Deciphering secrets deep within Humayun’s Tomb

Saturday marked the third heritage walk in a series that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is conducting.

The majestic Humayun’s Tomb was blanketed by a thick layer of fog, as a group of history enthusiasts, packed in layers of clothing to fight off the morning cold, huddled around to learn more about various structures within the vast complex.

Visitors at Humayun's Tomb on Saturday. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Saturday marked the third heritage walk in a series that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is conducting. Sanjeev Kumar Singh, an executive engineer with the MCD heritage cell, kicked off the day’s history lessons at 9am with a discussion on Humayun’s Tomb, built in 1565-72 AD, which houses more than 150 graves in 60 chambers.

According to the Archaeological Survey of India, Humayun’s grieving widow Hamida Banu Begum had built the mausoleum. The tomb itself is made mostly of quartzite stone — locally procured from Delhi in that era.

Singh pointed to the mosaic of architectural styles, evident in the tomb’s entrance, and said, “The jharokhe (windows) are in Rajput style, while the projections of the entrance which make a kind of ‘U’ shape are inspired from Iranian architecture. This is a perfect example of Indo-Islamic architecture.”

The MCD heritage cell walk also explored the many structure that the Humayun’s Tomb complex houses.

The main entrance leads to a huge ground, on the right of which lies the Isa Khan tomb enclosure (1547 AD), which includes the tomb and a mosque built during the lifetime of Isa Khan Niyazi, who was a noble in Sher Shah Suri’s court.

Rita Rajput, heritage research assistant in MCD’s heritage cell, said, “The arches here have Hindustani elements like elephant trunks and kalash, which is a feature of Indo-Islamic architecture. The arches of the main tomb also feature circular medallions, with designs made on lime by imprinting wooden frames.”

The off-whitish structure is punctuated by striking patterns made by red sandstone from Agra and blue glazed tiles which used to come from Persia, Rajput said.

The tomb contains six cenotaphs, one of which marked Isa Khan’s tomb, placed right in the centre.

“When the body of a person was laid down, it would always be in a perpendicular manner to the direction of Kaaba (in Mecca). The head would point towards the north and the feet would be towards the south,” Rajput continued, explaining how the directions of the cenotaphs were not random.

The walk continued as the group of visitors were led back to the main path, which went right past another structure, named after Bu Halima, who according to Singh, is documented to be a very famous Arab dancer.

“Contrary to misconceptions that Bu Halima was Humayun’s wet nurse, we have found documentation as well as proof that she was not contemporary to Humayun,” Singh said.

Pointing to a tulip design, still visible above one of the arches of Halima’s tomb, Singh added, “This architectural design became prominent after Shah Jahan.”

The hunt for Dara Shukoh

Saturday’s walk, titled Dara Shukoh Humayun ke Saaye main” (Dara Shukoh in Humayun’s shadow), was an extension of a previous discussion on December 21 — “The last resting place of Dara Shukoh”, at the Town Hall in Chandni Chowk — which had focused on the extensive research by Singh to find the Mughal prince’s cenotaph.

Thus, participants this week could see why Singh zeroed in on one among three cenotaphs, located in the south western chamber of Humayun’s Tomb — this is where he believes Dara Shukoh is buried.

“It was the book Alamgirnamah, the court history of Aurangzeb, which acted as a beacon, as it mentioned that Dara Shukoh lay with Akbar’s sons, which meant we were looking for a chamber with three males,” Singh said.

He said cenotaphs with a kalamdan (pen box) are a man’s cenotaph, while those with a takhti (slate) are a woman’s cenotaph.

Pointing to the differences in motifs and architectural features on one of the cenotaphs, Singh said, “This one has features specific to Shah Jahan’s period, while the other two have designs specific to Akbar’s period.”

“Three male cenotaphs. One has differences in design, lying nearest to the entrance, meaning that was made the last. This, according to my research, is Dara Shukoh’s last resting place,” Singh ended.

To be sure, Singh’s theory is not definitive — while some historians have congratulated the MCD executive engineer for this “find”, many others have said that the argument has loopholes.

Officials said that there are a number of walks that MCD has planned till March, with the next event on Urdu shayari on January 18, in Chandni Chowk’s Town Hall. The walks will be free of cost, they said.