Shah Jahan employed top architects and builders, as well as thousands of other workers—stone carvers and bricklayers, calligraphers and masters of gemstone inlay. Lapis lazuli came from Afghanistan, jade from China, coral from Arabia and rubies from Sri Lanka. Traders brought turquoise by yak across the mountains from Tibet. (The most precious stones had been looted long ago, says Preston.)

The first day I toured the complex, several hundred people were waiting in line to enter the mausoleum; I returned later in the week when the line was much shorter.

When I stepped down to photograph the trash heap, I felt an unnatural sponginess underfoot—the remains of a dead cow. According to Brij Khandelwal, Editor, Agratoday.in, who has reported on the subject for Indian publications, the bodies of children have also been interred here by people too poor to afford even a rudimentary funeral. The dump and ad hoc cemetery within view of the splendor of the Taj is a jarring reminder of the pressures and challenges of modern India. The state of Uttar Pradesh, where Agra is located, had plans in 2003 to develop this area for tourists. The project was called the Taj Corridor.

It is a great pleasure to present you Kadahi.com (कड़ाही.कॉम), an attractive and user friendly food guide.

Washington (USA): Global oil consumption reached an all-time high of 87.4 million barrels per day in 2010, according to a new Vital Signs Online report from the Worldwatch Institute.

Faridabad (Haryana): Website Kadahi.com was Monday afternoon launched after an ‘Online Dawat’ on Facebook, first of its own kind.