A group of artisans from Dholka taluka here have built a replica of the world famous monument Taj Mahal to bring the magical experience of witnessing this architectural wonder in Gujarat itself.
The 51-feet high Taj Mahal replica has been erected behind the Dholka railway station near the artists' workshop and has folding components, which would enable the structure to be moved to different locations.
"In 2004, we had made a Taj Mahal out of thermocol which was highly appreciated by the people. The governor of Gujarat had come to see the structure," team leader of the group of 54 artisans Ishtiyaq Ali told PTI.
"After the thermocol structure, there was overwhelming response from people who asked us to built Taj Mahal replica that they could touch and feel just like the original one in Agra. So we decided to make a structure where one can walk through, touch the walls with intricate designs," he said.
Ali said that they began building the Taj Mahal with help of iron, wood and PVC material two years ago. "We used the iron and wood because we wanted a structure which could be dismantled and transported to other location," he added.
According to Ali, he and other members of his group had visited Taj Mahal in Agra seven times and photographed the monument from different angles, its various components and designs on the walls, which they used in building the structure here. Another member of the team, Abdul Rahim said the replica of Taj Mahal would give a glimpse of the original masterpiece.
"There could be nothing like seeing the original Taj Mahal in Agra. But here we have tried to make the replica as close to the original monument so that people in the state could get a glimpse of what they would get to see in Agra," Rahim said.
He said that the structure was in final stages and is being given finishing touches. "The structure would be open for people in next 2-3 weeks time," Rahim said.
The structure is 51-feet high and spread across over 5,000 sq ft area. In building the structure over 20 tonnes of iron and 34,000 sq ft of wood and plywood has been used.
"The entire structure could be dismantled and put into 30 trucks and taken to any other location," Rahim said. The structure took artists, two years time to reach near completion stage, he said, adding that the cost of building the Taj Mahal replica was over Rs 95 lakh.
Ali said that the money was contributed by "Dreamland Art Group" a group of over 350 traditional artisans involved in making Taziyas for several generations.
Also, while building this structure no trees have been cut, they have been made part of the landscape, he added.
Taj Mahal was build by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is also one of the Unesco's World Heritage sites, which is made out of white marble.