Arts and Humanities Blog - Net Catalogue

The Taj Mahal is generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Turkish and Indian architecture. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj Mahal is actually and integrated complex of structures. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 when it was described as a “universally admired masterpiece of  the world’s heritage”.

Shah Jahan, emperor of the Mughal Dynasty, during a period of great prosperity, controlled extensive resources. In 1631, his second wife died during the birth of their daughter Gauhara Begum, their fourteenth child. Shah Jahan was reportedly inconsolable. He decided to build a monument to his wife’s memory. Construction of the Taj Mahal begun in Agra soon after Mumtaz’s death. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding buildings and gardens, five years later.

The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on many design traditions, particularly Hindu, Persian and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from a number of successful Mughal buildings. These include Humayun’s Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah’s Tomb and Shah Jahan’s own Jama Maszid in Delhi. Under his patronage, Mughal building reached new levels of refinement. Whilst previous Mughal buildings had primarily been constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones.

The Taj Mahal is a splendid sight on full moon nights, when its domed shape seems to be giving off a pearly luminescence. It is the most sought-after tourist destination for international travelers in India.

The famous auction company Sotheby is going to hold a two day auction of contemporary art at its New York gallery and it seems Indian are dominating the scene. Of late young artists from India have been going places with prices of their art work soaring to new heights each time they were put under the hammer.

This time it is Subodh Gupta who got top billing among Indians with a reserve price of $500,000-$700,000 for his work called Across The Seven Seas (Sat Samundar Par). Raqib Shaw, who originates from Indian art and literary capital of Kolkata, is also present with his work which is untitled but a masterpiece done in 2004 of acrylic, glitter, rhinestones and metallic paint on paper. The auctioneers have deliberately set a low reserve price for it ($40,000-$60,000), but it is expected to fetch more because it is him whose Garden Of Early Delights III fetched $5.54 million making him the highest paid Indian contemporary artists beating Tyeb Mehta’s Mahisashura which was sold for $1.584 million at Christie’s in 2005 in New York

Another notable Indian participant in the forthcoming auction is Anish Kapoor whose lacquered bronze sculpture Blood Solid  got a reserve price of $250,000-$300,000.

It should be noted here that, at a time when economic recession in the USA is looming large and the art market is kept alive by Chinese, Indian and Russian art connoisseurs, the reserve prices for contemporary art is not bad.

According to the great Greek Philosopher Aristotle - ” Man is a social animal” . He has to live in a society and earn his livelihood through means of his trade of expertise. He has to learn some trade and then find a work.

But is finding a work so simple? It may have been so during earlier periods when skilled personnels were on short supply. But times has changed over generations and ages. Today, there are lots of highly qualified who are competing for the all important job that would secure their future. But it has become extremely difficult to achieve it in this competitive age. So all have to fight for it in one way or the other.

During my initial induction to the competitive industry of service, I had to go through a gruelling in-house training for six months. During the time I was taught that “The first 10 seconds are the most important seconds to win over a prospective client or customer”.

Later on I have had several encounters myself with other job seeker, but this time as an employeer myself.

whenever, our company needed to hire some-one, we advertised in local dailies. and as the in-charge of HR department of our small concern, I had to scrutinize  lots of applications along with resume. What always baffled me was how poor resume those highly educated and talented people were sending to our office.

As a matter of rule, I personally like neat, tidy and professional resume samples. As I told before, first impression is a lasting impression. I believe, if some one can write  a perfect resume then he is likely to be good in his other works and documentations too. Its through best resume writing that an applicant or job - seeker can have that important initial impression on his wannabe employer.

So I think writing an impressive resume is an art in itself. A resume should always be a short reflection of all your qualities. It should never be lengthy and over complicated, but only sketches of those you have achieved so far and the hints of what you can achieve if given a chance.

If the resume is too brief, it would not be enough for your employer to have sufficient idea about you before hand which might not make them too interested in you. If it is too long, that might irritate the employers. So a perfect resume should never be too short or too long- just enough to highlight your qualities.