I wonder if Mumtaz Mahal's facial features were as perfectly symmetrical as her tomb. (iStockphoto.com/Tarzan9280)

Our brains like things that are symmetrical. Even an infant will fixate longer on a face with two perfectly aligned eyes than one that looks like a Cyclops, according to Scientific American. If you ask science, it’ll tell you we’re attracted to symmetrical facial features because they indicate good health. If we mate with that person, our offspring will thrive (our brain thinks).

What I’m saying is that we can’t help but like the look of something — anything — that’s symmetrical. And that’s one reason we find the Taj Mahal beautiful. Just look at the pictures. Not only are the structure’s features symmetrical, but that symmetry is reflected rather symmetrically in the pool of water in front of the building.

If you’ve listened to the CoolestStuff and Stuff You Missed in History Class podcasts on the Taj Mahal, then you know the Taj was cut from the aching heart of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who lost his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal when she died tragically during childbirth. It took 22 years and 20,000 laborers to complete the marble gem built to honor Mahal, who Jahan had affectionately called “jewel of the palace.”

Who was this Jahan character? A perfectionist, a patron of the arts, a lover of jewels, jewel carving and details, according to PBS. In Europe, he was described as “cold, very disdainful and extremely haughty,” according to one historian. But that description of frigidity markedly contrasts the love story between him and his wife. They got married because they fell in love (and she was related to the Imperial family). Jahan had other wives (naturally), but Mahal was his favorite. She bore him 14 children and accompanied him even on military outings. And when she died, Jahan fell apart in grief.

Then, he did what any devoted husband would do. He built her a tomb that looks like nothing else on Earth — perfect in its symmetry (after all, what could be more beautiful than symmetry?), and carved with flowery designs bejeweled with precious stones. It changes color by the hour — gleaming like a pearl in the moonlight; glowing pink at sunrise.

What happens at the end of this story? Jahan’s son Aurangzeb overthrows him. After Jahan dies, Aurangzeb (over Jahan’s dead body) breaks the symmetry of the Taj Mahal’s interior by burying Jahan next to his wife.

Perhaps, as an infant, Aurangzeb preferred Cyclops faces.

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