Taj Mahal cleaning in full swing, ASI committed to restore Taj’s waned radiance

With the passage of time, the sheen and glamour that made Taj Mahal one of the 7 wonders of the world had started dying out, and the rising air pollution is the obvious culprit. Taking note of this occurrence, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has pulled up its socks to restore the Taj to its former glory. Reportedly, work on polishing the Taj Mahal had begun in 2015. The ASI has employed various techniques to renovate the medieval monument. However, it is now figuring out a tactic to access the tip of the dome, the ‘Crown of the Palace.’
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Since its inception in 17th century, this is the first time ever Taj Mahal is undergoing a thorough cleansing process. According to the published reports, the ASI says that the annual monsoon was sufficient to remove the muck off the monument, but due to the growing air pollution, it has turned the white marble into yellowish. And in areas that escaped the reaches of rain water, the marble has turned black. Now, the officials are using fuller’s earth or multani mitti, a soft mud used since ancient times, to clear away the stains on the white marble.

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Since the ASI is working rigorously to clean this pride of Agra, some parts of the Taj Mahal have been shielded in metal scaffolding intermittently. But the ASI is concerned about covering the gentle dome in ordinary scaffolding as it may be too heavy for it. They are, however, thinking of using custom-made bamboo scaffolding for the dome – an idea that was a success during the cleaning job in the 1940s.
The cleaning of Taj Mahal is expected to finish in 2019.