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Red Taj in Agra:Unknown to visitors, craving attention
Agra: Taj Mahal, the white marvel in marble built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal attracts visitors from all over the world, including
Agra: Taj Mahal, the white marvel in marble built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal attracts visitors from all over the world, including many heads of state. US President Donald Trump is also set to visit it on Monday evening.
But few know that yet another monument of love, albeit not so grandiose, stands forlorn in a corner of the city, craving attention.
This monument is the Red Taj Mahal, built by a desolate Dutch woman in memory of her soldier husband in the 18th century. Architecturally it is no parallel to the Taj but the similarity between the two structures is that both were built out of love.
The Red Taj Mahal is located adjacent to the national highway and MG Road in a graveyard known as ‘John Sahab Ka Roza’ which traces its roots to Armenians. The stone engraving detailing its history is fading and it remains one of the numerous lesser known monuments eclipsed by the glitter of Taj.
It is the tomb of John Hessing William who hailed from Utrecht in the Netherlands and was in military service with various rulers in India. When he died he was buried here.
Not many know about it and a resident living in a hutment facing the graveyard says that it is a place where very few people come, that too at long intervals.
The site is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India but tourists are mostly unaware about it. The tomb is almost a replica of the Taj Mahal with four minarets at four corners around a dome-shaped structure on an elevated platform, all in red sand stone.
There are other tombs and graves in the cemetery with inscriptions in Armenian and Portuguese.
It is believed that land for this cemetery was granted by Mughal Emperor Akbar, portraying Armenian presence in the city during the Mughal period.
Hessing initially came to Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka) in military service of the Dutch East India Company in 1752, reveals the inscription on a stone within the tomb.
He moved back to Holland after five years but returned to India in 1763 and served under the Nizam of Hyderabad before joining the Scindias and fought various battles for them. He was rewarded for his bravery during the battle of Bhondegaon near Agra in 1787.
The inscription reveals that he later served under Dowlat Rao Scindia and became a colonel, bravely holding command of Agra Fort till his death in 1803.
Historians say that his wife Ann Hessing built the Red Taj Mahal in his memory.
The structure, which has graves of Hessing’s relatives in lower cloisters, is not only a throwback into history but also a scintillating example of the labour of love.
