Humayun’s Tomb museum | How an unprepared prince became the emperor of second chances – Firstpost

At the museum dedicated to Humayun, a crisp narrative binds together pictures, objects, models, and words to create a living showcase of the life, loves, and travels of the second Mughal emperor
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It is sometimes said that in life, one can never run out of second chances, only of time. It certainly seemed to hold true for Humayun, second of the dynasty called ‘Mughal’ who ruled much of the Indian subcontinent between the early 16th and mid-19th centuries CE. In this significant time span, there was an interregnum that nearly made them one of the shortest footnotes in our history.

Humayun’s story is the story of what happened on both sides of that interregnum and during it. It is as much an account of squandered opportunities as it is of half-chances that he managed to convert. Born Nasir al-Din Muhammad – ‘Humayun’ was his regnal title – he inherited the throne at a mere twenty two, just four years after his father Babur had wrested it from the Lodis at Panipat. When Babur died rather suddenly of illness, Humayun was clearly not prepared to rule. Not yet anyway. And it showed.

He defeated Bahadur Shah of Gujarat but failed to eliminate that threat entirely. He believed he had pushed back Sher Shah Suri from Chunar when the latter had only made a tactical retreat. Humayun lapsed into the comfort of his harem only to find Suri advancing in force. In June 1539, at Chaunsa in Bihar, Humayun and Suri appeared to reach a face saving agreement. True to form, Humayun’s forces relaxed their vigil and were literally caught napping when Suri launched a night attack. Humayun was famously forced to flee by swimming across the Ganga using a leather skin water bag to avoid drowning. His escape earned him a second chance but he would fail to utilise it.

In May 1540, Suri routed Humayun at Kannauj, pushing the latter into a long and arduous retreat. With his brothers now appearing treacherous, Lahore too was rendered unsafe for Humayun. Moreover, Sher Shah demanded that he flee to Kabul. Rendered homeless, the former emperor was forced to wander through the Thar Desert with a small number of followers. In 1542, while on this flight to nowhere, his wife gave birth to the future emperor Akbar in Amarkot, now in Pakistan’s Sindh province.

Going beyond Kabul, Humayun entered Persia — doing so sans prior permission from its ruler, Shah Tahmasp. He would spend several years there, facing both warm welcomes as well as suspicious glances. In August 1544, he eventually met the Shah and was treated with respect. However, if Babur’s future when he entered India was uncertain, Humayun’s was even more so in Persia.

But once more, life gave him a second chance. In 1545, Sher Shah Suri died while laying siege to a fort. His son, Islam Shah’s short reign ended in 1554, and the vacuum that followed was filled by the resurgent Humayun, now accompanied by Persian forces. In July 1555, Humayun sat on the throne of Delhi once more. But the man whom life had given so many second chances now ran out of time. Less than six months later, he died from a fall in his library.

Today, an underground museum conceptualised, created and managed by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) showcases the challenging life of Emperor Humayun, at New Delhi’s Humayun’s Tomb. Strangely, for a dynasty that spawned Babur, Akbar, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb and others, Humayun is the only one to have a museum built in his name. It is a strange acknowledgement that without his fortitude, the dynasty would have been in the scrap heap of history.

Equally strange is that the tomb of Humayun is the largest mausoleum built with the intent of housing the remains of a Mughal monarch – remember that the Taj Mahal was built for Shah Jahan’s consort and he was laid to rest there only later. Humayun’s tomb in Delhi, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993, stands higher and bigger than the tomb of Akbar and dwarfs those of Jahangir and Babur.

A model of Humayun’s tomb

The new museum is part of a vast heritage zone spread around the tomb. A broad sloping walkway, disabled friendly, leads downward. Most museums of India are merely a collection of disparate objects. At the museum dedicated to Humayun, a crisp narrative binds together pictures, objects, models and words to create a living showcase of Humayun’s life, loves and travels. Here is what makes it special:

• Architect’s Atelier: The highlight of the museum is undoubtedly a detailed understanding of the nuances of Humayun’s tomb and other monuments around. From the ‘Char Taq’ boat palace that is said to have inspired the emperor’s tomb, to its dome, to the finial atop the dome, to the six sided star used as a motif, to the intricate painted patterns inside the ceiling, the museum’s narrative delves into each element. The explanations cover the charbagh pattern of garden tombs, its restoration process and also encompass other monuments such as the Nila Gumbad.

• Bird’s eye view: Humayun’s tomb is part of an immense heritage zone comprising the Nizamuddin village and dargah, the Sunder Nursery, and various other tombs that dot the vicinity. A visitor begins his tour by looking at a giant illustration depicting this zone. Below that are models of various lesser known monuments. It is a superb collective showcase that shows the density of heritage here.

• The Big Picture: The heritage zone is further brought alive via a 270 degree screen in the immersive gallery. A visitor is gently taken through an aerial view of the zone and its various monuments. It feels as if one is atop a kite lazily flying over centuries of human activity.

• The Mughal context: Without understanding the life and circumstances of Babur, it is impossible to understand Humayun’s travails. He was at Babur’s side during various military campaigns, even at the age of eighteen. Armour, weapons and paintings depict those years.

• Stories via paintings: The life histories of Mughals were often told by court artisans through paintings – from accounts of military campaigns to marriage processions, from individual portraits to visuals of the royals resting in gardens. An example is a painting depicting Humayun embracing his brother Kamran when the latter comes to surrender in 1548 CE – a landmark portrayal given how often Kamran betrayed his brother.

A painting depicting Humayun’s capture of Kabul

• Star Gazing Ruler: Humayun had a passion for Astronomy. In that era, astrolabes and celestial spheres were the most common instruments for this study and several such objects from the Mughal court have survived. Some are displayed here, the creation of Ustad Allahdad Lahuri Asturlabi ‘Humayuni’ and his descendants – central Asian artisans who were perhaps invited to India by the emperor.

• Planet Dress Code: In Hindu Astrology, planets are associated with certain days of the week and considered deities. Each planet, and by extension each day, has a certain colour linked to it and seven elegantly dressed figurines in the museum bring alive the point that Humayun dressed in line with the planetary colour of the day.

• Remembering Lesser Mortals: The objects in the museum are used to remember certain people from history, even those who played a tiny role. People like Jauhar Aftabchi, author of ‘Tazkirat-ul-Waqiat’, a contemporary history of the emperor’s life including the years in Persia. He was a jug bearer of the emperor and a display of mediaeval jugs is used to connect with him. On one side is a rare portrait of Sher Afghan, a nobleman who was the first husband of Nur Jahan.

• Objects of Life: From a zardozi embroidered gold silk-on-thread replica of Humayun’s crown to a 19th century jade thumb guard for an archer, the 500 plus objects at the museum – a mix of replicas and originals – bring alive the tale of not just Humayun, but the entire dynasty.

• Coin corner: On one side is the staple of any museum that covers a period of history – coins. This set covers currency issued by successive generations of Mughal emperors.

• Men of words: Illustrated books, manuscripts, reproductions of inscriptions and examples of calligraphy – including from as far back as the 13th century CE – form a section to depict how the stories of that mediaeval era were captured for posterity.

• Nizamuddin Dargah decoded: Proximity to the dargah of Nizamuddin was the reason for locating the tomb of Humayun here. Fittingly, a section of the museum is dedicated to the history and the architecture of the dargah and the village. This includes a detailed chronology of the structural changes of the dargah itself, an understanding of Sufism and its rich manifestations in poetry and music.

Detailed model of the Nizamuddin dargah complex

Walking through the tomb is like a ringside view of the life of Humayun, his environment and his influence. While Babur is acknowledged the founder of the dynasty, Humayun had the fortitude to outlast his challenges and recapture his lost empire. The dynasty’s era came to an end when Bahadur Shah Zafar was arrested by the British in September 1857. The place of arrest was Humayun’s tomb – a powerful coincidence that the curtain fell at the resting place of the man who restarted the show. The dynasty, like Humayun, had run out of time.

The author is a heritage explorer by inclination with a penchant for seeking obscure sites. A brand consultant by profession, he tweets @HiddenHeritage. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.

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