When one loses the way one finds another!
Trying to navigate ourselves out of the city of Nakodar into which we had entered on our way to Kapurthala I saw two domes and then a pair of well preserved Mughal monuments.
Known as Ustad- Shagird, I posted yesterday on the Ustad. Today it’s the turn of the Shagird.
The bigger monument is of the Shagird.
Unlike the one of the Ustad this is square outside and octagonal inside ( Prof Subhash Parihar)
The plinth had recessed archways with openings but all these were grilled and locked so I was only able to gaze at it from below and rely on Prof Parihar’s book.
This was built in Emperor Shah Jahan ‘s reign and has the pear shaped do mein vogue then.
It springs from a cylindrical dome and is topped by a lotus a and finial.
Four chatris with engaged turrets can be seen on all four sides.
I could not go up but Prof Parihar describes the tomb chamber as octagonal and the interior covered by fine plaster. The “arches and panels have red-painted borders. A long Quran c in white against dark green background, runs below the parapet of the room.”
The inscription gives the name of Haji Jamal and year as 1656-57.
The tomb is lavishly decorated with glazed tiles.
“The facades of the tomb are divided into panels framed with simulated brickwork”
The theme is flowers and vases. The spandrels have floral arabesque designs.
The dome shows that there would have been similar tile work.
