SA Site Cover: The Tomb of Adham Khan by Siddhartha Iyer

                                                    

Quite admittedly , my meeting with Adham Khan was long overdue and any self respecting lover of Delhi’s ruins would look at me with great distaste at this point. But even then, the sheer excess of history just oozing out of this particular section of the city is almost nauseating. Even those that knowingly choose to ignore it can do so for only so long. I, as luck would have it, lived just 10 minutes away.  So after a short detour to the Mughal general  Azim Khan’s much neglected tomb , I headed for the  ancient suburbs of Mehrauli. Qutub Minar all this while, was towering over everything around it and watchfully guiding lost tourists and curious travelers like me. 

Behind the Qutub complex, on a road towards the Mehruali bus Depot , it's quite easy to believe for a second that you’re walking through different centuries. On one side lies an Indian Avenue Montaigne of sorts, with some of the biggest names in the Indian fashion industry and their boutique studios lined up in sequence, posh cafes and bars tucked into any small corner they might find. On the other, ruins of a city that still captivates thousands daily in all its majesty, with tall crumbling arches, mosques and madrasas , tombs and of course, the Qutub Minar itself. 

As the road opens up to a busy bus depot, one could easily be caught off guard by just how out of place Adham Khan’s tomb seems at first glance, with its Lodi style dome peeping out behind the ancient walls of Lal Kot. Autos, buses and busy labourers scurry past it, completely indifferent to the decrepit time machine that stands among them.

Adham khan was born to Maham Anga, Akbar’s wet nurse and a very influential figure in the Mughal court. Being rather crooked and ambitious , her lust for more authority in the harem had filled hers and the heart of her son with extreme prejudice for any that would benefit from the emperor’s generosity. Especially  Ataga Khan, Akbar’s favourite general.  One fateful day, a jealous and drunk Adham burst into the royal hall and drove his sword through the general at a public assembly, leaving the entire palace in a state of disbelief. It was only moments before a furious Akbar confronted him and in a fit of fury ordered that his brother be arrested and thrown down head first from the walls of the Agra fort. This was done twice, till he breathed his last. 

‘’The righteous order was given that the fellow who had outstepped his place should be flung headlong from the top of the terrace. Those shortsighted men out of consideration (for Adham), than which inconsideration would have been a thousand times better, did not throw him down properly, and he remained half-alive. The order was given to bring him up again and this time they dragged him up by the hair and in accordance with orders flung him headlong so that his neck was broken, and his brains destroyed. In this way that blood-thirsty profligate underwent retribution for his actions. The fist of the Divine athlete of the world had made such a mark that those who did not know the facts thought that it was a mace-wound....’’ 

It is said that Akbar himself broke the news to a now-bereaved Maham Anga and she, being visibly broken, lauded him for his actions, knowing very well how dastardly her son’s actions had been.  She passed away from the sheer grief of losing her son, some forty days later and was buried with him. 
But what then led the emperor to eventually have a tomb made for the man that had so blatantly betrayed him can only now be speculated. It is fair to assume that it was Maham Anga, before she herself passed, who played a larger role in its commissioning.But even after passing as brutal a judgement as the emperor did, it would be foolish to assume that the he was not filled with  regret soon after. 

‘’His Majesty's loving heart was much affected by the fate of this cupola of chastity, and he expressed great sorrow. The body also was sent with much respect to Delhi, and his Majesty personally escorted it for some paces. All the state officers and the great ones of the sublime family paid the dues of respect and regret. In accordance with orders a lofty building [now known as the Bhul Bhuliyan] was erected over the tombs of Maham Anga and Adham Khan.’’

Adham Khan's tomb is on a raised platform rising fairly high above the busy road below and built on an octagonal terrace above. The originally red sandstone dome is surrounded by verandas on all sides with minarets on the edges. Three tall arches on each of the sides open into the inner chamber and even the Qutub Minar is visible through a few of them. Behind lies a dense patch of greenery and a few entrances that now remain unused and forgotten. Popularly known as bhul bhuliyan  (labyrinth) because of the maze of passageways tucked away within its thick walls, many  chose to stay away at night.  

Though proudly proclaimed to be a ‘protected’ monument by the Archaeological Survey of India , hardly much has been done to live up to this. Recently the entire structure was whitewashed leaving little-to-no remnants of how it was intended to be seen. The preservation work on it is equal parts shabby and downright disrespectful in some cases. The dome itself has cracks travelling all around it, just waiting to give in. Sadly, Adham Khan is only one of the many victims of the ASI and there will be many more. With no guards present, the walls remain a welcoming sight for vandals and lovers alike. The elderly reserve the corridors for their evening strolls and children play cricket in the courtyard around it.  But as unfortunate as the circumstances of its poor treatment might be, the people here have completely embraced it and made it their own.

There are strong Lodi influences creeping in with the overall aesthetic and why that is so, is still unclear to me, since they fought tooth and nail with the mughals. Maybe now as tired labourers take refuge from the Delhi heat under these arches, or young lovers try to permanently inscribe their love onto these walls, they find moments of solace. But at the very core of this structure I think there lies an aura of great regret, betrayal, sadness and overall disappointment that most of its visitors are completely unaware off . 

Nothing better encapsulates this feeling than the interiors of the chamber. Inhabited by stray dogs, weary workers and littered with plastic bags. It stands empty and hauntingly silent. At the centre, rests the betrayer himself, under a grave that is strikingly small and narrow.

Desecrated when the Blake of Bengal Civil Services made this his dining hall in the 1830’s, it was long before  Adham Khan was returned to where he belonged. Only after being turned into a police station, a post office and finally a guest house, was this tomb finally returned to its original inhabitant by Lord Curzon. Such tales sadly stand true for many of the ruins scattered all across Delhi. They’ve seen multiple tenants over the centuries and been vandalised, transformed and in some cases completely destroyed. But Adham Khan’s tomb is in some ways one of the lucky ones. It stood the test of time and weathered all the storms that hit it. Even now as it stands, dirty, broken and almost dilapidated , Akbar would have been pleased knowing  that his foster brother, however foolish he might have been in his actions, rests easy. 

Passages quoted from the Akbar-namah Vol - 2 Chapter 44 (The punishment of Adham Khan by the justice of the Shahinshah)