Akbar (1542-1605) is generally considered to have been the greatest of
the Mughal emperors. The rapid and bloody extension and consolidation
of his realm was the first of his many exploits. A man of many talents,
he also was interested in architecture, painting, literature,
theology and elephant riding, to mention only a few of the domains in
which he became accomplished. His father Humayun had been forced by the
Afghan rebel Sher Shah to spend a 15-year exile in Persia before
returning to power. Akbar learned to draw during the exile and, after
inheriting the throne, created and developed a Mughal school of
painting which eventually incorporated Persian, Indian and even
Christian elements, the last borrowed from illustrations in a Bible
brought to Akbar by Portugese missionaries. Akbar's eclectic tastes
extended to religion: Not only did he marry women of Muslim, Hindu and
Christian faiths; he also attempted to establish his own religion in
order to promote tolerance among all religions. When Akbar despaired of
having a son and heir, he consulted a Sufi mystic, Salim Chishti,
who predicted the birth of a son.
Akbar built the Red Fort in Agra and moved the capital there, but he
then tired of life there and decided to build a completely new and
"perfect" capital city. Thus came to be Fatehpur Sikri. Alas, soon
after Akbar's death, the city was abandoned, at least partly because
there was a lack of adequate water supply in the region. The city was
the Mughal capital only from 1571 to 1585. Today, it stands as
an open-air museum of Mughal architecture.
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House of Maryam,
Akbar's Christian wife |
Palace of Jodh Bai,
a Muslim wife |
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Anoop Talao, or pool |
Crossing the Pachisi
Court to the Diwan-i-Khas |
It is thought that Akbar once
played (or supervised the playing of) Pachisi in the court of the same
name, with his wives occupying the places of the different pieces on the
board. Since Akbar is said to have had 5000 wives, there were more than
enough for the game. Competition to participate must have been fierce.
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Panch Mahal, where
Akbar's queens savored the
evening cool |
Central pillar inside the
Diwan-i-Khas
perhaps a meeting hall |
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Ankh Michauli -
youths still frolic where Akbar once may have played blind mans buff with his queens |
A few bits of
painting remind us of how colorful the walls once may have been |
Nearby is the huge mosque,
the Jama Masjid, which contains the tomb of the Sufi mystic and saint,
Salim Chishti, who predicted the birth of Akbar's first son. We were
lucky to visit on the day after the end of Ramadan, so festivities were
taking place.
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Akbar's private entrance to the Jama Masjid |
The courtyard of the mosque with the tomb of Salim Chishti |
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Colorful salwar kameez wearers |
Festive tissues and the main mosque |
The tomb of the Sufi saint Salim Chishti, a white marble building in the mosque courtyard, is still much visited.
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The saint's tomb |
Beautiful jalli inside the tomb |
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Closeup of jalli |
Colorful threads tied on one jalli by pilgrims (and tourists) are supposed to bring wish fulfillment |
That same evening, we visited the site that was the principal reason for our coming here -- the Taj Mahal.
Back to India 2007