Baby Taj ~ A jewel box for Itmad-ud-Daula

After a long day in Fatehpur Sikri and a sumptuous late lunch in The Pinch of Spice we headed towards Itmad Ud Daula located on the right bank of river Yamuna. The straight faced chauffeur managed to skilfully navigate through the sudden swerves of two and three wheelers and brought us to Itmad ud Daula’s mausoleum. Itmad-Ud-Daula or the Pillar of the state was actually Mirza Ghiyas Beg who was Jahangir’s father in law.

The red sandstone gate is very similar to the other Mughal structures. At first glimpse, the marble mausoleum intricately decorated appeared like a jewel seated in a large lush garden. On closer look, the glow of the setting sun lent a warm ochre tint which made it look all the more beautiful.

Noor Jehan built the tomb in 1622. It was her tribute to her Persian father to be laid to rest with reminders of art back home. Persian art recreated with influence of Indian designs through beautiful Pietra Dura designs be it 10 point stars, floral patterns, flower vases, geometrical patterns or the intricate stone jaali

This was the first time marble was being used in Mughal architecture and it gave me the feeling that Jahangir added the marble minarets and domes to Akbar’s mausoleum in Sikandra as an after thought to ensure the best for his father.

The floors in the interiors appeared like Athangudi Tiles from far until on closer look I realised it was a fine example of accurately cut stone pieces interlocked together and then fixed on the floor. The same technique is applied on the walls as well and was first discovered in Rome as Pietra Dura.

The green lawns were quite lush though it was winter. I walked over to the gate to glance at the shriveled Yamuna slow poisoned over the years with chemicals and sewage from Agra city.