Indian Columbus

Delhi has several Mughal monuments, but Safdarjung’s Tomb belongs to a very different phase of the empire. Humayun’s Tomb was built when Mughal power was rising. The Taj Mahal came when the empire was at its artistic peak. Safdarjung’s Tomb, completed in 1754 CE, appeared when that grandeur was slowly fading. That historical setting is visible in the monument itself. It follows the familiar Mughal formula of a grand mausoleum placed at the centre of a Charbagh garden, surrounded by gateways, pavilions and water channels. The ambition is still there, though the refinement of the earlier imperial monuments is missing in places. The complex was built for Mirza Muqim Abul Mansur Khan, better known as Safdarjung. He was the Nawab of Awadh and served as the Prime Minister of the Mughal emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur. Although the central mausoleum attracts most of the attention, the entrance gateway, mosque, garden channels and buildings along the enclosure walls are equally important in unde...