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There are two structures in Delhi, belonging to the Sultanate period, whose purpose has not been clearly understood. These are Bajai Mandal near Malviya Nagar and Sher Mandal in Purana Qila. Bajai Mandal forms a prominent part of the Jahanpanah ruins. Muhammad Tughlaq built this city between Siri and Tughlaqabad. He had it enclosed within high walls to afford protection to the populace. The citadel palace was extremely impressive and commanded a great view from its hilly prominence. Ibn Battuta, the 14th century Moorish traveler and chronicler of Mohammed Tughlaq recorded the splendour of the hazar sutun palace (thousand pillared hall). Here Muhammad Tughlaq sat under a wooden canopy for public audience.
This grand palace has since been destroyed and the whole structural complex reduced to mere unidentifiable ruins. Amongst these ruins is a small rubble-built octagonal structure atop a set of oblong rooms. The sloping path skirting the structure was possibly meant to carry the Sultan into the apartments. The rooms are now mere skeletons but in the floor one would not fail to notice two big holes which were the royal vaults or the treasury.
On a leveled platform in front of these rooms one can see holes on paved stones in regular lines. These holes secured the wooden pillars in place and are now the only indications of the existence of a magnificent palace here. Ruins of some residential structures are to the east of this mound. They once formed part of the royal apartments. A cemetery has sprung up between these two groups of ruins.
The octagonal structure is now called Biaji Mandal. From its summit Muhammad Tughlaq watched movements of his troops. It was an observation post of a considerable strategic importance. It could also have been the pavilion of winds.
The other quizzical structure is Sher Mandal in Purana Qila. Humayun laid the foundation of his city Dinpanah in 1533 and chose the ancient Indraprastha site for his fort. In the first part of his rule upto 1540 when the Afghan chieftain Sher Shah defeated him, he could only complete the massive fort walls and the three magnificent gateways. Sher Shah razed to the ground the few structures within the fort and built the grand Qala-i-Kohna masjid and a double storeyed octagonal tower in red sandstone surmounted by a pavilion with just a little decoration in marble.
Sher Mandal, as this tower is called, is too small to have been a residential palace. Possibly for its position on the hillock, it was a pleasure pavilion. When Humayun recaptured his fort in 1555, he used it as a library and observatory. It was from the second storey stairs that Humayun had tumbled down and died. Humayun’s death lends this structure a touch of mystery and pathos.
On Friday, January 24, 1556 as Humayun listened to news from Mecca from some pilgrims and also discussed with astrologers the hour at which Venus was to rise, the muezzin from the mosque gave the azan (call) for prayer. Humayun, a greatly devout Muslim, immediately sat down to offer his evening prayers In the process his foot got entangled in the robes, his staff slipped and he fell down, headlong over the stairs, trying in vain to clutch at the slippery edges of the much-used stone steps. He hit the ground, fatally wounded. Akbar was away hunting. Urgent summons were sent for his return. A mullah named Bakshi, who resembled the dying Mughal King, impersonated Humayun at Jharoka darshan. Three days later Humayun died.
Sher Mandal became deserted after Humayun’s death and soon the young Akbar shifted capital to Agra. Since then Sher Mandal has remained a structure haunted by tragic memories of the fall of Humayun, a refined king “Childish but endearing- not perhaps, the best qualifications for an emperor.”
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