Dinpanah

I had reconciled to the fact that soon I will have to voluntarily renounce my post-graduation degree and be content with my academic qualification being downgraded to BA History Honours.  Firstly, I did not earn this degree in the rightful manner. Having attended a mere six classes in two years of post-graduation and clearing sixteen sets of question papers by just glancing through the tutorials given by friends a night before every examination. But, then I suppose, this was quite normal in Delhi University. The more important reason was the recent revelations in many parts of the country by the new-age erudite scholars who are busy changing historical facts in Medieval Indian History, which happens to be my area of specialisation.

It was at that moment, when a fatwa was issued by a close friend of mine during our recent visit to Delhi. He said, “You will not leave Delhi without visiting Humayun’s Tomb and the underground museum opened recently there, thanks to the wonderful work done by Aga Khan Trust, ASI and other Indian corporates.” And so, on a bright sunny December morning, we landed at Humayun’s Tomb and bought tickets for the famed mausoleum and the museum. A walk around this place made me pause and rekindled hope and love for the glorious life and times in Medieval India. Sharing some of the highlights of the visit based on the monuments seen there and the quotes from some of plaques in the beautifully curated museum.

Humayun's tomb (Maqbara-i Humayun) was commissioned by Humayun's first wife, Empress Hamida Banu Begum in 1558 and completed in 1572, with the patronage of Emperor Akbar and was designed by Persian architects Mirak Mirza Ghiyas and his son, Sayyid Muhammad. The tomb is a precursor to the Taj Mahal. It stands on a platform of 12000 mts and reaches a height of 47 mts. The complex encompasses the main tomb of Emperor Humayun, which houses the graves of Empress Hamida Banu Begum, and also Dara Shikoh, great-great-grandson of Humayun and son of the later Emperor Shah Jahan, as well as numerous other subsequent Mughals. In all, there are over 100 graves within the entire complex earning it the name "Dormitory of the Mughals".

The main tomb was placed at the centre of a 30-acre Charbagh, a Persian-style garden with a quadrilateral layout. It was the first of its kind in South Asia on such a scale and the plaque describing the significance states…"A ‘hasht-bihisht’ meaning ‘eight heavens’ in Persian was a geometric plan for gardens, pavilions and mausoleums consisting of a central square, divided into nine sections. It also represented the astrological concept of eight planets corresponding to eight heavens. Akbar envisioned a paradise garden on earth as his father’s final resting place. The essence and beauty of this Chaharbagh is its spiritual importance as a symbol of paradise; through geometry, flowing water and life itself. The garden is divided by four channels of flowing water representing the four rivers of Quranic Paradise. The river Yamuna to the East gave access to boats to directly disembark at the garden. The Mughal royals cherished their time in the gardens conducting court, entertaining, meeting with family and friends.”

Humayun’s Tomb stands in an extremely significant archaeological setting, centred at the Shrine of the 14th century Sufi Saint, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya whom he revered and he also set up his fort Dinpanah at what is now known as Purana Qila. The city of Delhi has since developed over the centuries with this shrine as the focal point. The museum has a replica of the Sufi Saint’s final resting place and a plaque there burst a myth of old. Everyone quotes Jehangir on what he said about Kashmir that, “If there is a Paradise on Earth, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here.” I learnt that these immortal lines were actually penned by Amir Khusrau, many centuries ago, as a tribute to Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, who lived in this area.

“The dome of Humayun’s mausoleum is crowned by a majestic gilded copper finial. The finial is an exemplar of the incredible scientific achievement in metallurgy of Hindustani craftsmen. Inspired by the Hindu and Jain temples, the grandeur of the six-meter-tall finial is of a design and scale not seen before. It is also said to have served as a lightning conductor. Following the damage to the finial in 2014, an exact replica was restored to the dome. This required a 22 feet log of teak, especially manufactured copper sheets of 99.4% percent purity, the application of eight layers of gold leaf- and, the most challenging effort to fix the finial at a 50-meter height atop the dome. The conservation of the damaged finial was achieved after a two-year effort by 10th generation coppersmiths using traditional hand tools. The repaired finial still retains gold leaf.”

Another interesting fusion seen was the six-pointed star which was significant to Humayun, who first used them prominently on gateways of his citadel of Dinpanah in Delhi. The six-pointed star is known as ‘Shatkona’ in Hinduism, and the ‘Star of David’ in Jewish religion. At Humayun’s mausoleum they are the most prominent ornamentation – seen on the spandrels of the arches of the gateways and mausoleum; and those on the principal arches includes a lotus bud in the centre. 

Emperor Humayun was greatly influenced by astronomy and much progress was made in this science during his time. There are on display seven bronze figures of Humayun wearing colours of the Planetary Lord of each day of the week: Moon (white) on Monday, Mars (red) on Tuesday, Mercury (blue/purple) on Wednesday, Jupiter (beige) on Thursday, Venus (green) on Friday, Saturn (black) on Saturday and Sun (yellow) on Sunday.

Another plaque told us about the story of Nizam, the water carrier. “After the defeat by Sher Shah, Humayun nearly drowned while fording the river Ganga at Chausa. Weighed down by his heavy armour, Humayun was rescued from drowning `by a water carrier named Nizam. In gratitude, Humayun respectfully referred to him as ‘Nizam Auliya’ and to show his gratitude, made the unprecedented gesture of allowing him to sit on the throne of Hindustan for a day. This revolutionary act of generosity by Humayun was contrary to the strict norms of social order.”

There is one plaque in the museum containing the letter that informed Akbar of Humayun’s fall, which led to his demise, written on 24th January, 1556. It stated…"We went up to the roof of the library…and there we held interviews until the evening prayer. When it was time for the evening prayer and we were in a hurry to get down, we had gone a few steps down the stone staircase…when the call for the prayer was given. We wanted to sit down and as we were in the act if sitting, our royal foot caught in the hem of our fur coat and we rolled down the stairs to the bottom…”

It will take any visitor an entire day if he were to do justice to this entire complex containing multiple tombs, museum and a massive garden complex known as Sunder Nursery. Since, we did not have the luxury of time, we gave the garden a miss and apart from the main mausoleum of Humayun, visited Isa Khan’s Tomb and mosque. Isa Khan Niyazi was a noble in the court of Sher Shah Suri. The octagonal tomb is positioned within an octagonal garden, which was built during his own lifetime and the reign of Islam Shah Suri, son of Sher Shah. It later served as a burial place for the entire family of Isa Khan. On the western side of the tomb lies a three-bay wide mosque, in red sandstone. 

Standing outside the boundary of the mausoleum complex is the impressive tomb known as Sabz Burj. This tomb bears no date but its architectural styles with its ornamental tile work is possibly Timurid and similar to octagonal structures seen across Central Asia. As with Humayun’s Tomb, Sabz Burj has a double dome with the outer dome and the tall drum covered with blue tiles. Some historians attribute this monument to have been built by Humayun in memory of his mother.

After Humayun and Akbar, can Shahjahan be far behind? I asked the cab driver to take us to Old Delhi or Shahjahanabad’s famous eatery of Karim’s. The driver did not know about the place, so I guided him to a place not far from Jama Masjid and then took a toto, an electric autorickshaw, that took almost twenty minutes to reach the spot after meandering through a heavily crowded street which has infinite number of stalls making fresh barbeque….no wonder the address is Gali Kababian. Karim Hotel was established in 1913 and this original place is a must go for all foodies. The place is simple and has the old-world charm but the food is finger licking. We were spoilt for choice and finally narrowed down to Mutton Burra Kebab and Seekh Kebab for starters, and Nalli Nihari with Sheermal (sweet bread) and Roti. I am very sure, the re-writers of history will not claim this Mughlai food to be theirs!

Our next destination was Khan Market and, fortunately, this had nothing to do with the Khans of Medieval Indian history. This is a large and upmarket shopping place named after Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan who was also known as Khan Sahib and was the elder brother of Frontier Gandhi, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, but lately is in the news, again for the wrong reasons, and some elites who visit here are categorized as the Khan Market Gang. My family just wanted to take a look at the place and we walked into a shop selling shoes. While they were talking to the salesman, I walked up to the man at the counter and asked…Is Richard Lee there? The man asked, as to why I was looking for Richard and I said, we were in school together. He gave a shout and a man in glasses walked in from the back door…that was my kindergarten buddy Richard Lee. I met him after almost half a century and took a picture with him and aptly named it, the ‘Real Khan Market Gang!’
Finally, we managed to reach the airport well in time and called up my fatwa issuing buddy. “We did all that you asked us to and more.” He was delighted and added another chapter of my personal history, “Your mother used to make the best Mughlai Parantha and that was a real treat during school days”…and so my Mughlai connection continues as I am once again proud of my academic qualifications in Medieval Indian History.

SS

Song of David

Sir David Attenborough

The other day we watched A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough where the legendary broadcaster and biologist recounts his life and the evolutionary history of life on earth. The opening scene of how Chernobyl looks, almost forty years after the world’s biggest man-made disasters, is a peek into the future, not far from now, on how this planet will look with rapid depletion green cover, rising temperature and melting of ice caps. He also offers viable solutions, if all of us were to start working on it from now, which can slow down the process of the seventh mass extinction on this planet of ours.

We saw the documentary a couple of times and then came the time when we had to book tickets for Delhi. We looked at each other and asked…should we carry masks once again like in those pandemic times; what medicines should we carry and how quickly should we escape from the gas chamber? Chernobyl is coming…or is it already here? That is when I thought of penning a Song for David, on what the near centenarian man dreams of about the only place in the universe where life exists.

Song of David

How I long for a small patch of green

To rest and see the beautiful world around me

As I lay my body on the dewy grass

I can feel the softness of the ground

I can see green grass to my right

And green, green grass to my left

Ants and other little creatures walking around

Doing their daily chores

Quite unaware of my presence

A rabbit peeps out of the burrow

He smiles and asks of me

Come to the magical world below where Alice lived

I said, when my time comes

I shall come beneath the earth

For now, let me admire God’s paradise above

Stay well David, for the earth needs more of you

Said the tiny bunny. 

Now I look up as the orange fire ball

Peeping through the white wooly clouds above

Tick-tock, tick-tock

The world lights up

Warming my body and my soul

Wonder why Van Gogh did not paint

The Shinny Starry Morning?

My eyes love the flapping of the wings

I see a sea of waving wings, big and small

Eagles, parrots, cranes and dove

Singing their songs loud and clear

Singing and dancing in the world’s best blue theatre

It looks like a greatest fusion of philharmonic and ballet

No prizes for guessing the conductor and choreographer of the show

As it unveils before my very eyes. 

My heart feels happy, happy as can be

As I breathe the air so fresh

Filled with the fragrance of the flowers

Flowers blooming big and small

Lilies, sunflowers, petunia and roses

Makes me wonder if Monet lived around here

How else could he have painted his canvases

And filled them with flowers, shrubs and trees

But even he would have tried to match the beauty

The greatest of all painters did

When He created the flowers and filled them with colours

From His pallet that no artist will ever be able to re-create

Colours that change with time and seasons

Shades which will make AI engines buffer forever.

As I turn to my left, I see unending sea

Of bushes, trees and shrubs

Deep from within the forest land

Cries of beasts shrill, loud and roar

Sounds of hooves of the hunters and the hunted

Ending with the deathly shrieks

Tells me of a bustling habitat for animals

Where they roam, hunt and sleep

Dear William Blake

Please don’t take a break

Write beyond the lonely Tyger

Write about the mighty elephant and the tiny red panda

And say again and again

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

My eyes wander to the gushing stream nearby

The changing moods of flowing water

From gentle roll to picking up speed and then falling over the hill

Makes me get up and take a dip

The water is so cold and clean

And as I keep going deeper and deeper

The colourful fishes, big and small

Swooshed past me as if a rainbow passed

They looked happy and spirited

Till the bigger fish arrived

The food cycle in the water must go on

Fishing must also go on, within limits of course

The corals should not lose their pigments

The water must stay ever so clean and limitless

Giving us food, water and life forever

Finally, I put my head up above the water

And my eyes fall on tall snow-covered mountains

Of glaciers flowing by

Penguins, polar bears and snow leopards

Running across the huge chunks of ice.

 

Can anything be more majestic, more serene

And I said to myself

What a wonderful world!

Can we not keep it so wonderful and beautiful?

Can we not make progress and yet rejuvenate the planet?

This planet is not ours to keep

It is for us to keep for our children and their children

We still have time

Not to reverse the climate clock

But to hold it firm where it is now

Never to let it go down any further

All we seek is trees of green

Skies of blue

Mountains of white

Waters so true

So it can remain forever

A Wonderful World.

SS