Sunday, December 2, 2001		Article

A Mughal empress’ tribute to her father
K.R.N. Swamy

AGRA is the home of the Taj Mahal — "a lover’s tear on the cheek of time". Although far less known than the Taj Mahal, the ornate structure of It-ma-ud-Daula in the same city is the most beautiful tribute built by a daughter (Mughal Empress Nur Jahan) to her father — a veritable Taj Mahal of filial love. Jawaharlal Nehru was great admirer of this "eclectic" edifice and used to ask foreign VIPs visiting Agra not to miss it.

The life of the 16th century Empress and her father had all the hallmarks of an Arabian nights fable. Mirza Ghias Beg belonged to an impoverished noble family of Iran. Having heard of the magnificence of the Mughal court, Ghias Beg started on a trek to India. His misfortune touched the climax, when his wife gave birth to a daughter in the Afghan desert. Unable to shoulder this extra burden, Ghias Beg decided to leave the child to the mercy of God and abandoned the new-born baby by the side of the caravan route.

A few hours later, a rich merchant known by the name of Mulkhamsud passed that way and saw the infant sleeping peacefully, encircled by a serpent which was shading the child’s face with its hood. Reading in this sign that the child would have a great future, Mulkhamsud continued his journey with the baby. Proceeding further, the merchant came across Ghias Beg and his family and on hearing of the grief of the mother, handed over the child to her.

On reaching India, Ghias Beg accompanied the merchant to the court of Emperor Akbar in Delhi and was appointed as a court official. By virtue of his accomplishments, he rose to a very high position soon. Ghias Beg’s daughter so miraculously saved, was known by the name of Mehr-un-nisa and used to come to the imperial harem with her mother. There she met the heir-apparent to the throne Prince Salim (future Emperor Jehangir) who fell in love with her. When this news reached Akbar, he had the girl married to Sher Afghan, Governor of Bengal to end the love story.. But after Akbar’s death, Jehangir had Sher Afghan murdered. Mehr-un-nisa mourned her husband for years, but finally succumbed to the Emperor’s charms and became known as Empress Nur Jahan (Light of the World).

As the Empress, she had high offices of the state bestowed on her father and her brother Asaf Khan. Asaf Khan’s daughter Arjmand Banu was married to the heir-apparent (the future Emperor Shah Jahan) to be immortalised later in the Taj Mahal. Mirza Ghias Beg was soon made the It-ma-ud-Daula or Lord High Treasurer. Emperor Jehangir, in his memoirs, writes of his father-in-law thus — "He was a good scholar with a pretty taste for poetry and he possessed many genial qualities and social accomplishments. His accounts were always perfect".

Nur Jahan’s mother died in 1620. It-ma-ud-Daula survived her only by four months and his son Asaf Khan became the new treasurer. The Empress wanted to build a commemorative to her father and her original plan was that of an edifice built of pure silver. When the Jehangir heard of this, he was not worried about the cost. But Asaf Khan, her brother was more practical. He pointed out to her that such a building would be a temptation for any plunderer while a marble edifice would be more safe. The Empress realised the truth of this argument and the monument started in A.D 1622. was completed in A.D. 1631.

It is situated on the left bank of the river Jamuna in the midst of a garden surrounded by a wall. In the centre, on a raised platform stands the tomb. It has two storeys and at every corner there is an octagonal tower surmounted by an open pavilion. The edifice is wholly in white marble and is covered throughout with mosaics in pietra dura or inlaid work of precious stones, the first apparently and certainly one of the most splendid examples of that class of ornamentation in India. In fact, it is said that the builders of the Taj Mahal profited by the experience gained in the construction of It-ma-ud-Daula, especially in the inlaywork of semi-precious stones.

In the centre of the main hall lie the cenotaphs of It-ma-ud-Daula and his wife and the tomb stones are of polished yellow marble. The ceilings were once richly decorated with gold and silver paintings. Taking advantage of the decline of the Mughal Empire a century later, invaders "set fire to the ceiling" of the ornate edifice in order to scrape off the molten gold. In 1905, Lord Curzon the Viceroy of India restored representative panels of the paintings to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales and these panels give an idea of the beauty of the original painted ceiling.

Visitors to the Taj Mahal — a lover’s memorial, make it a point to visit this "Tribute to a father" on the other banks of the river Jamuna and by moonlight this marble edifice presents an unforgettable picture.