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R. Nath in his "History of Decorative Art in Mughal Architecture" describes the values that Mughal builders in India strived for. He mentions 'kamal' (miraculous), 'lateef' (beautiful), 'nayab' (unrivalled, unique) and 'ajeebo-gharib' (wonderful). R. Nath also points out how Mughal monuments were executed with 'the greatest amount of thought, planning and calculation' - 'with utmost precision with regard to environemental cues, ground-plan, admixture of parts, proportions etc.'
Yet, much of their architectural legacy is no longer with us to assess. R.Nath records that scores of gardens, tombs and palaces that once adorned the suburbs of Sikandra at Agra were sold out or auctioned. 'Relics of the glorious age of the Mughals were either destroyed or converted beyond recognition....Out of 270 beautiful monuments which existed at Agra alone, before its capture by Lake in 1803, hardly 40 have survived.'
In the same vein, David Carroll (in 'Taj Mahal') observes: " The forts in Agra and Delhi were commandeered at the beginning of the nineteenth century and turned into military garrisons. Marble reliefs were torn down, gardens were trampled, and lines of ugly barracks, still standing today, were installed in their stead. In the Delhi fort, the Hall of Public Audience was made into an arsenal and the arches of the outer colonnades were bricked over or replaced with rectangular wooden windows."
The forts at Chunar, Allahabad and Ahmednagar suffered a fate, similiar or worse. The Mughal fort at Allahabad, reputed to be one of Akbar's favorite, and intended to be one of the largest was begun in 1583, but taken over by the British in 1801 and converted into colonial barracks. Today, Allahabad's Mughal heritage survives only at the Khusrau Bagh.
The Khusrau Bagh is a complex of
tombs that includes a memorial to Prince Khusrau who had staged
an unsuccessful rebellion against his father (Emperor Jehangir)
and was later killed by his brother (Emperor Shah Jehan) in 1615.
(The tomb featured above is that of his Rajput mother.)
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Photographs: Shishir Thadani