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Itmad-ud daulah, one of the most beautiful of Mughal
tombs, stands across the river Yamuna from the Taj Mahal, nearly one
and a half kilometers up-stream. Belonging to the age of Jahangir, it
contains cenotaphs of Mirza Ghiyas and Asmat Begum, parents of the
powerful Mughal Empress Nurjahan queen of Jahangir, an exceptional
beauty and an astute administrator. Mirza Ghiyas had left Persian in
sheer penury in search of better prospects at the Mughal court. He
benefited much from the influence of his daughter who he had once
abandoned in the desert. Akbar offered him a good rank and
privileges. Jahangir made him his prime minister with the title
Itmad-ud-daulah (Pillar of the State). Nurjahan’s brother Asaf
Khan later became prime minister of Shahjahan. This Persian family
formed at the Mughal court giving the grand Mughals two most
celebrated queens-Nurjahan and Mumtaz Mahal (Lady of the Taj),
daughter of Asaf Khan.
The tomb of Itmad-ud-daulah was built during
1622-28. Standing at the center of a high-walled charbagh laid out in
the typically Persian style, this 540 feet square plot has four
gatways in red sandstone. The eastern gate is for entrance and the
northern and southern gateways for symmetry. The western end has a
double-storeyed pavilion with a gallery overlooking the river. Laid
out during the lifetime of Mirza Ghaiyas, the garden was the pleasure
haunt of his family. The channels dividing the garden have four
sections with flagged pathways and parterres for cultivating flower
beds. Roses, tulips, iris, lilies and narcissus-reminiscent of the
Persian spring, were grown here. Cypresses were planted near the
walls to retain an unobstructed, full view of the tomb in the center.
The square tomb, only 70 feet in diameter, is a
small structure with octagonal corner towers which are circular in
form above the terrace and topped by circular chattris (kiosks). The
stunted and stout look of the towers and the experimental design of
the chattris strike a slightly discordant note does the rood pavilion
which looks inconsequential. The main structure has three openings on
each side. The central arch provides entry and and the two flanking
arches are closed with exquisitely crafted trellis screen. The board
chajja (eave) and the brackets provide the architectural balance and
allow for light and shade on the outer walls. The central chamber
contains cenotaphs of Asmat Begum at the central and of Mirza Ghiyas
to her right. The same symmetrical arrangement stands repeated in the
upper pavilion, this reappearing at the Taj. In both cases, the wife
predeceased the husband that could perhaps account for this
deviation from the normal symmetry. In the absence of any screen
surrounding the cenotaphs, this arrangement is less pronounced here
than it is at the Taj. Also resting in one of the corner rooms is
Ladli Begum, Nurjahan’s daughter by her first marriage.
The tomb of Itmad-ud-daulah has always been much
admired for the most exquisite surface decoration of outer walls with
pieces of precious and semi-precious stones in colour, providing the
fist example of such splendid ornamentation in geometrical, floral
and conventional patterns. Elegant execution of designs in subdued
hues of stones considerably reduce the dazzle of the white marble and
the aesthetic restraint in decoration which is profuse but not
overdone can be clearly seen. The stones were chosen for their
texture so that the mosaics felt like an architecture of Braille!
The relatively diminutive size of the tomb was
dictated by the small size of the pre-existent garden. If it gives
the impression of a gem within a casket or an enlarged precious
object, it is because the tomb was originally intended to be built
entirely in silver, a plan wisely abandoned in favour of white
marble.
Nurjahan settled for a small but most exquisite
architecture in miniature covered with the most prolific decoration
in pietra dura, first of its kind on such a scale and a tremendous
improvement on similar decoration done on red sandstone at the
entrance gateway of Akbar’s tomb at Sikandra, which had been
supervised by Jahangir. Itmad-ud-daulah’s ornamentation makes
the tomb suggestive less a tomb than of a reliquary. It is simply
marvelous, too exquisite for words-a fitting tribute to the memory of
her parents.
Manabhat-kari or pietra dura originated from the rough type of
mosaic work in stone in the earlier Mughal monuments. Bold
geometrical patterns in black and white marble, porphyry and other
stones, as seen on the Sikandra gateway, show the initial stage. At
Itmad-ud-daulah, the mosaic work is more elaborate in pattern and in
the choice of coloured stones used on white marble. The designs are
still mainly arabesque or geometrical though they include Persian
motifs like wine-vase, cup and dish, cypresses and narcissus etc. it
also heralded the transitional stage form Akbar’s vigorous and
masculine style to a more sensuous style typical of Jahangir’s
and Shahjahan’s period. A significant change was introduced
through the insertion of precious and semi precious stones like onyx,
jasper, topaz, lapis, cornelian etc., in the structural matrix. Cut
into thin slices, these are meticulously embedded in sockets engraved
on the marble background. This technique was perfected at the Taj
Mahal.
Itmad-ud-daulah also contains some splendid
specimens of incised painting on stucco in the interior. The ceiling
space over the dado and alcoves is covered with ingeniously patterned
paintings. The central ceiling over the cenotaphs has a marvelous
geometrical design with the splendour of butterfly wings.
Chinese-clouds pattern over the dado borders, adds a lightness to the
whole setting and the stunning two colour effect is obtained by
removing the heavy colour pigment painted over the white plaster. The
few structure weaknesses are more than amply compensated by the
gorgeous decoration with coloured stones on white marble which, as
Aldous Huxley said, covers a multitude of sins.
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