The Imperial Forts

Our day started young and after a quick breakfast we found ourselves at the gate of a real fort! It was the Agra fort built by Emperor Akbar in 1565 and continued by his successors. It was regal, imposing and impregnable with its double layer of walls on the periphery, the outer wall being 40’ high and the inner one being 70’ high. According to the famous historian Abul Fazal, the fort had about 500 stone buildings, but only a few still exist today. Perhaps the most palatial of all today is the Jehangir palace which was the principal zenana palace (palace for women belonging to the royal household), the Khas mahal built by Shahjahan overlooking the specially laid Angoori Bagh (Grape garden- a simple formal Mughal garden). flanked on either side by residences of his two daughters, Jahan Ara and Roshan Ara begum. The Diwan -e-Khas, the hall with double marble columns inlaid with pietra dura decoration. Here the Mughal Emperor received important dignitaries or foreign ambassadors and where he sat on the peacock throne (later taken away to Iran by Nadir shah), the Diwan-e-Aam(hall of public audience)

Other structures within the fort complex are the Moti Masjid(Pearl Mosque) the Musamman Burj a beautiful two storied pavilion which was home to the most famous Mughal queens Noorjahan and Mumtaz mahal. It is here that Shahjahan spent his last few years as a captive held by his son Aurangzeb and died looking at the Taj, the famed Meena bazaar where the ladies of the palace would browse through goods like silk, jewellery and brocade.

From the Agra fort we were headed towards Fatehpur Sikri built by Akbar in 1571 and later abandoned for its salty and scarce water supply. The deserted city has two distinct complexes, the first comprises the royal enclosure of the palaces, the harem and official buildings and the second has the dargah of Salim Chishti (a 16th century Sufi saint), a mosque and a lofty gateway called the Bulund Darwarza. Led by the guide through the empty courtyards of Fatehpur Sikri, I couldn’t help but try to fathom the reason for deserting this palace complex after a short period of 10-12 years. It’s known that Akbar had moved to Lahore and then back to Agra where he set up his capital again. Being a man of great vision and foresight, he probably knew that ‘change’ was the only constant...

His opulent palaces and attention to detail is obvious in the Jodabai palace with its blend of Rajput and Mughal architecture. The ‘Panch mahal’ ( five storied open air building), the Diwane-e-Khas which looks like a two storied building, but in truth is actually a one storied high ceiling room. Other structures include the Diwan-e- Aam (hall of Public Audience). The Anup Talao, a tank with embellished edges and a platform at the center (for musicians of his court) that can be approached by narrow catwalk like bridges.

We all know that Shahjahan had a penchant for marble and it’s also know that Jahangir had the same, but almost all of Akbar’s constructions were made in red sandstone. We were informed by the guide that the tomb of Salim Chishti was in red sandstone originally and it was Jahangir who made the transformation to marble. As a result it looks rather unique in an otherwise completely red sandstone complex.

The Bulund Darwaza was constructed after Akbar’s conquest of Gujarat. To celebrate his triumph and the addition to his treasury, he built the ‘Bulund Darwaza’ or the ‘Lofty Gateway, 54m high as a royal entrance to the Jama Masjid and renamed his capital Fatehpur Sikri or the ‘victorious city’.

Today the town of Sikri is in shambles, powered by the not so vibrant tourism industry. I asked the guide why it was so and his response was that Fatehpur Sikri was not on the agenda of most tourists, being a good 37 km from Agra, most foreign tourists preferred to skip it due to time and logistical constraints. The Bulund Darwaza is so lofty that it seems like an arduous task to maintain it. Humongous nests of honey bees adorn the arch and one wonders what the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) is doing. The Jama Masjid interior is home to countless pigeons and is definitely wanting in sound preservation and maintenance procedures.

Thus concluded my third visit to Agra which was more like a refresher course in history. One difference I found was that the guides and the peddlers all approached us and spoke in English. Either they could spot our NRI (non resident Indian) status or were just more language savvy than before!

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