Mud pack for the Taj Mahal

The Indian Parliament was told in a report this week that air pollution from local industry was again discolouring the Taj’s gleaming surface day by day. Blame for its yellow tinge has been laid on consistently high levels of “suspended particulate matter” – otherwise known as grains of dirt – created by the burning of fossil fuels at nearby factories and by clouds of dust from roads.

The proposed solution for India’s biggest tourist attraction, located in the city of Agra, 130 miles (210km) southeast of Delhi, is appropriate for an object of beauty: a therapeutic mud pack.

“To restore the pristine glory of the Taj Mahal . . . the clay-pack treatment, which is non-corrosive and non-abrasive, [should be] carried out for the removal of the accretionary deposits,” the report said.

The process, which takes two to three months, is labour-intensive and expensive. Workers on scaffolding smear wet mud on the surface of the building and let it dry before washing it off.

The lime-rich multani mitti – a type of clay found in northern India and used in modern face masks and Ayurvedic body treatments – draws out most of the accumulated dirt.

Posted by David on May 15, 2007 9:08 PM