Last Wednesday, I planned to have a morning walk to see the tombs and took a bus to South Ex. Getting down in front of newly-built
Kidwai Nagar East government housing colony, I invoked the Google baba and
despite a few wrong turns here and there, finally reached in front of a park
full of morning walkers, yoga enthusiasts and one or two stray dogs who were
looking at me with suspicion.
It is said that Bade Khan and Chhote Khan were not named so,
but their tombs got the nomenclature simply because they lie side by side and
one is larger than the other. I found both of them quite imposing, their
grandeur standing out more prominently in comparison with the modern-day
buildings all around. Both of them have one large central dome and chhatris on
the corners while distinctive calligraphic inscriptions and jaalis enhance the
beauty of the monuments. I sat on a bench in the park and tried to engage the
elderly lady beside me in a conversation about the tombs but she seemed
supremely disinterested and even a bit irritated. If one sees the tombs every
day, one may not find them that interesting, after all. I decided not to ruin
her morning peace and went to see Bhure Khan’s tomb, which is adjacent to the
park, but fenced with barbed wire due to some dispute over the land in between.
It did not look as good in condition as the other two.
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| Bade Khan's tomb |
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| Bade Khan's tomb and Chhote Khan's tomb from L-R |
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| In front of Bade Khan's tomb |
The tomb of Kale Khan is also nearby, but he should not be
confused with the Sufi saint after whom Sarai Kale Khan is named. On the right side of Bhure Khan’s tomb, one
can see a Satyanarayan temple with a colourful pink-and-yellow “sikhara”.
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| Bhure Khan's tomb |
I walked back towards the government housing complex and
traced the Tomb of Darya Khan, which sits securely inside a square-shaped garden enclosure
and atop a large platform with staircases and domed pavilions. I was clicking
photographs from the gate of the enclosure when a saree-clad morning walker
lady broadly smiled at me and told me to venture inside and climb the platform
so that I can get better photos. “Upar phool bhi hai bohot sare,” she said. I
asked, “Safe toh hai na?” I asked. She said, “haan, haan, koi darr nahi, jao.” I
met two ladies of different moods this morning, I thought.
I went up through an elevated pathway and took some pics,
probably disturbing the peace of a solitary young man doing yoga in a pavilion
with my cellphone click-foolery. The grave of Khan, who was the Chief Justice
during the time of Sultan Bahlul Lodi, lies at the centre, raised upon another
pedestal. Parts of the domes and pavilions have disappeared, but remnants of
their faded glory can still be felt even by a casual visitor.
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| Darya Khan's tomb |
As my watch showed that further indulgence with history can
jeopardize my timely departure for office, I took an auto home from the main
road. On the way, noticed several new installations on the government housing estate buildings. I took a photo of one of them. It is probably about global warming,.but I may be wrong too.
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| Modern artwork |
A day after, I visited the tomb of another Khan. The mausoleum
of Mirza Najaf Khan, the Baloch commander-in-chief of Mughal army during Shah
Alam-II, is near Safdarjung airport. It is a square-shaped red sandstone
building situated in a very crowded park, full of over-excited youngsters, some
of whom were hanging from its low roof or using the walls to bounce their
cricket balls. A ruined entrance can be seen at the gate of the park. (Tip; After getting down at S.J. Airport bus stop, turn left towards B.K. Dutt Colony and then
turn right. If you go along the flyover, as suggested by Google maps, you will
end up in an NDMC toilet complex instead of the tomb).
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| Tomb of Najaf Khan |
Trivia 1: The tomb also houses the grave of Najaf Khan’s
daughter Fatima.
Trivia 2: Najafgarh in southwest Delhi is named after Najaf
Khan, who had set up an outpost/fortress there.
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