Anyone who enters Agra from the Yamuna Expressway comes upon signs giving distance to Chini ka Rauza.
At first glance the name seems an improbable name till you realise that Chini here isn’t sugar but glazed tiles which were imported from China.
It is the tomb of Allama Afzal Khan Mullah, a scholar and poet who was the Prime Minister of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. It was built in 1635.
The facade of the monument was also known for one of finest examples of glazed tile work. Now one can only see it in patches.
When we hired an auto driver to take us there he said, ” Saheb wahan kuchh nahin hai.” ( saheb there’s nothing to see there). He must have thought we were crazy to go there instead of the exquisite Tomb of Itmad -up Daulah. But I had visited it on earlier trips and somehow always missed this.
Situated on the Riverside it’s got an enviable location. I don’t know how much land it occupied earlier but now there’s a narrow road which goes through a small mohalla and ends at its gate.
It’s very dark inside but once your eyes get used to it very beautiful. Beautiful floral and geometric designs brighten it up and the inside hasn’t fared as badly as the outside.
There are two pretty 3 storeyed octagonal Towers near it, one adjoining it’s boundary and the other a little far away. The one near it is in ruins and used as a lavatory from the smells and mess.
There are two pretty 3 storeyed octagonal Towers near it. One is built in its wall while the other is a little further down the river.
These seem to be buildings associated with the ghat.
There was another tomb like structure on the left but in another compound and we didn’t visit it.
