Tomb – India Travels

Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish succeeded Qutub-ud-din-Aibak on the throne of Delhi and therefore he was the second Sultan of Delhi. He was the one who took over the construction work of Qutub Minar and managed to complete 3 more floors after Aibak’s death.

The tomb of Iltutmish was constructed by himself. It has a tomb chamber with a central cenotaph. There are exquisite carvings at the entrance and the interior walls of the tomb. Kufi and Naskh character inscriptions can be found on the inside walls. There are 3 mihrabs on the west side of the tomb and the central one is made with marble with exquisite carvings and inscriptions.

Like Aibak, Iltutmish was also a slave. He was bought by Qutub-ud-din-Aibak and grew in stature and position during Aibak’s rule. He married Aibak’s daughter and became the Governor of Badaun. When Aibak died in a polo accident and Aram Shah whose relation to Aibak was shrouded in mystery tried to take over the Sultanate, Iltutmish was invited by Qutbi Amirs to take over as Sultan in Delhi.

He acquired a great nation and is credited with consolidating the power of Sultanate in India. However, he was not able to hold all of them together. Slowly one by one he kept losing parts of the country as rebellions broke out and the Hindu Maharaja’s asserted their dominion over the captured regions. Even his own people in different parts of the country left allegiance to him and started their own Sultanate!

The long Lodi road from Safdarjung Tomb ends rather tamely at the Sabz Burj right inside the roundabout, or what is now popularly known as the Neeli Chhatri for its spectacular blue dome. Take the second exit and you are already inside the Humayun Tomb premises. A short walk and an entrance ticket later, we entered the chirpy grounds. I was accompanying my cousin from Kerala on a tour of Delhi and were now at the famed Humayun’s Tomb.

The Humayun’s tomb is preceded by tombs of lesser known personalities, but the fun fact is that they are far better preserved. We were told that the Aga Khan Foundation along with the TATA trust had been engaged to restore the monument to its pristine past. And it was pretty evident.

The squeaky clean pathway that leads to the Humayun’s Tomb

Past the domed gate lay the Humayun Tomb.

The tomb stands on a terraced platform. You can climb up to the platform to enter the tomb. We went in October and the pleasant climate was perfect for viewing.

The tomb has two stories. But the entrance to the upper floors are closed. I am sure there was a time when these were open to the general public, but that day it was closed. 🙁

Humayun’s Tomb, apart from Humayun’s grave, also contains graves of other royal members of the Mughal family of the time.

There are gates on all four sides of the tomb, which gives it a unique quadrilateral look, something of a uniqueness with subsequent Mughal architecture, especially that contains tombs.

We enjoyed our visit and after packing our memories in an electronic plastic card, we made our way to the next destination. More on that later.

Tag Archives: Tomb

The Qutub Minar Complex – Tomb of Iltutmish

Humayun’s Tomb