SA Site Visit: Tughlaqabad Fort by Simran Kaur Saini

“Once through this ruined city did I pass

I espied a lonely bird on a bough and asked

‘What knowest thou of this wilderness?’

It replied: ‘I can sum it up in two words:

‘Alas, Alas!’”

-Khushwant Singh

Members Diptarka, Simran and Debyani at the site.

I still remember those trips to my grandparents’ house in Faridabad. Almost with a childlike wonder, would I ask them, whenever we passed by Tughlaqabad, “What is that ancient looking, broken structure? Does anyone live there?” and their response would usually include a laugh and the retelling of the famous story of the curse of Tughlaqabad. That curiosity, though diminished over the years, still left that little spark in the corner of my mind. And so when Diptarka suggested we take up Tughlaqabad for our site cover assignment, I instantly said yes, for that spark rekindled again. And so we met at the Tughlaqabad metro station, with a big INTACH board about the Tughlaqabad fort greeting us, nudging us forward on our journey to the fort.

Fig 1: A view of the long corridor with ruins of the room.

Located on the Mehrauli- Badarpur road, the site today is surrounded by a bustling, modern settlement of contemporary Tughlaqabad with industries nearby. The “concrete jungle” exists almost simultaneously along with the ruined fort structure.

The site in question was built over a period of four years, starting from 1321 CE, by the first ruler of the Tughluq Dynasty, Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. The town of Tughlaqabad was not just a new capital city to be established but also served as a symbol for a new dynastic power coming into place, a message clearly put across through its sprawling, massive structure. A story regarding the origin of this site goes like this: One day when Ghiyath al-Din was on a walk with Qutb al-Din Mubarak Shah, he recommended the Sultan to built a city on this site. The Sultan in response told Ghiyath al-Din to build it when he would become the king. And as fate would have it, Ghiyath al-Din became the Sultan and established the city of Tughlaqabad. Another reason might have been protection from the Mongol invasions.

We arrived at the site and were greeted with the ASI sign declaring the fort as a protected monument. This sign, which we would later discover to our dismay, felt like an illusion that covered the ruinous state inside. One could see the Tomb of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, now cut off from the fort complex by the busy road standing between the two. We decided to explore the Tughlaqabad fort first and then the tomb.

Starting with the Southern portion of the fort, we came across a long corridor alongside the fortification wall which may have housed various rooms, although it was now in ruins. A beautiful yet sad scenery was painted before us and as we ventured in, we came across some really striking parts of the palace, covered with a very thick vegetation cover, as if wilderness had engulfed this once magnificent place completely. Debyani even remarked that some of the ruins looked like those from Rome. However, there were no proper paths leading to the different structures and various insects and reptiles roamed around the whole area, thus making it almost impossible for us to explore the various parts of the fort alone.

Fig 2: Ruins of an arched structure in the Southern portion of the fort.

In order to bring in some lived experiences into our site cover, we decided to interview one of the caretakers at the fort, who had spent some 50 odd years of his life cleaning and looking after the fort complex, subsisting on the meager salary that the government provided him in exchange. We also met a really helpful guard working there, who gladly came to our rescue and offered to show us areas where we, otherwise, wouldn’t have been allowed to go to. This was accompanied by a rather informative, interesting explanation of each structure by the guard. For instance, we were told that one of the rooms in the long corridor in the southern portion was probably one of the earliest examples of a maze. Or how the baoli in the same area was one of the major sources for water supply in the city of Tughlaqabad.

Fig 3: A baoli in the Southern part of the fort.

One thing that really came as a surprise to us three was the fact that with all the people that we interacted with, none of them believed the story of the curse or some other myth related to the site (cue in the Curse of Nizammudin). Rather the guard told us that the real reason for the abandonment of this city might have been a water crisis as Delhi was prone to water shortages. He also blamed Muhammad Bin Tughluq’s abandonment of the city too. It is true that famines had become a huge problem during that time and Muhammad Bin Tughluq had moved onto Adilabad just after Ghiyath al-Din’s death.

Fig 4: Members carrying out an interview with the caretaker.

While we were observing the site and carrying out our respective tasks, the guard also lamented about the poor lack of maintenance of this site. There are very few guards in the day; by night there are just two. As a result, the site has been encroached upon by thieves and drunkards, thus making it unsafe for people to explore the site alone without supervision. The government offers them very less salary and even the workers, which according to the guard can turn the site into a beautiful garden, do not have the will to do this. When asked about the lack of signages inside the fort complex, he told us that ASI had, in fact, installed a lot of information boards, but all of these were ripped off or broken by the people. On the signboards that do survive, one can see remnants of black paint splashed over them.

The heavy vegetation cover is home to a lot of snakes (the incessant slithering noises that I heard were not my delusion as the guard really confirmed their existence) and insects that roam around the whole fort complex. The paths are not clear and covered with thorn bushes, thus making it difficult to explore the site in its entirety. There was waste littered around as well by the visitors and no dustbins were in sight. By this time, all three of us knew what exactly “Protected Monument” meant.

Fig 5: The Queens Quarters

We encountered another corridor that might have housed rooms, a ruined structure which was probably the court, the Bijay Mandal and the Delhi and Elephant gates. There was also a madrasa in sight alongside the Queen’s Quarters. Further on, we saw the first underground passage in the form of the Meena Bazaar. While we were eager to go inside the passage, the heavy stench and the existence of multitude of bats discouraged us to do so. The guard told us that only one underground passage survives in a good condition. Another baoli was also visible in this vicinity, its condition, however, not that good, and it was covered with barbed wires all around. And finally we analyzed the fortification walls and the bastions, the long line of fortification exuding the site’s power still. It is from here that the city of Adilabad is visible, a site in much worse shape than Tughlaqabad.

Fig 6: A bastion part of the fortification wall. Adilabad can be seen further ahead.

For our second leg of the site cover, we went to Ghiyath al-Din’s Tomb. It is during this time that

Fig 7: Tomb of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq

sun blazed intensely and monkeys rustled in the trees that we passed by. A stunning piece of architecture, exquisite in red sandstone and marble, this tomb was constructed around 1325 CE. The tomb has a fortified outer structure with turrets at each corner. The inner structure has the main mausoleum, which is surrounded by arched colonnades running on all four sides, each of the three sides having a small pavilion like structure built in them. A very interesting feature is that the walls of the mausoleum are not built upright but rather have a tilt to them, i.e, the base is slightly wider than the top. Going into one of the pavilions, we discovered a small chamber filled with carved pillars and some jali windows. A path further led us to an open pavilion. The tomb of Zafar Khan is also present here which is the oldest structure that exists on this site.

Fig 8: Members Diptarka and Debyani measuring one of the arches.

Our experience here was in complete contrast with the one we had in the Tughlaqabad fort. There were proper signboards and the site was really clean. One could also see certain indigenous influences on the structure as well. This hinted at the increasing amalgamation between two distinct cultures in the subcontinent. Our experience of covering the whole site really made us reflect on what more could have and could be done to preserve, conserve and protect such an important site.

Fig 9: An arched colonnade in the Tomb complex.

For starters, connecting with organizations such as INTACH in order to improve the condition of the fort will really go a long way. Also the government as well as the ASI should increase the number of staff employed at this site and ensure greater incentives to them so that they feel motivated to work towards the site. Increased inspections of the site and regular installation signboards would also be helpful. However, a major chunk of responsibility falls on us citizens too. Spreading adequate awareness about the site and its condition is the first step. We should understand that we have a moral duty towards monuments too and thus subjecting them to any kind of damage is unacceptable.

The walls and structures of the Tughlaqabad carry inexplicable stories in them, a rather interesting and mysterious narrative in them. Thus, the site cover of this site really fueled the fire in us three to see that this site is literally not lost forever.

SOME MORE PHOTOS FROM THE SITE: