instruments), Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his almost 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa and the South Pacific.

Early life

Born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Jr. on May 17, 1942 in Harlem, New York, Mahal grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. Raised in a musical environment, his mother was a member of a local gospel choir and his father was a West Indian jazz arranger and piano player. His family owned a shortwave radio which received music broadcasts from around the world, exposing him at an early age to world music. Early in childhood he recognized the stark differences between the popular music of his day and the music that was played in his home. He also became interested in jazz, enjoying the works of musicians such as Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Milt Jackson. His parents came of age during the Harlem Renaissance, instilling in their son a sense of pride in his West Indian and African ancestry through their stories.

Taj Mahal (1999 film)

Taj Mahal is a 1999 Tamil film directed by Bharathiraja. The film featured the director's son, Manoj, alongside fellow debutant Riya Sen in the lead roles, with an ensemble supporting cast including Revathi, Radhika and Ranjitha. The film's story was written by Mani Ratnam while music was composed by A.R.Rahman and Madhu Ambat handled the camera. The story of the film revolved around two clashing communities and two lovers caught in the vortex of their rivalry. The film fared poorly at the 1999 Deepavali releases box office.

Plot

Thiruppaachi and Sengulam are neighboring villages with a history of enmity between them. Maayan (Manoj) and Machakanni (Riya Sen) meet on the day of her engagement and its love at first sight. Her marriage itself gets called off when the groom and his family insult Machakanni's family and her romance with Maayan continues. But when her brother finds out about him, all hell breaks loose. The turned-down bridegroom is still itching for revenge and figuring out that the only way to extract it is to marry Machakanni, he pleads for forgiveness and succeeds in melting her brother's heart. The marriage is finalised but Maayan's friends swear to unite the star-crossed lovers. There is also a subplot of Maayan's aunt(Radhika) trying to get her daughter married off to Maayan.

United Breweries Group

United Breweries Group or UB Group is an Indian conglomerate company headquartered in UB City, Bangalore in the state of Karnataka. The company has annual sales of over US$4.5 billion and a market capitalization of approximately US$12 billion. Its core business includes beverages, aviation, electrical and chemical fertilizers. The company markets beer under the Kingfisher brand, and owns various other brands of alcoholic beverages. It also launched Kingfisher Airlines, an airline in India whose operation has been halted after problems in 2014,that led to its licence being revoked by the DGCA. United Breweries is India's largest producer of beer with a market share of around 48% by volume.

The company chairman is Vijay Mallya, who had been a member of the Indian Parliament. United Breweries now has greater than a 40% share of the Indian brewing market with 79 distilleries and bottling units across the world. Recently, UB financed a takeover of the spirits business of the rival Shaw-Wallace company, giving it a majority share of India's spirits business. The group also owns the Mendocino Brewing Company in the United States.

Taj Mahal (1941 film)

Taj Mahal (1941 film) is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1941 directed by Nanubhai Vakil and had Nazir and Suraiya in pivotal roles under the Banner of Sri Meenakshi Pictures.Film music was by Damodar.Film songs lyricists were Behzad Lakhnavi,S. Khalil and Pandit Anuj.Playback singers were Indurani and Fakir Mohammad.

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Taj Mahal (2008 film)

Taj Mahal (Kannada: ತಾಜ್‌ಮಹಲ್) is a 2008 Indian Kannada romantic drama film directed and written by R. Chandru and starring Ajay Rao and Pooja Gandhi. Produced by T. Shivashankar Reddy, the film is Chandru's directoral debut. The film opened on 25 July 2008 to generally positive reviews from critics and enjoyed a 150-day run. Music director Abhiman Roy was awarded the Best Music Director accolade at the Karnataka State Film Awards for his film score.

Production

Sunil Raoh was asked to play the lead but backed out, citing personal reasons. Ajay Rao, who had one successful role in the film Excuse Me, replaced Raoh. Taj Mahal's success enhanced Rao's career. Upon the film's release, some viewers called Chandru, accusing him of basing the film on their lives. Chandru dismissed these claims and stated that the film was based on events in a friend's life.

Cast