Safdarjung Tomb

Subject – Art and Culture

Context – ‘Safdarjung Tomb needs urgent care’

Concept –

Safdarjung’s Tomb is a sandstone and marble mausoleum in Delhi, India.
It was built in 1754 in the late Mughal Empire style for Nawab Safdarjung.
The monument has an ambience of spaciousness and an imposing presence with its domed and arched red brown and white coloured structures.
Safdarjung, Nawab of Oudh, was made prime minister of the Mughal Empire (Wazir ul-Mamlak-i-Hindustan) when Ahmed Shah Bahadur ascended the throne in 1748.

Architecture –

The structure was constructed in 1754 in the late Mughal Empire style Safdarjung.
The Safdarjung tomb, the last monumental tomb garden of the Mughals, was planned and built like an enclosed garden tomb in line with the style of the Humayun tomb.
The tomb has four key features which are: The Char Bagh plan with the mausoleum at the center, a ninefold floor plan, a five-part façade and a large podium with a hidden stairway.
The slabs from the tomb of Abdul Rahim Khankhana were used in the construction of the tomb.
The tomb can not be compared to the Taj Mahal or the Humayun Tomb, as, at the time it was built, the Mughal Empire was on the decline and sandstone had to be used and lines were set improperly and the quality appeared “thread bare”.
It has several smaller pavilions with evocative names like Jangli Mahal, (Palace in the woods), Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace) and Badshah Pasand (King’s favourite).
The complex also has a madarsa.