The Lodhi Garden Tombs

Sheesh Gumbad from a distance.

I had been following the INTACH Delhi FB page for some time, so when we visited Delhi in March this year, I got the opportunity to attend one of their Heritage walks. They conduct walks every weekend and the weekend that we were there, the Lodhi garden walk was scheduled.

Tomb of Mohemmed Shah Sayyid.

During our two and a half years stay in Gurgaon, which is 30 kms from Delhi, we had visited the Lodhi gardens many times and of course seen monuments there, without knowing their significance. This walk totally changed our perspective on what we had seen multiple times but knew little about. 

The chattris on the dome. 

The Cosmic star which connects the dead to Heaven.

Islamic inscriptions on the dome. 

Floral motifs and inscriptions.

The Lodhi garden is spread over 90 acres of undulating lawns, jogging and cycling tracks and lined with beautiful trees and flowering shrubs and plants. But its name derives from the fact that it is home to some of well-known tombs from the Sayyid and more importantly, the Lodhi era, dating back to the 15^th century.

The 'kumbh' or pot shaped carving which is very Indian has been incorporated here. 

Graves. The ones with the raised portion are those of men and the protrusion is called 'kalam'. 

Before the Lodhi era was the Sayyid’s era when the Sayyid dynasty ruled the area which was then known as Khairpur village. The Lodhis then ruled over the Punjab region. The Sayyid empire was unstable with a lot of internal conflict. They called the Lodhis to intervene and resolve the issue promising them rewards of land and money, which didn’t come through once the work got done. So the Lodhis decided to take over the Sayyids’ empire as a mark of retaliation and retribution.

The area around the tombs was converted into a landscaped garden in 1936 and was named Lady Willingdon Park, after the wife of the then British Viceroy. It was named Lodhi Garden post-Independence and was re-designed in 1968 by eminent architect, J.A Stein.

Although the garden is primarily dedicated to tombs from the Lodhi dynasty, there is one tomb belonging to Muhammed Shah Sayyid of the Sayyid dynasty. After his death in 1451 AD, the tomb was built by his son, Alauddin Alam Shah. This structure like the other tombs in the garden were made of Delhi quartzite, procured locally. It is a very hard stone, so very minimal chiselling work has been done on that. The quartzite is interspersed with red sand stone on which one finds the more intricate carving and designs.

Bada Gumbad

The decorated dome. 

The intricate stucco work in the mosque.. 

Notice the thick walls. 

The stucco work on the walls. 

Jaya Basera, who conducted the walk, pointed to some interesting aspects of architecture. The Sayyids wanted to send a message to the Hindus, that they have come to India for good and do not intend to leave like the Ghazni and Ghori, who repeatedly plundered India and stole many tons of gold, precious stones and metals. So, although Islam prohibits the representation of any life forms in sculptures and structures, they modified it subtly, to render them as an abstract representation of life forms which the Indians identified with.

Sheesh Gumbad.

The only Sayyid era structure in Lodhi gardens and is the tomb of Muhammed Shah Sayyid. The central main chamber is octagonal with the cenotaph of Muhammed Shah in the middle and surrounded by several other graves. It was customary for a person of importance to be buried in the center of the structure. Also, the difference between the graves for men and women are known by the raised middle vertical portion of the grave for men, also known as kalam. In Islam, it was tradition to bury the body with the head facing towards Mecca, which from India would be to the West. The dome above was made of intricately done stucco work and painted. There are also bands of inscription from the Quran. The structure is circular as opposed to the square structures built by the Lodhis. The central octagonal chamber has in its center the cenotaph of Muhammed Shah surrounded by several other graves. The main entrance to the chamber is from the south. Small chhatris (umbrellas) surround the main dome which lend the building an Indo-Islamic look. The dome is crowned with an inverted lotus shaped structure. The ceiling inside is decorated with carved stucco and has the cosmic star in the centre which is believed to connect the dead to heaven and has several Islamic inscriptions and decorative motifs.

The ceiling in Sheesh Gumbad. 

Next we saw the Bada Gumbad, which means a building with a big (bada) dome (gumbad). It’s the first Lodhi era monument dating back to mid-15^th century. It’s a square structure and appears to have 2 stories from the outside. However, when one enters one sees a single chamber with a magnificent high ceiling. The absence of a cenotaph in the building, stylistic differences lend mystery to the purpose of the structure. Some believe that it served as gateway into Khairpur village in the 15^th century. Adjacent to the Bada Gumbad is a mosque with a pavilion to the east. It has five arched openings with intricate stucco work of floral and geometric motifs. There is a prayer hall with inscriptions from the Quran on the walls and ceilings.

Sikander Lodhi's tomb. This couple out of the frame would have made it perfect, but I was feeling awkward asking them to move. 

Next to the Bada Gumbad is the Sheesh Gumbad, which means a dome (gumbad) covered with glass/mirrors (sheesh). This is because the dome and parts of the façade were completely covered with coloured glazed tiles which were imported from Persia. But today, with just a few cobalt blue tiles on the façade, one can only imagine the beauty that this building must have been, back then. This structure is again square like all Lodhi era structures and the inner chamber with the cenotaph are decorated with fine stucco work of floral patterns and Quranic inscriptions. There are several graves in the central chamber, possibly of eminent people during Sikander Lodhi’s time.

The walls of the tomb that make it look like a fortress.

Stucco work and glazed coloured tiles inside. 

Further ahead is the tomb of Sikander Lodhi. It’s a walled tomb which makes it look like a fortress of sorts, and is said to be the last prominent Lodhi era monument constructed in Delhi. This tomb is said to be inspired by the tomb of Muhammed Shah, since it is quite similar in appearance excepting the chhatris on top. The inner chamber of the tomb is surrounded by a verandah of arches with carved sandstone brackets. In the chamber inside, there are glazed tile decorations, painted stucco work and a single grave of Sikander Lodhi.

The Athpula or the eight pier bridge.

Our walk ended with the explanation of a fascinating structure- a 16^th century eight-pier bridge, east of Sikander Lodhi’s tomb. It was built during Akbar’s reign, to span a tributary of the Yamuna river that probably met the Barahpula nullah further south. This was a part of the river system that drained the south Delhi area and then fed the Yamuna. It’s now called ‘Athpula’, (‘ath’ meaning eight and ‘pul’ meaning bridge) due to the eight piers that support the bridge.  

At the end of the walk, I asked Jaya as to why monuments in Delhi meant only Islamic monuments (Qutab Minar, Humayun’s tomb, Lodhi Garden tombs, etc), and where the Hindu monuments were, because the Islamic invaders came to India in the 9^th century. She said that all Hindu monuments were destroyed and razed to the ground by the Islamic invaders, so there is nothing left. She even mentioned that they not only destroyed the Hindu temples, but also transferred entire blocks of stone and pillars to construct their own mosques, in place of the temples. In some structures like the Qutab Minar, one can see stone bricks and columns with Sanskrit inscriptions still intact. The horrors of the Islamic invasion are well known to everyone, but to hear first-hand from a historian about the same and to know that, no single ancient Hindu temple survives in the whole of Delhi, made me sad.

But I couldn’t remain sad for long. I had many things to do in Delhi before I left for Pune, but more of that in the next post. :-)

Notice how wide the bridge is. Maybe this was used by their elephants too to move to the other side. 

Though it was March, we had had a sudden heavy downpour in the morning. Unarmed with umbrellas, we still decided to make the best of the walk, and it was indeed a very informative walk. I would surely like to attend more walks with them. 

You may follow INTACH Delhi on their Facebook page. The fees for the walk was Rs 250.

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The Stunning Paintings of the Gifted Jesuit-Artist Antonio Moscheni.

Inside the St. Aloysius Chapel. 

During our visit to Mangalore, on the way back from green Sullia, we visited the St. Aloysius chapel. I was so awed and inspired by the paintings inside the Chapel that I think it warrants one post dedicated to the master artist- Antonio Moscheni, the man behind the stunning art.

The Chapel from outside. 

Let me begin by talking a bit about the Chapel. The St. Aloysius Chapel was built in 1882. The southern wing of the building was reserved as a Chapel as a place of prayer for the students. The Chapel has a large prayer hall with 2 aisles on the side. There are paintings on the ceiling of the main hall, the arches and also the ceilings and walls of the aisles. The paintings on the ceilings are done on canvas and the ones on the walls are fresci.

On the ceiling are oil paintings and the walls have fresci. 

The central rows of paintings on the ceiling depicts the life of St. Aloysius to whom the Chapel is dedicated. The paintings depict his childhood, his first communion, seeking admission to the Jesuit order, his service to people during plague in Rome and so on.

The borders that you see on the walls and around the paintings are all painted. 

The sloping part of the ceilings depict the Apostles. Antonio’s love for flowers can be seen in his paintings, as each panel has a different variety of flowers, and very much life like.

The upper arches of the main hall also depict the lives of the Saints of the Church. The life of Jesus is portrayed on the paintings in the aisle. The largest painting in the Chapel is on the rear wall, opposite the main altar. It shows Jesus with a group of children and is considered the best of Moscheni’s work. Due to seepage of rain water the painting was damaged due to fungus and calcium carbonate crystals but has been now restored, excepting the right hand bottom corner to show the difference between the damaged and restored part.

The largest painting in the Chapel, of Jesus with children is considered as Antonio's best work. 

The stones or bricks with which the whole Chapel is paved were brought from Bergamo in Italy. It gives the illusion of steps.

The tiles for the flooring were brought from Bergamo which gives the illusion of steps. 

It was in 1899, that Brother Anotnio Moscheni was called from Italy to infuse colour and life in the walls  of the Chapel. Brother Antonio was born in Stezzano in Italy on January 17, 1854. He attended the famous Academia Carrara in Bergamo and went on to study in detail and contemplate the master pieces in the Vatican as well for a year. He had also earned a great reputation as a master painter decorating the Sanctuary of Madonna Del Campo in Bergamo. His recognition as a world class painter came during the official exhibitions of his paintings in Milan and Turin in 1883 and 1884 respectively. But he chose to enroll himself as a lay brother in the Society of Jesus in 1889. The senior Jesuits recognized his talent and lest it go waste, after his novitiate,  deputed him to paint churches in Albania and Piacenza.

The statue of Brother Antonio Moscheni. 

He was then asked to go to the then little known place in India, called Mangalore, to paint a Chapel. He readily took up the offer.  He came to Mangalore in 1899 and completed the painting of the Chapel in over 2 and a half years, single handedly.

Notice the intricate flowers and every other detailing.

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As a Jesuit, he had his religious and spiritual duties to perform, after which he would spend long hours suspended on the scaffolding, painting the walls of the chapel all alone and in climate hard on a European.   Working with the fumes of the oils and varnishes, in low light conditions (there was no electricity in those days) and in the high humidity and sweltering heat was taking toll on his health. After sunset when it was too dark to paint, he would return to his room to plan the next day’s work. In his spare time he would illustrate scenes from the scriptures and at the time of his death he had drawn 10 volumes of illustrations.

The pillars which look like marble were actually painted that way by Antonio to give that effect. 

The paints he was accustomed to in Italy were not readily available in India and it would have been very expensive to import them, so he made his own paints using vegetable dyes. He achieved an incredible feat of painting the Chapel in 2 and half years, whereas the restoration work by the INTACH team itself took 4 years by 7 specialists. It is worthy of note that Moscheni did not have any models to base his work on. He relied solely on his imagination, honed by meditation to conjure up the pictures which he translated into paintings. Moscheni shared a deep love for Nature which is evident in his paintings which abounds in fruits and flowers. Painting garlands of local flowers seemed to be his specialty. His ancestral house in Italy still has flowers from his earlier work as an artist. Nowhere on his paintings has he used his initials, dedicating his work solely to God. Moscheni single handedly painted every inch of the Chapel, a total of 829 sq. meters within 2 and a half years.

This looks like a statue, doesn't it. It's actually a painting in monochrome. Unbelievable, right? 

Every inch of the chapel was painted by Antonio. 

The paintings are now 115 years old and are restored every 25 years. It takes around 4 years for the restoration, during which time the Chapel is closed to visitors. The last restoration was in 1991-94 by the INTACH-Lucknow team lead by Dr. O.P. Agarwal.

This metallic thing in the centre is a painting too, as are the pillars.

The statues on either side of the altar are paintings in monochrome. 

After completing the painting in the St. Aloysius Chapel, Moscheni was invited to Mumbai, then known as Bombay, to paint the interiors of the Holy Name Cathedral, which, in spite of the challenges of the vaulted ceiling he painted in one and half years. He was to return to Italy after that but was requested to come to Cochin to paint another Church. He took that up although he was ill due to the humid and tropical climate. This along with the difficulty that no one spoke his language and he did not know the local language. Then there was an outbreak of plague in Mangalore in 1902, when the Father in charge of the hospital asked for volunteers and Moscheni signed up as one in spite of his own health issues. Realizing that his days were numbered, he worked harder to finish his assignment in Cochin, which he did in a span of 5 months. His body eventually gave up and he had to be admitted to the Carmelite Hospial in Magnamey, where he breathed his last at the age of 52 on 15th November, 1905. 

You guessed that....it's a painting, not a statue, as are the cherubs. 

The Chapel is open every day from 9 am to 6 pm.  A Guide is available to explain the paintings and the Art from Tuesday to Sunday from 9 am to 1.30 pm and 2.30 pm to 6 pm. The service of the Guide is free although people may make a contribution towards the maintenance of the Chapel. Photography is strictly prohibited inside. I requested the Guide inside to send me these pictures, so that I could use them for this blog post. My gratitude to him. 

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In Love with Indian Summer!

I am a person with a very low threshold to bearing the heat of the sun. So, it’s needless to say how much I dreaded the Indian tropical summer every year.  But since the last year, I don’t know what has come over me, I love the Indian summer and have even started romanticizing it.

I've realized that as long as you keep yourself hydrated and stay in the shade when the sun is right overhead, it’s totally possible to love summer. In fact, this summer, I have been braving the heat to go to the Pune market almost every week, and just take in the sights, colours and the beauty in the chaos. Call me crazy! Summer brings along a burst of colours, varieties of fruit and a spread of food like none other.

Let me begin with the visual treats that Nature offers us to mitigate the summer heat. Roads in cities are lined with benign Gulmohar trees offering shade and infusing energy by way of colours to commuters. Gulmohar blooms in red, yellow and blue too. You must have surely seen these. 

The Red Gulmohar. Picture taken from here. 

Peela Gulmohar. Picture taken from here. 

Neela Gulmohar. Picture taken from here.

Not only roads, even housing societies have gulmohar trees. In fact as I type this, I am smiling back at the gulmohar tee in full bloom, which is almost hanging into my balcony. I don’t even have to travel. Beauty is all around me. 

The gorgeous gulmohar saying Hi to me from my balcony.

There are many other trees too which flaunt their colours and blooms, the names of which I may not know. But there’s one, the Indian Laburnum, which is sure to warm any heart with its yellows. I remember walking down a lane in Pune lined with these in full bloom, and I was in paradise for some time at least.

Indian Laburnum. Picture taken from here. 

Some of my favourite fruits grow only during summer, because that is the kind of temperature required for them to ripen well. I saw this cart full of indigenous Indian summer fruits. I don’t know their English names but have eaten them all and they are delectable, each with their unique taste and nutrients to nourish the body for the summer season.

A colourful cart of indigenous summer fruits I saw in Pune. The white round ones are ice apples and taste like tender coconut (tadgola), the bright yellow ones are star fruits. 

Such a happy riot of colours. 

Who doesn't love mangoes? India is blessed with a hundred varieties of mangoes thanks to its soil and climate and yes the summer! Some other fruits available only during summer are the jackfruit and the jamun, both of which I eat in plentiful.

Varieties of mangoes. Picture taken from here.

The black ones are jamun, rich in anti-oxidants. 

Now to talk about the food preparations which are made out of the summer produce. On top of the list would be pickles- mainly the raw mango pickle. Every state in the country, every district, every village and every family has its own recipe for pickles which is passed down from one generation to the other. The pickle is prepared during summer because the hot sun rays are required for maturing the pickle and it is consumed during monsoon, when most vegetables are not easily available and the spices and the oil in the pickle is good for gut health when digestion becomes weak during the season. 

Avakkai or the mango pickle. Picture taken from Jeyashri's Kitchen. 

I recently visited Lalbaug, in Mumbai where there were several shops selling a 100 varieties of red chillies by the sack, mainly for pickles and masalas which are made during summer. 

The jaw dropping varieties of red chillies in Lalbaug, Mumbai. 

A shop dedicated for grinding spices, in Lalbaug, Mumbai. 

Of course that doesn't stop people like me from devouring pickles in summer too, mainly because this time it was my first attempt at pickle making and it turned out so delicious.

Talking of food, there are preparations that make me nostalgic like the chakka varatti or jackfruit jam and chakka payasam, a pudding made of ripe jackfruit and coconut milk.

The lip smacking chakka varatti or jackfruit jam. Picture taken from Palakkad Chamayal. 

The delectable chakka payasam or jackfruit pudding or kheer. Picture taken from Palakkad Chamayal.

There are also a variety of beverages to beat the summer heat and Nature in her infinite intelligence provides fruits and vegetables in a particular season that provide nutrients and nourishment required for that season. Take the Kokum for example. Its fruit is made into a refreshing summer drink which keeps the body cool and the digestive system working fine. 

A refreshing glass of Kokum sharbat. Picture taken from Myjhola

In some places in India  people drink copious amounts of buttermilk and lemonade to keep themselves hydrated. How can I forget the aam panna, a beverage made with raw mangoes and slightly spiced? It’s an appetizing drink which balances the salt and sugar levels in the body which are lost dues to perspiration and what a wonderful way to keep the body cool.

The copious quantities of buttermilk that was served in Kutch. 

Aam panna made with raw mangoes. Picture taken from Chefinyou.

On my recent visit to Uttarakhand, I was delighted to taste the juice of the rhododendron flower, which grows only in high altitudes. Locals say that the juice keeps the body cool in the Himalayan summer. I bought a litre of it back home to savour and share with family and friends.

The rhododendron juice. 

Other childhood memories I have of summer are my grandmother making papads at home and drying them on the terrace. They are consumed during the monsoon when fresh vegetables are scarce.

Women drying Pappads. Picture taken from Economic Times.

If summer comes, can Monsoon be far behind? India has been suffering from a severe drought so I hope to God that we have a good Monsoon this year and every year. But till then, it’s time to enjoy the grand and beautiful Indian Summer.

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