Landscape Journal 28:2–09 ISSN 0277-2426 © 2009 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System effort, and the types and scale of landscape develop- ment that would be appropriate in the present time. The Taj is presently a tourist enclave that limits visitor movement patterns resulting in restricted views and experiences of the complex. Divorced from its sur- roundings, its narrative remains incomplete, with noth- ing told of either the past or the present landscape in which the Taj was, and is, situated. The sheer number of visitors in the peak tourist season constrains movement and intrudes on a personal, contemplative experience of the kind that a thoughtful person would seek. 2 The South Garden as the foreground and middle ground for the Taj sightings has become a viewing gallery (Figure 1). It is neither reminiscent of a Mughal garden nor is it rich in textures, fragrances, or play of light and shade. The foliage does not frame the Taj or suggest its scale. Nonvisual modes of experience—haptic, kinesthetic, and acoustic—are lacking. Edensor (1998) describes the package tourists’ lim- ited path of movement on a guided tour of the Taj. The tourist is usually shepherded by the guide into the com- plex from the East Gate of the entry courtyard, guided across into the South Garden and along the pools, and directed to gaze and take photographs of the mauso- leum at opportune points such as at the South Gate and Central Pool (Figure 2). Visitors seldom venture beyond this scripted path to cross the river or to walk alongside its banks from where some of the most startling views can be obtained. With the river Yamuna no longer a transportation artery and the historic Mughal river- front gardens lost to farmland, nurseries, and hous- ing, opportunities for the Taj riverside views, framed and reflected in the waters, have become scant. View- ing the Taj is an essential part of the visitor experience that tourism bodies and guides realize only too well and would like to capitalize on. With that goal in mind, Taj viewpoints have been developed east of the mausoleum along the Taj Nature Trail and to the west in Shahjahan Park. Most visitors, however, are not aware of these op- portunities largely because they seldom venture out of the Taj enclave. ABSTRACT Since the Taj complex was built in the mid-17th cen- tury, the mausoleum has been an object of wonder and delight, yet viewed differently by each era. The Mughal emperors saw it from across the river Yamuna, reflected in the river’s waters and in the fountains of Mahtab Bagh, and framed by the balconies of the Red Fort. The Europeans painted, photographed, and made it an object of romantic gaze in a picturesque setting that fitted their notions of the exotic and mysterious East. The post-colonial period has seen proliferations of its image for virtual consump- tion and commodification, making the Taj the most visited tourist destination in India. Today, the Taj complex is a tourist enclave that is cut off from its surroundings, and limited movement pat- terns restrict visitor views and experiences of the monument. This article proposes that ways of seeing the building should in- clude perceiving it as a “figure in the landscape.” “Landscape” is understood to be not just the neo-colonial version of the Mughal garden that dominates the foreground of the Taj’s ubiquitous im- agery, but also the larger cultural landscape of the river Yamuna and its flood plain, rural hamlets and farmfields, and the streets and open spaces of urban Agra. By knitting together the public gardens, parks, and other landscapes in a continuous system of open spaces, a green belt can be created around the Taj to protect it from environmental pollution and provide recreational spaces. View corridors proposed in this landscape will function as conservation easements and will engage the visitor in an ex- tended visual experience of the Taj. KEYWORDS Picturesque, cultural landscape, visual culture, Mu- ghal gardens, South Asia, tourist enclave T he Taj Mahal, located on the banks of the river Ya- muna in Agra is the most visited tourist destination in India, bringing millions of domestic and interna- tional visitors to the city. Built between 1632–1643 by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a mausoleum for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, it was restored between 1902–1905 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), then a department of colonial administration and now an institution of the government of India, and has been maintained relatively unchanged ever since. The last two decades have witnessed growing concerns about risks to the Taj from air pollution. Efforts have been un- derway to address the pollution by planning a system of gardens, parks, and other natural areas in a green- belt around the mausoleum. 1 This has occasioned new thinking about the original riverfront landscape in which the Taj was situated, the colonial conservation Views of the Taj—Figure in the Landscape Amita Sinha and Terence Harkness