Stand on the Taj Mahal’s marble platform and look left and right. Flanking the tomb are two long red sandstone buildings with white domes, so alike they look like twins. They are not. One is a mosque. The other was built for one reason only: so that the mosque would not stand alone.
In this article
The Mosque
The building on the western side, to your left as you face the river, is a mosque. It faces west, towards Mecca, as every mosque in India does, and it was built as part of the tomb complex so that prayers could be said beside the grave. It is still in use.
That is why the Taj Mahal is closed to general visitors on Fridays: the mosque is open for the midday Friday prayer, which is the most important congregational prayer of the week. Our visiting guide has the details.
The Jawab
The building on the eastern side mirrors the mosque almost exactly. It is called the jawab, which means “answer” or “reply”. Because it faces the wrong way for prayer, it could not serve as a mosque. It exists to answer the mosque architecturally, so that the composition is perfectly balanced around the tomb.
Symmetry as an Idea
The jawab tells you how seriously the Taj’s designers took symmetry. The whole complex is built on a central axis, from the gate through the garden to the tomb, and almost everything on one side has a twin on the other. The garden itself follows the four-part plan we described in the charbagh.
A whole, purpose-built building to keep the picture even is the clearest proof.
What to Look For
Both buildings repay a closer look, and both are quieter than the tomb. Notice the white marble domes against the red stone, the inlaid decoration on the facades and the painted interiors. From the jawab’s platform you also get an unusual sideways view of the tomb. Remember that the mosque is a place of worship, so dress and behave accordingly.
For a meal after your visit, Tajnuma on Fatehabad Road is minutes away and opens at 12:00 pm.
