Persian Passport

The Taj Mahal, a mausoleum for Shah Jahan's beloved third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, may be the world's most spectacular arrangement of arches, minarets, plinths and domes. Maybe you've heard of it? Its completion around 1648 was the height of Indian art's classical period, toward which lazy students of the era could vaguely wave and say, "The Mughal dynasty? That was back in, y'know, Taj Mahal times."From the Land of the Taj Mahal: Paintings for India's Mughal Emperors, a touring exhibition of rarely seen classical Indian paintings from way back in, y'know, Taj Mahal times, opens today at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (4525 Oak, 816-751-1278) and includes portraits of emperors, hunting scenes and historical events in detail so astonishing that the museum is providing magnifying glasses. Get in and get a close-up look at the painterly reproductions of ornate architecture, elegant embroidery and beautiful landscapes, reflecting the tastes of the emperors who commissioned the works. The exhibit closes June 14.
Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays, 12-5 p.m.; Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursdays, Fridays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Starts: March 21. Continues through June 14, 2009