LUCKNOW: It is time to say “eureka” for those engaged in the maintenance of the Taj Mahal. Having failed to identify a cleansing agent that would not leave side-effects on the 350-year-old marble monument, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) finally came up with a novel idea ----- and it worked. It was clay scooped out from deep within the ground in certain parts of north India that has helped ASI restore the beauty of the Taj, which had been visibly yellowing due to the effects of pollution.

Commonly referred to as multani mitti, this clay is also known as fuller’s earth and, in scientific terms, as ferruginous earth.

It is also used as a beauty solution by women, who make face packs with multani mitti.

“It was after prolonged studies by various agencies that we arrived at this conclusion,” ASI’s chief in Agra, K.K. Mohammad, told News India-Times over the telephone. “Initially, we were apprehensive about its side-effects, but, eventually, it did wonders.”

Much of the cleaning of the walls has already been completed; only the dome and the minarets remain to be done. “You can actually see the difference ----- the walls have begun to sparkle,” Mohammad said.

According to him, “earlier doubts about the erosion of the priceless marble on account of the fumes emanating from the Mathura refinery have also been removed; and the visible yellowing of the stone is perhaps attributable only to the vagaries of weather that the monument has been facing over the centuries.”

Availability is not a problem said the ASI official, who has long experience in the conservation of monuments. “This clay is available commercially,” he said.