Fatehpur Sikri Monuments
Distance : 40 kmfrom Agra
¤ The City At A Glance
Sikri was a decrepit little village till the Mughal Emperor Akbar
came visiting in 1568. Despite marrying the Amber princess Jodhabai in
1562, and having over 300 concubines at his beck and call, the monarch
was childless.
Desperate for an heir, Akbar visited the saint, Shaikh Salim who was
encamping here and who predicted that Akbar would have a son within 3
years. As fate had willed it, Jodhabai bore him a son the next year.
The emperor named him after the mystic.
Not only that, he decided to move lock stock and barrel to the place
and named it Fatehpur, or the ‘City of Victory’. His
military conquest of Gujarat might also have persuaded him to shift
base as must have the local abundance of red sandstone. In fact, apart
from the marble-white mausoleum of Salim, nestling in one corner of
the Jami Masjid – the city is entirely built out of red
sandstone.
¤ The Main Attractions
Diwani-i-Am
The Diwani-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience) is where the monarch sat
and lent a patient ear to all the petitions he received. A paved
courtyard called the Pachisi was where the monarch played chaubar, a
game that closely resembles chess– using slave girls as pieces.
Diwani-i-Khas
TheDiwani-i-Khas nearby housed theIbadat Khana or the ‘House of
Worship’ where the emperor debated various systems with noted
theologians.
Although semi-literate, Akbar was the most liberal of the Mughal
emperors, and in 1579, he was declared the highest authority in
matters of religion by the famous ‘infallibility decree’.
Three years later, the emperor founded Din-a-Ilahi or the ‘Religion
of God’ which was an amalgam of all the major religions of the
world. Decried by religious zealots from his own community as an
apostate, Din-a-Ilahi disappeared as a faith after Akbar’s death
in 1605.
Ankh Michauli
As you enter the Ankh Michauli (Closed Eyes) pavilion, you realise
that Akbar could be as flippant as he was profound. Here the Mughal
played ‘blind man’s buff’ and indulged in frivolous
pranks in the company of his harem.
Jodhabai’s Palace
Jodhabai’s Palace is befittingly the grandest of all palaces in
Fatehpur Sikri – as she was his most favoured wife and the mother
of the crown prince. Other notable palaces at Fatehpur Sikri are the
five-storeyed Panch Mahal and the Hawa Mahal.
Friday Mosque
Begun in 1571 and completed four years later, the Friday Mosque was
the largest of its kind in India at the time, measuring 168 metres by
144, with a huge inner courtyard.
The Buland Darwaza or ‘Sublime Gateway’ was added later to
commemorate Akbar’s military conquest of Gujarat.
The gateway, which rises to a height of 45 metres, presents an
awesome spectacle of isolation, and has exquisite Persian calligraphy
inscribed on it.
It says, “ The world is a bridge. Pass over it but build no
house upon it, for whoever hopes for one hour, hopes for all eternity.
The world is one hour. Spend it in prayer, for the rest is unseen”.
No more eloquent epitaph to the Mughal Empire – or any other
empire can be written.
 Salim
Chisti’s Mausoleum
and a trip to Fatehpur Sikri would be incomplete without visiting
Salim Chisti’s Mausoleum – the sage who played an important
role in Akbar’s life. Issueless parents visit his shrine in
droves to pray for sons as Akbar did over four centuries ago. They tie
little cords and paper wishes to the screens and any other object they
can find.
The Everlasting Glory of Fatehpur Sikri
By 1585, Akbar wearied of the dry, hot climate of the city and moved
to the cooler climes of Lahore. Within a few years, the pomp and
pageantry of the city vanished – but the sandstone monuments
endure to this day. Such were the construction methods employed, that
there is not a single derelict monument in the city. The Mughal Empire
has long since vanished from the firmament but the greatest of the
Mughal emperors, Akbar etched his name forever in the sands of time by
building the Fatehpur Sikri. |
