A TRAGEDY ETCHED IN STONES

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        In the bustling and raucous lanes of South Delhi rests quietly an ill-fated Mughal Emperor.


    The life story of Humayun (1530-40/56) is packed with struggles. After the death of Babur(1483-1530), a vagabond prince from Central Asia, his son Nasiruddin Muhammad Humayun Mirza, eventhough designated heir to the Mughal throne had to confront his brothers Kamran,Hindal and Askari who also wanted their shares in the still infant empire. 

         After ruling for a little over a decade, Humayun had to face the Afghan menace Sher Shah Suri(1540-45). Sher Shah decisively defeated the Mughal emperor at the battle of Chausa(1539) and the battle of Kannauj(1540).

      Humayun had to escape to Iran and remain in exile for 15 long years before returning to reclaim his lost legacy. He acquired Delhi from Sikander Shah in 1555.
   Little over 6 months must have passed,when the Padshah Ghazi of Hindostan fell to his death from his library in Dinpanah city in modern Delhi.

        It is quite ironic and amusing that one of the most unfortunate rulers of the Mughal line is named Humayun, the literal meaning of which in Persian is "fortunate".

   However, Humayun was fortunate in one aspect,having a deeply loving and caring wife Bega Begum who chose to stay with the remains of her husband in Delhi while Akbar(1556-1605), the greatest of the Mughals and son of Humayun moved with the royal court to Agra. 

     Bega Begum went on Hajj in 1563 and returned after 3 years bringing with her artisans,masons and scholars from Arabia,Persia and Central Asia who would build the first great Mughal architectural marvel, Humayun's tomb.

     The site of the mausoleum was carefully chosen next to the Sufi shrine of patron saint of Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and river Yamuna. 

      Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian man was the chief architect who designed the magnificent monument. It was made of Red sandstones and White marbles from Rajasthan in a characteristic Char Bagh style which Babur had introduced in the subcontinent.

       Humayun's predecessor Babur laid the foundation of the dynasty after defeating Ibrahim Lodhi, the last in the long chain of Delhi Sultans starting from 1210; in the first battle of Panipat in 1526.

    While Humayun's successor, Akbar went on to create one of the largest empires in the Indian subcontinent which stretched from Hindukush ranges of Afghanistan in the West to Bengal in the East and Kashmir in the North till Ahmadnagar in the South.The only person to accomplish such a feat before Akbar was the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka(269-32 BCE),some 1800 years before him.

    Humayun dangling between fortune and misfortune throughout his life is now long gone,his hardships and memories sandwiched between 2 prodigious Empire builders. 

      Today he is only remembered as the son of a great father and the father of a great son!

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