Monday, 26 August 2013

Devoted husband spends his life savings so he can build a scale replica of the Taj Mahal in honour of his dead wife, in his garden.

Faizul Hasan Kadari, 77, has used up his life saving to build the miniature 50ft by 50ft version of the iconic structure in memory of his wife Tajammuli

He embarked on the project after promising his wife, who was childless, on her deathbed that he would create something that she would be remembered by.
So far he has spent £10,500 of his life savings, sold off family heirlooms and raided his pension to build the 5000sq ft structure.

He is struggling to complete the job because of a lack of money but refuses to take donations as he wants to prove his devotion to his wife, who died in December 2011

Mr Kadari said: 'I never had any children and my wife told me on her death bed that since we don't have anyone to continue our name we will be forgotten.

'That day I promised her that I will make a grave in her name so grand the entire world will remember us forever.'

Mr Kadari can see the Taj Mahal from his home in rural Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh state, India.
His decision to copy it is fitting as the original structure in Agra was itself a loving tribute to a late wife.

The white marble mausoleum was built in 1631 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife Mumtaz Mahal.

Like the original, Mr Kadari's version also houses the body of his late wife but it is made from sandstone, redstone, cement and iron. The former postmaster also hopes that he can be buried there next to his beloved wife. But work has ground to a halt after his money ran dry.

He said: 'I laid the foundations in February 2012. I used to work on it for eight hours a day including one hour for lunch.

'But last September I had to stop because I couldn't find enough money to pay people to help me with the labour.

'So far I sold off my land worth six lakhs (£7,000) and my wife's ornaments for 1.5 lakhs (£1,700) and withdrawn all my money from my pension, which totalled another 1.5 lakhs.

'Now all I can afford to spend is about one lakh a year (£1,155). I cannot afford anything more than that and it is not enough to sustain the building work needed.

'All I care about is completing the structure before I die.'

Eventually Mr Kadari hopes to replicate the intricate details of the original - including sprawling fountains in front, a tree lined approach and ornate brick work.But currently the frail pensioner is unable to work on his dream due to the intense summer heat and a lack of funds.

He said: 'There is a little bit of money trouble but I will not take any financial help from anyone and I will complete this structure on my own.

'People did tell me that I shouldn't be wasting my money and that it would have been better spent on funding a young couples own marriage.


'But to those people I say that this has been built in remembrance of my wife.'

The structure has made the local area famous across India with people desperate to see the mini Taj Mahal.His neighbour and cousin Mazaal Hassan Quadri said: 'This will obviously beautify our village. It has already made us very famous in the name of the mini Taj Mahal.

'It is famous across the whole of India. He has been getting calls from people in Delhi, Bombay, Kerala and all over Uttar Pradesh asking about it and wanting to visit.'Mr Kadari says the next step in edging closer to completion is building a structure for the building to stand on, elevating it up off the ground.

He said: 'Me and my wife married at a very young age, but in our entire time together we never had a major fight or argument other than small quarrels.

'Even though she could not bear us a child, never did I think of marrying any other person. I hope we can rest in peace together in our Taj Mahal'.

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