The Incomplete Crown

As the roads winds to the old city of Bhopal, keep an eye out for Taj-ul-masjid. While it is nothing dramatic as compared to the Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabhi, it is nothing short of majestic. It is considered as one of the largest mosques in India, as well as the largest mosques in Asia.

Literally meaning “the crown of mosques”, the construction was initiated during the reign of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar by Nawab Shah Jahan Begum of Bhopal, and was continued to be built by her daughter Sultan Jahan Begum, till her lifetime. Due to lack of funds, the mosque was not completed that time. After a long lay-off, the construction was once again started in 1971 and was completed by 1985.

The entire architecture resembles the Mughal era, and for a moment I was confused if I was back in old Delhi. It was sad to see the blatant neglect of this beautiful piece of history. Sprawling over an area of approximately 23,000 sq.ft, the mosque is completely built using red sandstone with 27 interlinked ceilings adorned with petal motifs, entrance gate decorate with motifs from circa 1250 Syrian mosque by the contribution of the Emir of Kuwait, and three white domes on its rooftop.