lessons_from_taj_mahal_masons tender_square you say over a thousand elephants transported the rough rock of red sandstone and marble to the site. that it took twenty-two years to split, saw, mold, and carve a mausoleum of feminine curves for mumtaz mahal. you apprenticed seven years, knowing stone more intimately than your children’s names, inlaying agate, turquoise and coral pietra jura for the emperor in symmetrical perfection. and he preserved your craftsmanship by cutting off both hands to ensure you could never replicate your life’s work in lesser places. 220401 what's it to you? who go blather from