A near-replica of Agra’s Taj Mahal has been making news this week, as reports about the marble mausoleum built in Ammaiyappan village, Tiruvarur, by a son for his mother who passed away in 2020, have been going viral online.
“My four sisters and I were very young when we lost our father, a hardware merchant in Chennai. Our mother Jailani Biwi, who was just 36 then, brought us up single-handedly, and stayed by our side through thick and thin. After her demise at the age of 68 years in December 2020, we felt her presence should be an enduring one. So with my family’s consent, I decided to build this mausoleum for her on a one-acre plot in Ammaiyappan,” Amruddin Sheikh Dawood, told The Hindu.
Constructed over two years, the complex houses a mosque and madrassa (school for religious instruction), besides the grave of the deceased on 8,000 sq ft, and was built at a budget of nearly ₹5 crore.
Intricately carved trellis panels and water tanks are part of the edifice, bringing an exotic look to the structure in this rural setting.
Mr. Dawood, who is a rice merchant based out of Chennai, said that the resemblance to Taj Mahal was almost incidental. “We simply wanted a building that used elements of Mughal architecture, but the designer we consulted in Tiruchi suggested that our idea was very similar to that used in the famed monument, so we just went ahead,” he said.
“Since Taj Mahal was the inspiration, we felt that white Indian marble rather than granite, would be ideal. We sourced 80 tonnes of marble from Rajasthani quarries,” Mr. Dawood said.
North Indian artisans worked alongside local labourers to complete the building, which was formally inaugurated last week to visitors of all faiths.
Countering critics about the scope and budget of his dream project, Mr. Dawood said that the building was a symbol of the family’s love for their matriarch. “A mother’s affection is priceless, and in our family, she was the one who held us together all her life. This mausoleum is a humble gesture to show our respect for her, and also to inspire others to cherish their parents,” he said.
