I understand it was on this day in 1631 that Mumtaz Mahal died during childbirth, a tragedy not uncommon in that time and place. What is uncommon was the reaction of her widower, Shah Jahan I. For the next seventeen years he poured his wealth into the creation of a monument to his love.
It is easy to slip into a meditation on the excesses of princes. But, today I find myself more called to a reflection on love, even obsessive love.
And the miracle of human intimacy…
Its sweetness.
And in its passingness
Despite even monuments,
in its passingness
its sorrow…
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