The Fatehpur Sikri
The Fatehpur Sikri was established by great mughal emperor Akbar in 16th
century. It was a tribute to renowned sufi saint, Sheikh Salim Chishti. It is
said that Akbar walked barefooted from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri seeking the heir for
the Mughal Empire and Salim Chisti predicted a male heir. And the prediction of the saint came true and Akbar was blessed with a son. Akbar
named his son 'Salim' after the Sufi saint.
It is located at 40 kilometres from Agra. The credit of
visiting the city goes to my father who was very keen on visiting the city. And
though I was not much interested in visiting this city after the exhausting
Agra trip a day before, I loved the city. We headed to Fatehpur Sikri Fort
complex which is dotted by several architectural marvels soon after our breakfast.
Though our guide gave a lot of information but only few seemed
true. The first place we saw was Diwan-e-aam, the hall of public audience that
was used for public meetings and celebrations; its construction is very much
similar to Diwan-e-aam of Red Fort of Delhi. Then we headed to Diwan-e-khas,
the hall that was used for private meetings, there is a beautifully carved
pillar in the centre of this hall. One very interesting thing in front of the
Diwan-e-khas, is a life-size board for a game of Pacchisi (a precursor to Ludo),
where human figures were used as the pieces and were moved by the direction of
its players. What royalty and grandness the Mughals lived their life in.
Then we headed to the three small structures. Our guide said
that since Emperor Akbar had three favourite wives, one of whom was Hindu, one
Muslim and one Christian, he built one palace in name of each of his wives.
Though I have never read this version of story in any of the Mughal books I
have read.
Panch Mahal, whose photo is shown in the tourist book’s
pages is a five storeyed building a place for recreation and relaxation for the
royal family. The structure has been so designed that each story is pillared
and is smaller than the other as you move upwards. Though now it is not allowed
to climb up this structure. While no less than 84 columns support the ground
floor, the uppermost domed floor has only 4 columns. The whole structure is only
pillared without any enclosed wall and hence very airy. It is said that it was styled
to give relief from the scorching summers of Agra and never used for residential
purpose.
The Turkish Sultana’s House is one of the most ornamented
buildings of this complex. Each and Every inch of this building is beautifully
carved and designed. Though there is not much story about who Turkish Sultana
was, but our guide said she was one of the wives of Akbar. It is a small
structure surrounded by a verandah, but designed very intricately.
Just adjacent to the Turkish Sultana’s House is Anup Talao.
This is actually a pool with a raised platform built by red sandstone and
surrounded by stone jalis in its centre. There are four paths from four
directions that connect this raised platform to the sides of the pool. Our
guide has one more story to say about this pool, don’t know how much it is true.
But according to our guide- this pool was once filled with coins and ornaments
during the Mughal Era and when the rays of sun falls on this pool it created a
visual treat. Today, despite being a part of world heritage the water in the
pool is dirty and no one can enter the raised platform in the centre of the
pool.
Then there is Jama Masjid and Sheikh Salim Chisti’s Tomb. The
Jama Masjid is a beautiful and grand masjid. There are two entrances for this
masjid, one is from Buland Darwaza, through which we entered and other one is
through The King’s Gate (Badshahi Darwaja). It is said that Bulund Darwaza is
said be raised in 1602 AD to celebrate Akbar’s victory over Gujarat. We entered
through Buland Darwaza.
The Sheikh Salim Chisti’s Tomb is one of the most
revered Sufi shrines of India. People from all religions come here to seek blessings
and it is believed that their wished will be granted. And though all the other
structure of this complex is made of red stone, the tomb is made of white
marble. It is enclosed by beautiful marble jalis where people tie thread and
ask for the blessings of the Sufi saint. This tomb is very serene and
beautiful.
Fatehpur Sikri remained the capital of Mughal Empire during
the era of Akbar for 14 years. But then due to the acute water shortage in the
region, it was abandoned by Mughals.
