The necropolis of Mughal dynasty, the Humayun’s Tomb, built in the 1560s, stands revealed basking in its regained grandeur amidst the frantic activity of the modern Delhi.
The regained charm of this Mughal monument will now be revealed in a show titled ‘Revealed: Humayun’s Tomb’ to be aired on Discovery Channel on Monday at 9 p.m.
The show will unravel the secrets of this architectural marvel and narrate the majestic story behind the life of the Mughal Emperor Humayun and his dynasty.
The programme will also follow the restoration work undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It is also the first privately funded restoration of any historical monument in India.
Ratish Nanda, a noted conservation architect who headed the team working on the restoration of Humayun’s Tomb says, “It was a great privilege to work on the restoration of Humayun’s Tomb.”
Excited with the idea of the monument being the focus of Discovery channel’s show, Mr Nanda says, “The film will serve many objectives one of which is to get more and more people to not only visit the Tomb but to also understand it.”
Before undertaking conservation works, a significant archival research programme, coupled with meticulous documentation, was initiated, including the use of 3D Laser Scanning technology. An exhaustive condition assessment carried out by a multi-disciplinary team of conservation architects, archaeological engineers, and historians, revealed that although the Mausoleum and its associated structures were in a relatively stable structural condition, they were however, in a severe state of material deterioration wherein architectural details used by the Mughal builders had been compromised by 20th century repairs carried out using inappropriate modern materials.
Craftsmen put in 2,00,000 man-days to restore the splendour of the red sandstone structure with Mr Nanda sharing how the conservation process required four years of experimentation under master craftsmen from Uzbekistan who trained local youth from the adjoining Nizamuddin basti in tile making.
The team fixed water seepage on the roof of Humayun’s Tomb while stone-carvers manually removed a million kilograms of concrete, 40 cm thick, from the roof in order to restore the original levels and reveal buried architectural elements besides restoring the garden area.
Mr Nanda is himself in awe of the structure as he shares how such an ancient monument is “thermally efficient, geometrically precise and without any ornamentation, plays around red and white to create magic.”
On the approach of the nation towards its heritage, he says “the biggest problem in India is that we do not realise that these monuments are economic assets. Their conservation can generate employment and revenue.”
