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Wāqi’āt-i Bāburi, State Museum Alwar

The miniature is inscribed with the following text:

“…hamīn shab i chahār shambah, qal’a i Dehli rā sair kardah. Shabash īnhā būd wa subāh i ān

Roz i chahār shambah, mazār i Khwāja Hazrat Qutbuddin tawāf kardah maqbara …”

[..on the night (preceding) Wednesday, went for site seeing the Fort of Dehli. Stayed there for the night. The next day morning, that is, Wednesday, went to circumambulate the sacred tomb of Hazrat Qutbuddin…]

( Translation by Prof Ali Nadeem Rezavi)

Treasures await you in the Alwar State Museum.

Since photography wasn’t allowed I’m sending images from the guide book

The waqeat e baburi was a visual delight with the colours leaping out of the page.

It Bears imperial sea but Year not given

The painting is a representation of Mehrauli or Dehli – I Kuhna but post 1562 as Adham Khan octagonal tomb can be seen in the background.

Qutub Saheb ‘s dargah didn’t have a domed structure till 1940’s and thus it’s representation would be symbolic.

The ones near the minar are Imam Zamin’s tomb and Alai Darwaza.

Beyond Adham Khan ‘s tomb could possibly be Quli Khan’s tomb ( Foster brother of Akbar) which was later bought by Metcalfe and converted into a summer house named Dilkusha.

I am grateful to Rochelle Kessler who pointed out that the manuscript is published here as c. 1775 per AIIS records: https://vmis.in/ArchiveCategories/collection_gallery_zoom?id=119&siteid=0&minrange=0&maxrange=0&assetid=10&self_archive_id=444&index=9

Further reading

https://rezavisblastfromthepast.co.in/2020/09/26/an-illustration-of-defiance-depicting-the-tomb-of-qutbuddin-the-minar-at-mehrauli-in-a-16th-century-miniature/?fbclid=IwAR3b_aGai2MaKGcwlyPXL5i2iBKPcgsnnXob5L32mdxHoxHobhW3tckKeQU

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