Beauty treatment for Taj: Mud facial in the offing

The Taj Mahal will look more bright and beautiful in days to come as the Archaeological Survey of India is planning to give it a cleansing mud facial.

The 17th century architectural marvel will be covered with a layer of the beautifying 'multani mitti' (fuller's earth) and once the mud flakes off, the structure will be washed with distilled water.

"We plan to give a mud facial to the main mausoleum building which will rid it of dust or any other impurities. A proposal has already been mooted in this regard," Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, chemical branch, MK Samadhiya told PTI.

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"We have already completed the beauty treatment of the Taj mosque which is adjacent to the main mausoleum successfully a few days back," Samadhiya said.

The DSA said the beauty treatment of the Taj Mahal began nearly five years back. "At that time Mehman Khana which forms part of the Taj premises was taken up and some work was also done on the octagonal portion and arches," he said.

As a part of beautification exercise, multani-mitti, which is commonly used in beauty parlours, is applied on the walls of the structure.

"It is a scientific exercise as we have to maintain the Ph level as the semi-liquid mud paste to be applied on structure should neither be took acidic not too alkaline," Samadhiya said.

This mud cover is later covered with a polythene sheet to ensure that absorption process takes place properly. "Multani mitti is a very good absorbent which has the quality of removing dust, dirt and any other impurity on a structure upto a good extent," he said.

Once the mud pack flakes off, the structure is then washed with distilled water. "We hope to start the work by April after getting the clearance of the Director General," the DSA said.

Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.