Sindh man builds ‘mini Taj Mahal’ as a tribute for the ‘love of his life’

A man in Sindh, Abdul Rasool Pali made his own replica of the Taj Mahal after he fell in love with the real Mughal monument.

Known as the monument of love, the Taj Mahal in Agra, India was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Begum. The mausoleum which houses the graves of both Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Begum has been the subject of many poems, songs and films.

The landlord-cum-lawyer in Umerkot made an exact model of the monument 800km away.

Speaking to BBC Urdu, Pali said that he is already famous in the village of Dhibo for building the village cemetery. He is now making waves internationally with his recreation.

The 65-year-old has 9,000 acres of land to his name, being the largest land-owner in the area. He fell in love with the Mughal monument back in 1980 when he visited India for the first time.

He hired a mason, Sher Muhammad for the task.

Abdul Rasool and Sher Muhammad plotted the building in their minds to build a small Taj Mahal  with 20 feet height and 18 feet width.

Pali shared that he got married at a very young age. His wife Maryam was 40 years old at the time while he was 18. Despite the age difference, their ‘arranged marriage’ turned into ‘love’ within a few days and the couple loved travelling together. In Hyderabad, he used to visit Rani Bagh and Jamshoro.

After 40 years of marriage, his wife died of a stroke in 2015.

The death of his beloved Maryam made Abdul Rasool more adamant to build the monument despite the opposition of the locals calling it a waste. It took him six months and Rs 1.3 million to tribute the love of his life.