The Tomb of Safdarjung

This “last flicker in the lamp of Mughal architecture” is the final resting place of the erstwhile Nawab of Awadh, Mirza Muqim Abul Mansur Khan, also known as Safdarjung, whose exceptional service to emperor Ahmad Shah elevated him to Grand Vizier (Prime Minister) in 1748, and whose excessive ambition cost him that privilege in 175

The prominent and ornamental gate frames the monument, that at first glance holds a strong resemblance to the mausoleum of emperor Humayun. It is similar in colour and follows the charbagh (quadrilateral walled garden) style of construction divided by water channels.

As you walk in however, you notice the marked absence of refinement. The skewed proportions, the elongated facade, the bulbous dome and its mismatched stone cladding mark a disappointing epilogue to the grand legacy of Mughal architecture in India. In many ways it is said to be a reflection of its times. Of the degenerate lifestyles of lesser emperors and the decline of a great empire. whose famed coffers had been cleaned out by a daring Persian raid.

For the lack of funds and unavailability of marbles and sandstones, the builders were forced to strip the nearby Abdul Rahim Khan – i – Khanan’s Tomb and use the marble and sandstone.

It seems that halfway through the construction, the marble ran out and the builders were forced to patch up the white marble with pink sandstone, resulting into patches of pink sandstone intruding into the glistening of the white marble dome.

Set in the heart of Delhi, the tomb, little known and seldom remembered, is a tribute both to the influence that Safdarjung wielded in the rapidly disintegrating empire as well as to the spirit of mankind to rise against all setbacks and discriminations to achieve a position of superiority as Safdarjung and Saadat Khan did.  Lending its name to an airport, an arterial road, an entire residential and commercial enclave and to one of the foremost hospitals in the capital, the tomb epitomizes Safdarjung’s capabilities as well as the turbulent period that the Indian subcontinent was experiencing, best summed in William Dalrymple’s own words –

“Safdarjung’s life encapsulates perfectly the intriguing but cataclysmic half century that linked the Mughal high noon with the decay and disintegration of the twilight fifty years later.”