Chini ka Rauza, Agra

ranasafvi — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 13:45:04 +0000

Once upon a time, the banks of the River Yamuna was lined with forty five beautiful gardens as per the map in Jaipur City Museum. It is in the garden mansion of Raja man Singh that Emperor Shah Jahan built the grand mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal- the Rauza e Munawwara or as its known today the Taj Mahal.

Not many of the gardens remain but we can see the pavilions and burjis scattered along the bank. One of them houses a tomb with glazed tile ornamentation called Chini ka Rauza.

Visitors to Agra invariably end up in front of the Taj Mahal, or Itmad-ud Daula’s tomb and venture out to Fatehpur Sikri.

It’s only a few who go to the Chini ka Rauza. Rauza is a Persian word which means garden and is used to describe a tomb of a saintly person. This is the Rauza of Afzal Khan, a Persian poet who was the wazir of Shah Jahan. He was the brother of Amanat Khan , the famous artist who designed the calligraphy on the Taj mahal

Though Afzal Khan died in Lahore 1639, he had already built this tomb for himself and was brought here for burial. It was built around the same time as the Taj Mahal was being built.

It stands out because it is not built in the usual marble or red sandstone style of architecture prevalent in Agra but in the Persian style with beautiful glazed tiles. Most of the tiles covering the exterior have been destroyed but the interior gives clues of its grandeur. It is three storied. Today there is just one pavilion standing near the ghat and its approach gate from the ghat has vanished.

Since porcelain is known as chini (chinese) in many parts of India it got the name Chini ka Rauza.

The plan is square with a proportionately small dome on it with the inverted lotus and finial. There are arched central bays on each side, which form the large entrance arches (iwans). On the corners aresmall minarets known as guldastas.

The exterior is now a muddy brown and hardly prepares one for the glory of the interior. One can only imagine what it must have looked like in the 17th century.

It has calligraphy from the Quran on the band bellow the drum of the roof and many arched windows above it. The interior is painted and was probably repaired in the 19th century.

The entrances are honeycombed

There are two graves inside it without any inscription. If there was one it has got lost in time.

The lone surviving burji of some garden.

It is one km on some crowded lanes from the tomb of Itmad ud Daula and is governed by the ASI timings. Entry is free.

Address: Ram Bagh, Agra, Uttar Pradesh 282007

Timings: 6:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Sunehri Masjid, Red Fort: Then and Now

ranasafvi — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 05:55:32 +0000

[Shelfmark: Add.Or.5475 British Library [From ‘Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi’, an album consisting of 89 folios containing approximately 130 paintings of views of the Mughal and pre-Mughal monuments of Delhi commissioned by Metcalfe]
This beautiful mosque was built by Javed Khan Khwaja Sara in 1747AD. Khwaja Sara was the title given to eunuchs who were an integral part of medieval India. They guarded the harems and were also confidants of the Emperors and women of the harem.
Javed Khan was a favourite of Nawab Qudsia Begum, wife of Emperor Mohammad Shah and mother of Emperor Ahmed Shah. He was in charge of the harem and given title of Nawab Bahadur. Qudsia Begum, also known as Udham Bai, was very powerful in the initial years of Mohammad Shah’s reign. When her son, Ahmand Shah, succeeded to the throne in 1748 Qudsia Begum and Javed Khan became centres of power.

There is a beautiful gate which leads upto the courtyard and the mosque.

It was the time of Zohar prayers when we went there and the faithful were gathered there.
The uniqueness of this mosque is tat it’s made of sang e basee a light salmon coloured stone which is not usually used in mosques.

The mosque is surmounted by three domes, which were originally gilt with copper from which it derives its name.

The faithful gathered for prayers, leave their footwear outside as is prescribed for holy places.
The mosque has a main prayer hall and two minarets. These minarets were also gilded but were damaged and replaced by sang e basee by Bahadur Shah.
The central arch of the mosque bears an inscription about the builder of the mosque and date of its construction.

In 1852, Bahadur Shah II had the mosque repaired and replaced the copper plates of the domes with sandstone facing.

Asif Khan Dehlvi waits patiently for me as I am busy clicking pictures.
Thomas Metcalfe in his Imperial Delhi writes
” The natives of India though willing to erect expensive edifices in order to perpetuate their own names, are not equally liberal in repairing the public works of their predecessors.
The Nawab Ahmud Bukhsh Khan, father of the wretched Nawab of Ferozepoor, was an exception to this rule, for he repaired the Mosque in question with a view to the benefit of the neighborhood. Soon after when passing by with his second and favorite son, he was attacked by an infuriated elephant, who killed one of the horses and dashed the vehicle to pieces.
The Nawab and his son were only saved from destruction by the proximity of this mosque in which they were able to take refuge.
This incident has added not a little to the interest of the building.”

Shelfmark: WD179
Pencil and wash drawing of a mosque at Delhi by Thomas (1749-1840) and William (1769-1837) Daniell, dated 23 February 1789.
If you see carefully you will see that this sketch from 1789 is very different from today. A lot of the buildings were destroyed by The British post 1857.
The entrance has a small area which has now been given to the birds which flock most old monuments
The Green grass near it attract weary people and provide a place to rest

architecture – Rana Safvi

Chini ka Rauza, Agra

Sunehri Masjid, Red Fort: Then and Now