Mud pack for the ageing beauty
Vishal Sharma
CONSERVATION: Hopefully, there'll be a "whiter" Taj Mahal by next year.
NEW DELHI. With its place among the seven wonders of the world, reconfirmed so spectacularly, it’s time to turn to the conservation of the Taj Mahal.
Environmentalists have often expressed concern at the monument’s white marble becoming “yellow” owing to the acidic reaction of the soft marble surface with the polluted air.
After much debate, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had proposed using a mud-pack made “Multani Mitti” (fuller’s earth, a natural bleaching agent) on the monument’s main dome and arches to give it a face-lift.
Finally, a proposal to this effect was submitted for approval to ASI headquarters this week.
The entire process, which could last six months, will cost about Rs 28 lakh. S K Samadhiya, deputy superintending archaeological chemist, ASI, says the ASI’s chemical branch has submitted a proposal for a step-by-step application of the mud-pack on the arches and vertical walls of the monument, to clean them of the dust particles clinging to the microscopic holes on the marble surface.
The entire process would be very time consuming, he says. Contrary to popular notions, only a very small portion of the monument will be under the mud-pack at any given time.
According to Samadhiya, the Rs 28 lakh estimate for the entire process does not include cleaning the main dome, minarets and so on, which would be cleaned using the usual chemical agents.
As for the apprehensions raised by historians over the use of a bleaching agent on the Taj Mahal, Samadhiya says the ASI’s chemical branch has conducted research on the use of fuller’s earth on marble at its stone conservation laboratory in the Agra Fort and that so far, no adverse effects on the stone had been observed.
Once approved by ASI headquarters, the mud-pack application will start, but being a long-winded procedure, it could continue well into the next fiscal year.
NEW DELHI. With its place among the seven wonders of the world, reconfirmed so spectacularly, it’s time to turn to the conservation of the Taj Mahal.
Environmentalists have often expressed concern at the monument’s white marble becoming “yellow” owing to the acidic reaction of the soft marble surface with the polluted air.
After much debate, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had proposed using a mud-pack made “Multani Mitti” (fuller’s earth, a natural bleaching agent) on the monument’s main dome and arches to give it a face-lift.
Finally, a proposal to this effect was submitted for approval to ASI headquarters this week.
The entire process, which could last six months, will cost about Rs 28 lakh. S K Samadhiya, deputy superintending archaeological chemist, ASI, says the ASI’s chemical branch has submitted a proposal for a step-by-step application of the mud-pack on the arches and vertical walls of the monument, to clean them of the dust particles clinging to the microscopic holes on the marble surface.
The entire process would be very time consuming, he says. Contrary to popular notions, only a very small portion of the monument will be under the mud-pack at any given time.
According to Samadhiya, the Rs 28 lakh estimate for the entire process does not include cleaning the main dome, minarets and so on, which would be cleaned using the usual chemical agents.
As for the apprehensions raised by historians over the use of a bleaching agent on the Taj Mahal, Samadhiya says the ASI’s chemical branch has conducted research on the use of fuller’s earth on marble at its stone conservation laboratory in the Agra Fort and that so far, no adverse effects on the stone had been observed.
Once approved by ASI headquarters, the mud-pack application will start, but being a long-winded procedure, it could continue well into the next fiscal year.
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