Pixelated Memories: Enclosure

Showing posts with label Enclosure. Show all posts

September 11, 2013

Jahanara Begum's Tomb, New Delhi

"Jahanara, the eldest daughter of Shah Jahan, was very handsome, of lively parts and passionately loved by her father. Shah Jahan reposed immense confidence in his favourite child. She watched over his safety and no dish was permitted upon the Royal table, which had not been prepared under her observation."

- French traveler Francois Bernier

In her marble grave, shrouded by the sky & covered with a layer of grass lies Sahibat-ul-Zamani Shehzadi Fatima Jahanara (1614-81 AD), princess of India, benefactor of the poor, confidante of native Indian chieftains & counselor to two mighty Emperors – her indulgent father Shahjahan (ruled AD 1638-58) & pious brother Aurangzeb (ruled AD 1658-1707). Despite being one of the most powerful women of her time, bestowed with both beauty & intelligence, the humble princess wished that she be buried in a simple enclosure close to the Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, the patron saint of Delhi & the Sufi mystic whose teachings she revered (refer Pixelated Memories - Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah).

She was only 17 when her mother Arjumand Banu Begum aka Mumtaz Mahal (the lady for whom Shahjahan built the magnificent Taj Mahal) passed away during childbirth leaving a terrible vaccum in her life; she took it upon herself to raise her six siblings (Mumtaz had 14 children with Shahjahan but 7 of them predeceased her) & also look after her grief-stricken father & assist him in the affairs of the court so as to enable him to fulfill his obligations to the state. Her younger brother Dara’s marriage to the beautiful Begum Nadira Banu (their cousin; daughter of Shahjahan’s half-brother Prince Pervez) which was planned by their mother but delayed due to her untimely death was conducted by Jahanara with great pomp & fervor. Jahanara became the first woman of the Mughal household, soon surpassing Shahjahan’s other wives – he made her the custodian of the Imperial Seal & gave her the titles of Badshah Begum (“Lady Emperor”) & Begum Sahiba (“Princess of Princesses”). Shahjahan also fixed her an annual stipend of Rs 1 million & granted her the right to revenue from the port of Surat (Gujarat) which she possessed till the time of her death. She received half of Mumtaz Mahal’s total wealth worth over Rs 10 million (the other half was distributed among the rest of Mumtaz’s children) & also received handsome gifts from the native rulers, chieftains & warlords in return for political & administrative favors she bestowed upon them through the Emperor – she was the wealthiest woman of her time, but being of Sufi temperament, she used most of her wealth & accumulated riches for the service of the poor & the orphans.

The tomb of Jahanara Begum (The marble dome on its immediate left belongs to the tomb of Amir Khusro while the red building on the right is the Jamaat Khana mosque, the principal mosque of the Dargah Complex)

A very learned lady, she was well-versed in Persian & Arabic & came to be known as a scholar & a patron of arts & literature, herself being a writer, painter & poet (her younger brother Dara Shukoh too was a fairly good painter & writer, therefore explaining the camaraderie the two felt with each other). Most importantly, it was Jahanara who designed the famed Chandni Chowk (“Moonlight square”) street of Delhi – the chief avenue of Shahjahan’s capital at Shahjanabad with the Red Fort as its pinnacle & flanked by the houses of the “Omrahs” (high-ranking officials) & a canal running through its center that reflected moonlight & made onlookers gasp with astonishment at the fusion of earth & paradise. Of a philanthropic dispossession, she took it upon herself to look after the comfort of the poor & the needy. She was highly influenced by Sufism – at the early age of 10, she (along with Dara) was initiated into the Qadiriyya sect of Sufism under the tutelage of Mullah Shah Badakhshi – she began to call herself a “Fakeera” (female mendicant) & it is said that she became such a formidable champion of Sufism & worship that the Mullah would have named her his spiritual successor had the rules of the sect allowed it. Both Jahanara & Dara also had spiritual contacts with Mian Mir, Mullah Shah’s spiritual predecessor & a very revered saint of his time (It is said that the Sikh Guru Arjan Singh had the foundation stone of the holy Golden Temple, Amritsar, laid by Mian Mir). A religious person (but not dogmatically intolerant of other beliefs & religions like her other brother Aurangzeb), she is credited with having built many mosques, especially the Jama Masjid of Agra, & serais (traveller’s inns). She wrote “Mu’nis al-Arwāḥ”, the biography of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, the founder of the Chishtiya sect of Sufism (Khwaja Nizamuddin also belonged to the Chishtiya order) & “Risālah-i Ṣāḥibīyah” (“The Mistress’ Treatise”), the biography of Mullah Shah, both highly noted for their literary quality & writing style. She was renowned as a patron of Sufi literature & commissioned the translation as well as commentary on several classical works.

In the year 1658, Shahjahan fell terribly ill & was bedridden as a consequence, rumors spread that the Emperor was dead, that he had been murdered by the followers of one of his sons for the purpose of usurping power – when he failed to appear in court for over a week, each of his four sons, Aurangzeb, Dara Shukoh, Murad Baksh & Shah Shuja, prepared their armies & marched upon Delhi to claim sovereignty. Jahanara openly & actively supported Dara, her brother with whom she shared her Sufi beliefs & religious tolerance; she was totally against her cold, rigid & Wahabi brother Aurangzeb whom she referred to as a white serpent in her personal correspondence. However after the initial tussle & warfare, it was Aurangzeb who graced the throne of India & also had Dara executed; soon thereafter Shahjahan recovered from his illness, but Aurangzeb was in no mood to restore surrender his powers & face his father’s terrible wrath for murdering his brothers – he had Shahjahan imprisoned in his fortress at Agra.

The heavy, marble doors that lead to the princess' grave

Despite his initial resentment Aurangzeb extended courteous treatment towards his sister, Jahanara however was very close to her father & decided to share his captivity – Aurangzeb was spared the opportunity to imprison her (apart from their father, he had also confined his own daughter Zebunissa on the charge of being a poet-composer to the gallows built in Delhi’s Salimgarh fortress, refer Pixelated Memories - Salimgarh Fort). Aurangzeb fixed her a handsome annuity & allowed her to maintain her estates as well as retain the right to revenue from Surat. There were rumors to suggest the reason for her choosing captivity over enjoying her youth & life - she closely resembled her mother in terms of looks & intelligence, prompting her father to make advances towards her & the two had shared sexual relations; French traveler Bernier writes “Begum Sahib, the elder daughter of Shah Jahan, was very beautiful… Rumour has it that his attachment reached a point which it is difficult to believe, the justification of which he rested on the decision of the Mullas, or doctors of their law. According to them it would have been unjust to deny the king the privilege of gathering fruit from the tree he himself had planted.” She lived in Agra till her father’s death in 1666 after which she was reconciled with Aurangzeb & retired to Delhi to live in the mansion that once belonged to Ali Mardan Khan, a Persian noble in her father’s court & the viceroy of Punjab. Aurangzeb respected her & sought her counsel in matters of state & public welfare; she never shied from arguing with the Emperor in order to prove her point, especially when it concerned his enforced austerity measures or his practice of religious intolerance. Though he never forgave her for siding with Dara, Aurangzeb trusted her wisdom over the loyalty of their younger sister Roshanara Begum who harbored bitterness & political enmity against Jahanara & had also shared in Aurangzeb’s schemes to usurp the throne when Shahjahan was bedridden. Overlooking Roshanara & Gauharara (the third sister among the seven siblings), Aurangzeb appointed Jahanara as the first lady of the court & raised her annual allowance from Rs 1 million to 1.7 million.

The intricately carved lattice screens of the grave enclosure

Mughal princesses were not allowed to marry, a custom arising out of the consideration that no man was worthy enough to ask the hand of the daughter of the Great Mughal in marriage (the real reason however was the suspicion that the princesses’ husband might accumulate power in his hands & threaten the Emperor) – Jahanara, Roshanara & Gauharara stayed single all their life even though they had many lovers who would come visit them at night in the cover of silence & camouflage of the dark. Roshanara, who was closer to Aurangzeb & had immense power in her hands took on a number of lovers. Soon however she was caught red-handed by the pious Aurangzeb who chastised her for failing to honour her obligations by curtailing many of her powers & had her lover poisoned. Much to the chagrin of Roshanara, Jahanara was given considerable influence in Aurangzeb’s court after this & began acting as an intermediary between the local chieftains/warlords & the Emperor. Though Dara’s sons were executed by Aurangzeb to avoid future complications, the remaining children were looked after by Jahanara like her own. Roshanara decided to retire to a garden-pavilion built for her pleasure at the outskirts of Delhi; Jahanara became the most important woman in the Mughal court. It is not to suggest that Jahanara did not have any vices – both Bernier & Manucci note that she was an alcoholic (besides the usual charges that Aurangzeb disapproved of – dancing, singing, poetry & acting); at times she would be so drunk that she would have difficulty standing up & would often pass out.

Jahanara's grave (& the random stuff strewn around)

Aurangzeb allowed her to design & commission her own simple mausoleum comprising of a magnificent lattice enclosure made of white marble immediately opposite the striking tomb of Hazrat Nizamuddin. She passed away on September 6, 1681, at the age of 67 & was buried in a simple grave in the open-roofed enclosure she designed. She was posthumously conferred the title of Sahibat-ul-Zamani (“Mistress of her time”) by the Emperor. The intricately carved filigree screens of her remarkably simple tomb hide the graves of the princess & several others who lie beside her from the eyes of the onlookers, an equally splendidly adorned marble door bars the entrance to the princess’ final resting place. In accordance with her last wishes, she was given a humble funeral & an otherwise unremarkable grave. Except for a simplistic flower carved in marble at the head of the grave, the rest of it is not ornamented in any manner, instead the grave hosts a hollow on the top filled with grass; the sides too bear no ornamentation except calligraphic inscriptions. The Persian inscription next to her grave reads –

“Allah is the Living, the Sustaining.

Let no one cover my grave except with greenery,

For this very grass suffices as a tomb cover for the poor.

The mortal simplistic Princess Jahanara,

Disciple of the Khwaja Moin-ud-Din Chishti,

Daughter of Shah Jahan the Conqueror

May Allah illuminate his proof.

1092 [1681 AD]”

Sadly, though Aurangzeb did not subject her to an ill-fated existence, it is actually the treatment that the citizens of 21st-century Delhi (who take pride in their education & awareness) have meted out to the princess’ grave enclosure that seems more like a condemnation. The enclosure is surrounded by varied stuff strewn around – rags, shreds of clothes, metal cupboards; the insides are no different – more cupboards line up against the filigree screens, a broken chair lies in a corner, wooden planks & clothes are thrown around for added charm, pieces of paper & polythene cover the hollow receptacle on top of the grave instead of the grass that was intended to be Jahanara’s shroud. Despite this, the enclosure is bliss; it is quiet & serene, so unlike the Dargah complex outside that is bustling with visitors & booming with their continuous chatter. Once you push open the heavy marble doors that bar entry to the enclosure, you discover a quiet little corner for yourself, free from intruders, free from the beggars who roam about the Dargah complex, free from the noise & disturbance. Sadly, not many know that the princess of India is buried here, even fewer pay a visit to her unadorned grave. Once the richest woman in the country, today she is also the loneliest – perhaps she likes it, she is buried close to the revered Sheikh – like life, like in death she lives alone in her own peaceful, hermetic way. Ironically, despite having an ardent devotee in the form of Jahanara buried in its close vicinity, Hazrat Nizamuddin’s tomb is out-of-bound for female followers of the saint!!

The signboard at the entrance to Nizamuddin's Tomb

Location: Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, Nizamuddin,

Open: All days, Sunrise to sunset (All night on Thursday)

Nearest Metro Station: Jorbagh

Nearest Railway Station: Hazrat Nizamuddin Station

How to reach: Take an auto from the metro/railway station to the Dargah as it is quite a walk from both.

Entrance fee: Nil
Photography/Video charges: Nil.
Time required for sight seeing: 20 min
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Suggested Reading -

May 25, 2013

Isa Khan's Tomb Complex, New Delhi

India has always assimilated within itself the multitudes of travelers, invaders & refugees who thronged to its shores & frontiers in huge numbers in search of knowledge, wealth, peace & fame. These visitors brought with themselves knowledge & traditions, their own culture often at loggerheads with the existing Indian belief system, their art & architecture seemingly unique & entirely different from Indian art, & yet India acknowledged & accumulated their wealth of knowledge, their individuality in terms of art & technique, & the immutability of their culture & traditions. Often these new groups went on to rule Indian territories – the earliest example being the Aryans who arrived from Central Asia, perhaps the Russian confines, & pushed down the original Dravidian population of the country. Much later, the followers of Islam showed up on the frontiers guided by both religious & monetary motives. The Hindu rulers had always confined themselves from South India to Delhi & Rajasthan, considering Punjab & Sindh as frontier towns. The Muslim invaders who came settled in the country, soon becoming part of its soil & stories. They forgot their origin & became one of the people, & went on to include even Punjab, Sindh & the north-western portions of modern-day Pakistan into the country’s administrative reach. Fed up with recurrent Mongol raids from Central Asia, Sultans like Balban (ruled AD 1266-86) & Alauddin Khilji (ruled AD 1296-1316) adopted aggressive frontier policies & even brought large swathes of Afghanistan under their control. The Afghans & the Turks too, like the previous waves of settlers that had come in, began considering themselves Indians in due course of time. Mongols too came & settled in the country. All the races, religions & tribes began to intermingle & an exchange of ideas & beliefs ensued – at times the different groups would work in tandem, at others they would be at loggerheads. Soon the Mughals arrived on the scene & displaced the Lodi Dynasty - the then sovereigns of India. The Mughals & the Afghans shared common culture & possessed no dislike for the native Indian Muslims like some of the initial settlers displayed, yet they entered into a battle for control of territories & resources. It wasn’t just a battle for territorial supremacy, it was also a fight for cultural & artistic dominance – even though the lines between native Hindu & Islamic arts had ceased to exist by then & the fusion form of Indo-Islamic art & architecture had been created. When it comes to comparing tomb architecture, the Afghans, like their predecessors the Sayyids & the Lodis, specialized in building octagonal tombs, a tradition for which the death knell was sounded by the Mughal technique of building square tombs laid out in a square garden (“charbagh”). Like in life, so in death, they had to share common land & resources & often come together for the ultimate good – the tomb of Isa Khan, the last of the octagonal tombs in India of its kind, stands right at the entrance of the complex renowned for the Humayun’s Tomb, the first of the square tombs built in the Charbagh pattern that ultimately annihilated the octagonal tomb architecture.

Isa Khan's Tomb

Azam-e-Humayoon Masnad-i-Ali Niazi was born in the year 1453 to Niyaz Aghwan, the Amir-i-Hajib (“chief chamberlain”) to the Afghan Governor of Bihar Sher Shah Suri. An Afghan warlord, Isa Khan belonged to the same tribal group as Ibrahim Lodi (ruled AD 1489-1526) who had previously reigned over the vast lands of the Indian subcontinent. This genealogical background & the proximity to the who’s who of the Afghan administrative hierarchy saw Isa Khan rise his way to power & soon became one of the most powerful Afghan nobles in early 16th century. In AD 1540, Sher Shah defeated Mughal emperor Humayun (ruled AD 1530-40 & 1555-56) & chased the latter out of the country, Isa Khan became one of his most trusted lieutenants & was given the governorship of Mianwali (in modern-day Pakistan) as a reward for his unflinching loyalty & battle-worthiness. Following Sher Shah’s death, Isa Khan served his successor Islam Shah Suri (ruled AD 1545-54) & ensured that Islam Shah retained his throne against the advances of his brother Adil Shah. Isa Khan concentrated great power & influence in his hands in the process. He built his tomb in the year 1547-48 while he was still alive. Tombs in those days were built in large gardens, complete with walkways, fruit-bearing & shade-giving trees & artificial water bodies – they were generally commissioned by the person who wanted to be buried there & were used as retreats by the said person while he was alive & later by his children. Isa Khan was buried in the tomb in the year 1548 when he died at the ripe age of 95 after having enjoyed the fruits of success, power & reputation.

Here lies Isa & his family

There exist a number of firsts that can be claimed by Isa Khan’s Tomb – it is one of the first tombs that came up in what is today the Humayun’s Tomb Complex, a World Heritage Site & supposedly sacred land close to the Dargah of Delhi’s beloved Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya (refer Pixelated Memories - Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah). Isa Khan’s Tomb also has the honour of being surrounded by a sunken garden, the first in the country & built in such a manner that the garden within the tomb enclosure is about 1 meter below the level of the central raised pavilion on which stands the tomb. The exquisitely designed Taj Mahal was a culmination of several architectural practices developed over several decades – though it is built in the Charbagh pattern mastered in the construction of Humayun’s Tomb, the sunken garden that surrounds it is drawn upon Isa Khan’s garden. Interestingly, the very first of the five octagonal tombs of this type that exist in Delhi belongs to Khan-i-Jahan Malik Maqbul Telangani, the prime minister of Feroz Shah Tughlaq (ruled AD 1351-88) & is located in the teeming narrow lanes of Nizamuddin Basti just across the road. Isa Khan’s tomb was the culmination of several centuries of architectural & artistic innovation & the inclusion of Hindu motifs in Islamic structures – the lotus finial that tops the tomb being the most glaring example of all. Lotus appears throughout history in Hindu art & buildings. The octagonal tomb also features chattris raised on the parapet above each of its sides – chattris (domes mounted on slender pillars) too were a distinct Hindu architectural motif, adopted by the Muslim architects, especially those belonging to Lodhi, Suri & Mughal dynasties. Isa Khan’s Tomb is also the first monument in India to be restored by a private organization – the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).

The octagonal tomb is surrounded by a wide verandah featuring a tapering pillar at each corner which support the roof & the eave (“chajja”). The roof is marked by a line of kanguras (battlement-like ornamentation). The pillars rise higher than the roof level, thereby giving an appearance that the roof possesses slender minarets standing on each corner. The dome rests on a 32-sided drum (“base”), which too features similar slender minarets on each corner. Large chattris exist on the roof above each side of the tomb, the overall effect is that of striking symmetry & grace. Each face of the tomb consists of three arched entrances decorated with blue, red & white plaster work in impeccable geometrical & floral patterns. Blue glazed tiles also ornament the tomb elsewhere. The verandah is reached by climbing a flight of five stairs & as one steps into the verandah, one notices the fine jaalis (“stone latticework”) that have been incorporated into three of the walls of the tomb. One does not fail to admire the captivating patterns that adorn the recessed niches that are built into the roof of the verandah – painted with white & grey, these incised patterns in plaster add a subdued flamboyance to the otherwise solemn structure.

Intricate!!

Inside the tomb, the red walls seem inviting, the six graves are led to somber rest – two of them are incredibly large & built with marble & red sandstone, the rest are comparatively smaller & constructed out of stone. Although three walls of the tomb are marked by latticework, the one on the west is marked by a mihrab (western wall of a mosque/tomb that indicates the direction of Mecca & is faced by Muslims while praying) embossed with several patterns & flanked by calligraphic Quranic inscriptions. However, the most bewitching feature of the tomb is its ornamental ceiling – the mesmeric floral design is done in brilliant shades of red, blue & green & surrounded by a band of inscriptions. The patterns are colossal, gorgeous & radiant. I kept clicking the roof in a bid to get the perfect photograph that would do justice to its enthralling nature. The ceiling had suffered decay as a result of water seepage & neglect & had been spoiled rather badly – apparent from old photographs that AKTC had displayed outside the Tomb enclosure while the repair work was still on. The AKTC has done brilliant work on the ceiling – employing & training master craftsmen to recreate the original patterns, carrying out repairs & reconstructing collapsed & damaged portions. Unlike its geographical relative Humayun’s Tomb, Isa Khan’s Tomb appears more human, its grandness muted & the grey of its wall appears more at peace with itself than the crimson red of Humayun’s Tomb’s.

The tomb's mesmerizing roof - painstakingly restored by the AKTC

Close to the tomb & down the central plinth stands the associated mosque, itself mounted on another wide platform. The prayer chamber is entered by means of three arched entrances, each of them ornamented with glazed tiles of blue, green & yellow color in a number of interesting patterns – the central arch is however more grand & is flanked by red sandstone borders themselves ornamented with arched niches. The medallions too are crafted admirably & some of them too are covered in blue tiles. The central chamber is surmounted by a huge white dome while the other two are mounted by large chattris. The dome sits on an octagonal drum & is topped by a lotus finial, its interiors are dressed in grey Delhi quartzite stone. Though the chattris have turned black over time, perhaps once they too were decked with tiles or plaster. A deep well, now closed by means of iron grilles, exists right outside the mosque & shares the wide platform – it must have been once used to serve the purpose of ablution before prayers.

Isa Khan's Mosque

While externally the mosque is built of dressed grey quartzite stone ornamented with red sandstone, the interiors are simplistic in design & the ornamentation has been kept to a minimum & confined only to the dome & the mihrabs. A passageway in one corner leads upstairs to the level of dome, however the staircase was dark & dank & one could make out several bats cooped up inside – I did try to get in once, but ran away as soon as some of the bats got agitated by my presence & began flying around!! The staircase is so dark that even light from mobile phone torch could not suffice in lightning it up & actually failed miserably.

Inside the mosque

The sunken garden that surrounds the tomb is enclosed by a series of small cells. The enclosure (called a “Kotla”) thus formed comes into view on the right as soon as one crosses the ticket counter of the Humayun’s Tomb Complex. The dome of Isa Khan’s Tomb can be seen rising behind the cell arcade. A symmetrical, though ruined, rubble gateway leads to the enclosure & one can have a clear view of the tomb, the mosque, the surrounding enclosure & the sunken garden from the steps of the gateway. Stairs on the side of the mosque lead up to the roof of these cells, but climbing up the roof is sadly not allowed (One can climb up when the guards aren’t around though). Most visitors content themselves with strolling around the enclosure on newly mowed green grass, listening to the sounds of peacocks that appear to be just around the corner but can never be seen. Sitting in one of these cells, away from the scorching heat, looking up at their curved roofs & the alcoves or admiring the tomb is also a good way to wile one’s time while wondering what to do next.

Hiding treasures behind - the entrance to Isa Khan's enclosure as seen from Humayun's Tomb Complex

As part of the meticulous restoration drive, the AKTC craftsmen repaired & restored the tomb, mosque & the surrounding sunken garden. Numerous archaeological discoveries were also made & the broken finial of the tomb was also found buried close by. AKTC made repairs, plugged leaks, restored the plaster & also the marvelous pattern on the inside of the dome. Artists were specially trained to create ceramic tiles as it is still done in parts of Uzbekistan in order to give the original glazed tile finish to the structures. A new finial was built for the tomb correct to its original specifications & hauled up to be installed atop the dome. Apart from this, the structures were studied using modern, state-of-the-art techniques like Laser-assisted 3D scanning & documentation was done. Soil was removed from the sunken garden, the whole area was landscaped & citrus plants were planted (since the original garden had them). The only thing that looks out of place is the newly built wall that emerges from near the entrance to Isa Khan’s Tomb & demarcates the garden just after the ticket counter & Bi Halima’s enclosure – it appears discolored compared to the original wall in whose continuation it has been built. However the wall’s construction was important for restoring the original plan of the area which was manipulated when the British brought down the walls to build carriageways & laid roads & railway lines (The Government recently gave permission for razing down another road that separates Humayun’s Tomb Complex & Nila Gumbad, although I reported on the state of the Gumbad several months back, AKTC-led conservation work has started full swing a few days back. Hopefully the Gumbad too would be a part of the larger complex soon enough!! Read more about the Nila Gumbad & its pitiful condition here - Pixelated Memories - Nila Gumbad). Apart from monument conservation, AKTC is also helping improve the socio-economic conditions in the Nizamuddin Basti area, one of the most densely populated localities in Delhi, by building schools, providing holistic education & training to youngsters & developing skills for artists & craftsmen. My last encounter with AKTC artists at Ghalib’s Tomb - Chausanth Khamba Complex was indeed a great experience. Seeing them work diligently & with surgical precision on marble was impressive. I have already written a post about Ghalib’s Tomb which you can read here - Pixelated Memories - Ghalib's Tomb

One of the placards designed by AKTC as part of their restoration campaign

Isa Khan’s enclosure was thrown open for visitors in a grand event on the World Monuments Day (April 19) & was attended by thousands of school children in addition to the members of the bodies that helped bring Isa Khan’s Tomb back to life – Indian Government’s Ministry of Culture, AKTC, World Monuments Fund (WMF), Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) & New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC). The event was also attended by a direct descendant of Isa Khan. A fitting tribute to a powerful Afghan I would say.

Location: Humayun's Tomb Complex
Open: All days, 8 am - 6 pm
Entrance Fee: Rs 10 (Citizens of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives, Afghanistan Thailand and Myanmar), Rs 250 (Others) (Children up to 15 years free)
Nearest Metro Station: Jangpura
Photography charges: Nil
Time required for sight seeing: 45 min

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Suggested Reading -

December 13, 2012

Mughal Serai, New Delhi

This post is part of series about Qutb Complex, Mehrauli, Delhi. The integrated post about the complex and the structures within can be accessed from here – Pixelated Memories - Qutb Complex.

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Beginning with the victorious invasion led by Zahiruddin Babur in AD 1526 to AD 1857 when they were vanquished and exiled by British East India Company colonialists, the Mughal Empire had been reigning over the vast subcontinent for more than 300 years. During this immense period, the empire reached its zenith under the reign of Emperors Akbar (ruled AD 1556-1605) and Shahjahan (ruled AD 1605-27), but began collapsing under its own unmanageable enormity following the demise of Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir in AD 1707. Successive rulers after Aurangzeb proved to be weak administrators, squabbling with their own siblings and nobility, often administering the disintegrating empire under fear of the rapidly amassing uncontrollable regional/religious forces (Marathas of Maharashtra, Sikhs of Punjab, Rohillas of western Uttar Pradesh, Jats of Haryana-Rajasthan, Nawabs of Hyderabad and several other fringe enemies), unapologetic bandits, corrupt bureaucracy and unruffled European colonialists and mercenaries. Nonetheless, each of them continued with the tradition of commissioning comfortable inns, consisting of several chambers, gardens and wells, for travelers along arterial highways throughout the country – these buildings, usually reserved for foreign dignitaries, ambassadors, travelling retinues of nobles, military commanders, skilled artists and poets who could afford to shell out some cash, were funded directly by the Emperor or one of his high officials and were equipped with all the material comforts that a person could ask for in medieval India. Travelers who happened to fall in lower economic strata had to make do with accommodations provided by local merchants and headmen.

Entirely forgotten - The late Mughal-era Serai within Qutb complex

The word “Serai”, Hindi for “inn”, is known throughout the country, though not used as often now since the advent of English language to the country’s shores has ensured that travelers, both foreigners and local, request accommodation by referring to it as “guesthouse” or “hotel”. Most of the larger inns which catered to high-ranking diplomats and military officers have totally disappeared and only the smaller ones, either catering to people traveling on shoestring budgets or belonging to a particular community, remain now. When even the ordinary folk of the country go by the saying “Atithi Devo Bhava” ("Guest is God"), keeping the contentment of foreigners and guests above their own, how could the Mughals, mighty and tenacious rulers that they were, have stayed behind??

Peeping through - One of the chattris accessible from a small grassy square towards the back of the decrepit Mughal mosque adjacent the Serai garden

Thus we find several Mughal-era serais scattered throughout the northern part of the country, especially in unheard of villages and townships that once lined the arterial routes and trade highways. A few that still exist in Delhi and are relatively well known are Arab Serai (Built by Emperor Humayun’s widow Hamida Banu Begum in a corner of his sprawling tomb-garden complex to house hundreds of artists she brought with her from Persia to work on the magnificent tomb), Badarpur Serai (once a massive inn on one of the arterial routes connecting Delhi and Central Asia, now only a cluster of ruined chambers and huge gateways survive) and Serai Shahji (a small inn turned into a massive graveyard, famed for its distinctive towers). Many of these, especially the historical ones or those associated with royalty and high aristocracy, were destroyed in their entirety following the 1857 War of Independence in which Indian soldiers, warlords, provincial kings and commonfolk clashed with the organized armies of the East India Co.

The same chattri, as seen from the other side of the enclosure wall

It is sad that even after independence several more have totally disappeared physically as a consequence of direct effects of urbanization and rapidly multiplying population and now exist only as the names that they have lend to colonies, landmarks, bus stops and urban villages – thus there are Neb Serai, Kalu Serai, Katwaria Serai, Sheikh Serai, Serai Kale Khan, Yussuf Serai, Begu Serai, Serai Khwaja etc. The later Mughals too, though distressed by their waning glory and emptying coffers, did not leave a stone upturned to appease state visitors. Perhaps inspired to impress guests by showing off the architectural marvels that previous Sultans and Emperors had commissioned, a serai-garden complex was constructed immediately next to the renowned Qutb complex along a medieval highway that connected Delhi and Gurgaon. No match for the spectacles offered by the Qutb complex, the serai, now reduced only to its enclosure walls interspersed on the bends by a few majestic chattris (domes surmounted on pillars), is a miserable corner set towards the right of the complex’s entrance – in fact, visitors enter Qutb complex via two collinear arched gateways of the Serai that are mirror images of each other and composed of random rubble masonry ornamented with brickwork and plaster patterns conforming to decorative pillars and flourishes. Completing the C-shape and complementing the L-shaped structure of the serai is an equally pathetic and ignored mosque, formally christened as Masjid Tarikh-ul-Islam, but officially known within the administration circles as Mughal Mosque (refer Pixelated Memories - Tarikh-ul-Islam Mosque (Mughal Mosque)).

Notice the unique designs! - The second gateway, conjectured to be an organ of the larger Serai complex

No visitors grace the garden, nor does the serai retain any alluring structure that might tempt a visitor to explore further – sensing this, the authorities have locked away the enclosure’s iron gate (accessible past the mosque) and shamelessly decided to utilize the arched alcoves and the corners culminating in chattris as storerooms for iron grilles, cement and other construction material. The square garden hemmed in by these dilapidated walls is still not forsaken though – verdant green grass gives it the appearance of an upmarket lawn; caretakers and gardeners ensure it is swept regularly for leaves and waste left behind by tourists ignorant of its antiquity visiting the rest of the complex. Adjacent to the second of the arched gateways (notice the cusped arches that have been plastered over recently and the tell-tale signs of erstwhile ornamental stucco work that still is visible in some sections) exists a high rectangular platform graced on its western side by a simplistic Bengali-style pavilion possessing three arched entrances and a curved roof very reminiscent of the highly decorated temples that I witness in unheard of villages and suburban areas of Bengal on a regular basis. The platform is dominated by four graves and could have perhaps once functioned as a small mosque – given its proximity to the serai, I wonder if any of the graves belong to the person who commissioned the serai or perhaps its caretaker or his/her family – did they hail from Bengal? What business brought them to Delhi? Though in an unbearably decrepit condition, the Mughal mosque, standing detached from the hordes of astonished visitors and overlooking these minor graves and later structures, has persisted in its will to neither get reduced to a skeleton, nor disappear altogether from the face of earth. A will that the serai seems to have lost a long time ago!

A touch of Bengali architecture

Location: Qutb Complex, Mehrauli, New Delhi
Open: Sunrise to Sunset

Nearest Metro Station: Saket and Qutb Minar stations are equidistant.
How to reach: Taxis, buses and autos can be availed from different parts of the city. Avail a bus/auto from the metro station (approx. 2 km either).
Entrance fees: Indians: Rs 10; Foreigners: Rs 250; Free for children up to 15 years of age.
Photography charges: Nil
Video charges: Rs 25
Time required for sightseeing: 30 min
Facilities available: Wheelchair access, Audio guides.
Relevant Links -

Another Serai in Delhi - Pixelated Memories - Arab serai, Humayun's Tomb complex