Howrah Bridge and Railway station, Calcutta

“But immediately afterwards we had to slow down to a crawl as the road grew progressively narrower and crowded. Rows of shacks appeared on both sides of the road now, small ramshackle structures, some of them built on thin slits, with walls of plaited bamboo, and roofs that had been pinched together somehow out of sheets of corrugated iron.”

– Amitav Ghosh, “The Shadow Lines”

Amongst the most impressive edifices that the beautiful old city of Calcutta possesses is the majestic Howrah Bridge that has since its conception become iconic of the crumbling city; a structure which I have traversed numerous times in the past and always eagerly look forward to traveling upon every time I’m in the city – in fact, the massive bridge, the magnificent railway station opposite and the thoughts of availing a ferry ride through the fiercely intimidating deep waters of the river Ganga are among the highlights that keep attracting me back to the erstwhile grand capital of the country and should, I believe, be amongst the most cherished memories of it once I leave it.

The bridge and Calcutta's iconic yellow taxi cabs

The first time I happened to travel over the colossal bridge was also the first occasion I visited the spellbinding city from the small, industrially advanced yet densely vegetated suburban township called Durgapur where I’m doing my Bachelors in Technology from (though I’m on the road so often that my friends have coined a new term for me – Bachelors in Travelling!). I entered the city on a bus which passed over the bridge and awestruck by its enormity, I looked around wide-eyed, trying to squeeze my head through the window bars to glimpse a little more of the confounding visual scene of huge steel bars projecting in numerous directions all around the bus and the near perennial flow of undisturbed traffic above and the unobstructed sluggish deep green waters of the river underneath the bridge. In the parallel distance stood serenely the Vidyasagar Setu (“Setu” translates to “bridge” in Hindi/Bangla) and numerous ferries, rendered miniscule by distance and comparison to the immensity of the river and the bridges, gracefully skirted, nay barely skimmed, the water’s surface. The very same evening, my friends and I returned to witness the bridge in its striking glory when it is attractively lighted up with hundreds of incandescent bulbs as twilight settles peacefully over the vast metropolis and renders the river an inky blue trail of fierce gurgling sounds. Even in the furthest confines of one’s fanciest of dreams, one cannot gauge its enormity looking at its photographs or even travelling over it, but stand close to the superstructure and you realize what it is – the two 270-feet tall vertical towers that support its bulk seem to be rising through the clouds, the line of yellow taxis and red-green buses furiously whizzing in every possible direction appear like mere insects buzzing around its colossal frame and the beautiful Gothic-inspired railway station located adjacent, though itself unimaginably vast, appears like a small palace, its vibrant red tinged with bright yellow conflicting against the uninspiring grey-silver of the bridge. Together, contrastingly and yet somehow harmoniously, both dominate the visual and the figurative landscape, reflecting both in numerous awestruck passer-bys’ eyes and dozens of flawless poems and stories, most notably by the renowned Anglo-Indian author Rudyard Kipling, and portraying altogether the scientific and industrial superiority of the British who once dominated the country militarily, technologically and territorially.

Howrah Bridge - A testimony to human inventiveness

Technically, the iconic 27,000-tonne steel bridge, re-christened since 1965 (at least officially) as Rabindra Setu (after the Nobel-laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore) to reflect the cultural and literary heritage of Bengal, is a combination of suspension-type balanced cantilever (i.e, the central portion above the river is entirely supported upon the two massive end portions) and, as is perceptible from its overall structural design, utilizes steel beams arranged in an ordered manner to support the overall weight of vehicles and pedestrians and to balance the effect of wind and cyclones – it actually feels exhilarating to not just be able to throw around these scientific terms, but also understand them! Hey, I’m not so bad with college studies either! Statistically, the structure, proportioned 705 meters X 30 meters and currently the 6th longest cantilever bridge in the world, bears daily traffic of 100,000 vehicles and 150,000 pedestrians and is therefore the busiest bridge in the world! And surprisingly, the entire structure has been constructed without using any nuts and bolts! Presently, two other bridges – the Vidyasagar Setu and the Nivedita Setu – have been constructed so as to ease the congestion and weight load on it. Culturally, besides featuring in several poems, stories and anthologies, it has also been portrayed in several Bollywood flicks, the most recent being “Kahaani”, starring Vidya Balan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. It is interesting to note that the bridge expands around 4.8 inches during the sweltering daytime heat and contracts almost an equal length during the cool nights. It also slightly bends when afflicted by strong winds.

Opened to vehicular traffic in 1943 (construction work began in 1937) whereby it replaced an older Pontoon one (which consists of shallow specialized boats connected together across a river with a track attached on top whereby the total weight that can be supported is limited by the buoyancy of the pontoons/boats) that was originally commissioned for 25 years but served for 69 instead, the bridge is presently monitored round the clock by surveillance cameras and police teams to prevent any vehicle or steamer/barge to cause damage to the structure because of reckless driving/shipping. Kolkata Port Trust is its custodian and regularly hires teams of contractual workers to clean it at regular intervals to prevent accumulation of water, human spit, bird droppings and any other organic/chemical materials that might corrode the metal structure. The railway station is much older – designed by British architect Halsey Ricardo and constructed in 1905, it was designated to be a change point for goods trains, but ironically, not a single goods train passes through it now as it is lined full with passenger trains throughout day and night – it also happens to be one of the busiest stations in the country in terms of trains plying across it as well as the number of passengers.

Fairytale setting - Howrah Railway station

In what can best be described in Amitav Ghosh’s aforementioned words (which too mind you can never truly capture Calcutta’s quintessential eternal essence), around the railway station exist a number of makeshift shops and hawkers lined up to sell cheap wares – combs, handkerchiefs, plastic mugs, containers, metal chains to tie luggage with in trains, faux leather belts etc; tea vendors carrying large cylindrical containers cry out for patrons while fruit sellers squat on the footpaths where they jostle for space with passer-bys and beggars. On the roadside between the bridge and the station stretches an extremely long (and unbelievably ordered, unlike the rest of the scene around) queue of yellow taxis ready to take one anywhere they wish to be on either side of the bridge. Across the road unfolds a scene mind-numbingly different and yet essentially same – here happen to be uncountable small eateries serving food that can be described as being cheap while lacking entirely in both hygiene and delectableness! Unsurprisingly, the eatery owners and waiters would quickly discontinue bang in the middle of whatever they are doing to call out to passer-bys strolling by or gazing within to eat at their shop and not at any other.

Unbelievably so, the station’s interiors, incredibly stuffed to the seams with millions of travelers, porters, vendors, police wo/men and tea sellers, appear cavernous compared even to the gargantuan exteriors. Nearly every major train running in any direction and connecting the rest of the country to its eastern sections pass through Howrah. There are three and one score platforms in total, but they always prove to be confusing for the uninitiated as they tend to start, or rather end, from a particular point as if the railway line is only limited to that particular point. In my humble opinion, the Howrah and Old Delhi stations are two of the most perplexing and frustrating railway stations I have ever encountered – and incidentally both were built by the British.

The disabled-friendly station offers food facilities, a guest house, passenger transit facilities, cloak room and a dispensary. Besides vendors peddling snacks, chains (to tie the luggage with), magazines and newspapers, there also are hundreds of shops lined along the station sides selling foods and beverages, books, newspapers and magazines and even electronic accessories like phone chargers and earphones. Notwithstanding that Calcutta itself can be unbelievably chaotic and hassled, the station seems to give fair competition to the city – as serene and fairy-tale like it appears from outside, inside it, with its heady confluence of several languages, smells and accents (at the same time intriguing and harrowing!), turns out to be implausibly strange and baffling. And the most amazing, although security-wise intimidating, aspect is that vehicles are allowed on the platforms and passengers can simply alight from their own car/taxi outside the train coach they are supposed to board and hop into the latter with their entire luggage without the conundrums of security checks and dysfunctional metal detectors.

A newspaper article highlighting the features of the three bridges on the Hooghly river

The palatial station and the humongous bridge have become a fascinating emblem not just for the city, but for the state of Bengal as well, drawing to themselves throes of awestruck onlookers and defining both for locals and visitors alike a most outstanding moment of their time in the timeless city. Oh Calcutta and thy charms unsung!

Location: Howrah
How to reach: Buses, taxis, ferries and trains ply from different parts of the city for Howrah.
Entrance fees: Nil
Photography/Video charges: Nil
Time required for sightseeing: 30 min
Other places of interest located nearby - 

1. Pixelated Memories - Belur Math
2. Pixelated Memories -Dakshineshwar Temple

Suggested reading - 

1. Bbc.com - Article "Scheme to save Calcutta's Howrah Bridge from spit" (dated Nov 23, 2011) by Amitabha Bhattasali 
2. Howrahbridgekolkata.gov.in (Official website of the bridge) 
3. Wikipedia.org - Howrah Bridge

Chilla-Khanqah Nizamuddin, New Delhi

Tucked in a forested weather-beaten location near Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station is a simplistic structure part-modern and part-medieval. Known as Chilla-Khanqah Nizamuddin, it can easily be missed by someone not specifically looking for it. Flanked on one side by the rubble-built boundary walls of Humayun’s Tomb complex (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and on the other two sides by the white-washed walls of Gurudwara Damdama Sahib, the white-green structure fits so snugly into the heritage zone that it is ignored by almost everyone wandering around its precincts. Passing cars do not stop here, nor does anybody get down from local trains at the railway station adjacent to visit this place. I did, but I am, as always, an exception. Except the caretaker and the resident “fakeer” (spiritual mendicant), there was not a single soul to be seen at the large complex in the entire duration that I explored about. Surprisingly, the beautiful dargah (mausoleum) of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, one of India’s foremost Sufi saints and the patron saint of Delhi, a few kilometers away, is the site of revered prayers and pilgrimage for thousands of faithful devotees who throng to it every single day to pray for health, prosperity and fulfillment of wishes, and yet the actual hallowed site where the benevolent saint, bestowed with the honorific “Auliya” (“friend of God”), spent 65 years of his life till his demise has been relegated to an unenviable existence of isolation and ignorance! To confess the truth, even I wasn’t aware of this medieval spiritual gem and wouldn’t have stopped by were it not for the Urdu signboards indicating its presence that I noticed while on my way from the forgotten but bejeweled Nila Gumbad mausoleum to the magnificent Humayun’s Tomb complex. I cannot read Urdu, but the signboards piqued my curiosity and I couldn’t stop venturing within to determine what this verdant, pristine complex was. It was then that I noticed that there were Hindi and English boards too, hidden by foliage and visible only on close inspection.

Entrance to Chilla-Khanqah Nizamuddin and the Urdu signboards

I had read a lot about the 14th-century Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and his powers, how his curse brought down rulers, most notably Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (refer Pixelated Memories - Tughlaqabad Fort for the inimitable tale about Ghiyasuddin's fortified citadel), and how he bestowed prosperity and wellbeing on his followers (Read “Delhi – A Novel” by Khushwant Singh) and his chilla-khanqah being located in the Nizamuddin area. However I had neither the clue about its exact location nor any plans of visiting the spot anytime soon. But now that I had, coincidentally, discovered it, I had to have a close look at its constituents – the graves in the marble-lined, open courtyard out front; the simplistic, L-shaped, green-white structure which, given its architectural features (battered walls, wide eaves (“chajja”) supported on heavy brackets, lack of ornamentation, unadorned rectangular pillars supporting the arches), dates to the early Tughlaq-era when Hazrat Nizamuddin walked the earth; large equally old and crumbling chambers towards the back of the complex accessible from a doorway built in the longer side of the L. The immediate structure, that is the aforementioned shorter side of the L-structure that bears the distinct architectural features easily recognizable as Tughlaq, functions as a mosque – the small covered portion along its western wall acts as the mihrab (a mihrab is a niche in a mosque wall to indicate west, the direction of Mecca. Muslims face this while offering prayers) and alcoves built along its surface are filled with books and framed posters of Hazrat Nizamuddin’s and Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer’s dargahs. Also located towards the side facing the colossal Humayun’s tomb complex is a small graveyard.

The Chilla-Khanqah. The arched doorway on the left leads to Hazrat Nizamuddin's personal chambers.

A “khanqah” is a small monastery used for praying. It was here that Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya lived, meditated, interacted with followers and died. This place was also where he performed the practice of “chilla-kashi” in which a Sufi secludes him/herself from the general population and followers and undergoes extreme penance without water, food or sleep for 40 days continuously while indulging in reverential prayers and commune with the divine. Hence, the name “Chilla-Khanqah Nizamuddin”. Hazrat Nizamuddin’s adoring followers would come here to see their beloved saint, hear him deliver sermons and seek from him blessings of happiness, marital bliss, fertility and childbirth, agricultural beneficence and legal/diplomatic achievements. A community kitchen functioned from the premises where the saint’s affluent devotees would contribute food materials and have it prepared for distribution among the crowds gathered irrespective of any distinction of religion, gender and social and economic status. The white marble-lined veranda leads to the chambers towards the back of the complex where the saint lived and meditated – though the rest of the complex has since been painted and modified through the use of marble, plaster and stone numerous times since, this area is maintained as near to the original state as feasible, and thus the dull, faded paintwork, crumbling structure baring the rubble skeleton of the walls underneath, and the overall ruinous existence of the primary chamber that is now revered as a shrine.

Unbelievable - The Auliya lived and meditated here!

When Hazrat Nizamuddin was sent to Delhi as the “Wali-e-Hind” (“Saint of Hindustan”) by his spiritual master Sheikh Fariduddin Ganjshakar, the area where the chilla-khanqah exists today as well as the adjacent Humayun’s Tomb complex used to be complete wilderness and the nearest settlement was that of village Ghiyaspur several kilometers away (since then renamed as Nizamuddin Basti and more recently as Mirza Ghalib colony). The monastery is said to have been built by an unparalleled devotee Ziauddin Wakeel Mulk (also spelled Vakil or Wakil) who was a contemporary of Hazrat Nizamuddin. Legend is that when Wakeel offered to build a humble monastery for the saint, the latter warned him that the person commissioning it would not live for long. Unperturbed in his devotion to the Auliya, Wakeel went ahead with the project saying that everyone has to die someday. The complex took 30 days to finish and a “mehfil” (celebration) was organized on the first evening following its completion. As prophesied, Wakeel danced ecstatically throughout the night and his pious soul left its mortal body as the music reached its crescendo! He is buried in a solitary grave, perennially covered with green cloth and surrounded by green flags, in the grassy lawn in front of the chilla-khanqah. Green and red flags, symbolic of Sufism, also flutter around the place, especially near the simplistic entrance.

Eternal slumber - The grave of Ziauddin Wakil, the sincere devotee

The saint’s decrepit rooms are stuffed with miscellaneous items like posters, cloth bundles and praying mats while the floor around is lined with small earthen vessels filled regularly by the faithful with grain for birds and milk for the resident cats. The uncharacteristically unkempt wall alcoves, lined with beautifully embroidered green cloth but also clogged with spider webs and blackened by the lightening of oil lamps, contain hardbound photographs of Mecca and Hazrat Nizamuddin’s dargah. Belief is that if one reverentially asks for the fulfillment of a wish while facing these alcoves it does come true! Despite it being a summer afternoon and the sun blazing scorchingly, the interiors maintained an unbelievable coolness brought about by the traditional architectural practices and construction techniques that are sadly no longer of use to the modern air-conditioned city and its closeted inhabitants. Immediately opposite the entrance from which one enters is another doorway, now barred and locked, that leads outside to the other side – during his lifetime, Hazrat Nizamuddin extensively stressed upon the separation of religion and state and boasted that his monastery has two doors and if a Sultan comes in through one he himself quickly leaves from the other. As I roamed about the place silently like a cat (I wanted to be quiet, the caretaker had, after showing me in, fallen asleep in a corner), I noticed that some of these medieval chambers were grilled and locked to prevent visitors from entering. In one of these there was a large transformer but I have no idea what lies in the rest. (Edit: Interestingly, I realized much later that, were they not grilled and barred, Hazrat Nizamuddin’s rooms would have opened directly to the landscaped lawns of Humayun’s Tomb complex that came up here over two hundred years later. The tomb complex’s enclosure walls culminate into a serene pavilion christened as Chilgah pavilion (refer Pixelated Memories - Humayun’s Tomb complex for details and photographs of the same) that overlooks the chilla-khanqah complex and Gurudwara Damdama Sahib adjacent.

The associated graveyard

Wandering around, I reached the small graveyard on the other side of the complex – there couldn’t be more than one score graves, some of which were delightfully decorated with “jaalis” (stone latticework) and vibrant, multi-hued embroidered cloth sheets. Almost all of them were well-kept and several had small plants and grass growing through the shallow hollows built along the upper surface. This practice, of leaving small space for plants to grow from on top of the tile-covered graves, besides being in accordance with Islamic burial specifications that require a grave to be covered by nothing but grass and being regularly wetted by dewdrops (that is, not enclosed by extraordinarily colossal or rich mausoleums) is also visually appealing and spiritually heartwarming. Eco-friendly graves, I call these!

Solemn - Some are remembered and some are not.

The resident mendicant, a very old and very friendly person who believed that Nizamuddin Baba looks after everyone, was sitting in the graveyard. He inquired if I had been to Hazrat Nizamuddin’s room and if I had, if I asked for a “murad” (wish). On hearing that I didn’t ask for anything, he led me back to the room where he made me sit on my knees in front of the alcove and placed his hand on my head while muttering incantations to Allah to grant me success and health. A few seconds later when I turned my head he had disappeared and was nowhere to be seen. Leaving a ten rupee note in the alcove, I returned to the graveyard to check if he was there, but he wasn’t. Instead there was another old mendicant, sitting atop a solitary grave and having his lunch – he happily offered to share it with me, even though it was apparent that he didn’t even have enough to sustain himself. That’s why I find Sufi dervishes so endearing, they are always genuinely sweet and compassionate and willing to share what they possess. It is revolting to think that the universal syncretism, musical spiritual congregations and methods of worship and devotion, such as those involving the benevolence of deceased legendary saints and mighty djinns to intercede to Allah on behalf of mortal humans, practiced by Hindus and Muslims alike at community shrines such as dargahs that are open to every person irrespective of any distinction of religion, gender, socio-economic status or belief have come under criticism and fierce, intolerant hostility from orthodox organizations such as the Tablighi Jamaat that has opened its headquarters immediately at the footstep of the route leading to the Auliya’s dargah and opposes visiting both the dargah and the chilla-khanqah on the grounds of it being against the tenets of Islam.

Having finished with the photography and following a thorough recce of the foliage-veiled complex, I moved ahead towards the next destination with the prayer incantation of the fakeer still resounding in my head. The serenity and quiet of the place is touching and invigorating at the same time, soothing both mind and body. It felt amazing to just be cut-off from the world and be in a place, even for a short while, that is secluded from all the noise, commotion and worries of life and is also luxuriously surrounded by a diminutive forest with multi-hued butterflies and pretty peacocks for company . And then there is the sacred presence of the boon-bestowing Hazrat Nizamuddin penetrating every stone and cranny of the complex lovingly overlooking every soul who ventures within.

The mendicant who disappeared

Location: Nizamuddin area, hardly 20 minutes walk from Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station (Coordinates: 28°35'42.2"N 77°15'06.9"E)

Open: All days, sunrise to sunset

Nearest Metro station: JLN Stadium

Nearest bus stop: Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah/Humayun's Tomb complex

How to reach: Walk from the railway station. The metro station is situated several kilometers away and one can either take an auto from there or alternately take a bus to Humayun's tomb complex and walk a kilometer and half from there on. The chilla-khanqah lies immediately to the back of Humayun's tomb complex and one can walk along the latter's boundary walls to reach it.
Entrance fees: Nil
Photography/Video charges: Nil
Time required for sightseeing: 30 min
Other monuments located in immediate vicinity - 

1. Pixelated Memories - Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah
2. Pixelated Memories - Humayun's Tomb Complex
3. Pixelated Memories - Nila Gumbad
4. Pixelated Memories - Unknown Mughal Tomb

Nila Gumbad, New Delhi

Standing right next to Platform 1 of the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, New Delhi is a beautiful blue-colored tomb. Looking over a railway junkyard, a small slum & the platform, the tomb is silent witness to all the atrocities that have been committed against it & stands largely neglected in the midst of all the surging humanity that passes it every day. With its entrances blocked with cement, doors locked, plaster flaking & tiles falling off, the tomb presents a very sorry picture. But despite its dilapidated condition it looks magnificent & forces one to imagine what it would have looked like in its days of glory.

Popularly called the Nila Gumbad (“Blue Dome”) because of the brilliant colour of its dome, the tomb was built by Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana for his servant Miyan Fahim in 1624-25. Abdul Rahim was a general in Mughal emperor Akbar’s court (ruled AD 1556-1605) & was brought up by the emperor himself after the death of his father Bairam Khan (also a general in Akbar’s army). Rahim was also a very famous poet & composed couplets in Hindi, Persian & Urdu, popularly known as “Rahim ke Dohe” which are today taught in Indian schools as part of Hindi curriculum. Fahim grew up with Abdul Rahim’s son Feroze Khan & died alongside him too while fighting against the rebellion by Mughal general Mahabat Khan, during the reign of emperor Jahangir (ruled AD 1605-28).

The Nila Gumbad

The tomb sits on a 1.5 meter high pedestal & is reached by climbing a couple of stairs. It is shaped like an unequal octagon, resembling rather a large square with its corners knocked off. The wider sides of the octagon are pierced by arched doorways. The narrower sides have recessed arches that have paint work in red and white, reminiscent of bricks. The tomb, built of local quartzite stone, is plastered both internally & externally & at one time the tomb must have been very beautifully decorated with coloured tiles, but now only a portion of a wall facing the Railway Station shows remnants of the impressive designs & geometrical patterns.

Let's go somewhere!!

Also all except one entrance to the tomb have been blocked using cement. The tomb has certainly been treated very cruelly & nothing has been done to restore the structure or at least put up a boundary wall near it to prevent encroachments & slum dwellers from setting up their settlements along its walls. The high pedestal is on one side surrounded by a slum, a service road on another & a railway junkyard on other 2 sides.

The patterns

A lone security guard looks after the place, & would promptly open up the locked grille if you request him. Once inside, I was hoping to see an unkempt chamber with one or more graves. But two reasons again strengthened my belief that almost anything is possible in Delhi - one, the square chamber was very beautiful, the sunlight filtering through the windows created patterns of light & shadows. The beautiful roof still has its plaster work & mesmerized me immediately. So much so that for 5 minutes I just gazed at it & spent the next 20 photographing it from different points & angles. Second, there is no grave or sarcophagus inside the tomb!! Odd, why is it called a "tomb" then??

Say "Aahh..!!"

After exiting the chamber, I spent some time observing it, taking photographs. There is a huge finial on top of the dome, the dome too is losing its tiles. The guard disappeared after a few minutes leaving me alone. A small tract of wild vegetation hides remains of a large wall with some rooms built on one side. A similar wall is visible across the road, perhaps they had been joined once but destroyed when the road was built. Large rods of steel lie next to the tomb, a very thin dusty track is being used by motorcyclists to cross the railway track. Everything around the tomb suggests a general callousness, maybe the people inhabiting the region have gotten used to its presence & do not anymore think twice before passing from near it. The ignored tomb just stands sentinel to the passing trains & whistling engines. I read the ASI & Indian Railways are locked in a legal battle about the custody of the space around the tomb. Apparently the ASI wants to restore the tomb & build a garden around it after diverting the road that passes along it to the other side of the tomb. The Railways are reluctant as this would require the destruction of existing Station & its relocation along with the rail lines to some other location. Plans to integrate the 16th-century tomb with Humayun’s Tomb complex have finally got off the ground with the signing of a MoU between the ASI & railways which allows the service road bifurcating the two monuments to be shifted to the other side of the tomb. The work is being undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) & will also include repairing of cracks and tile work on the dome, reopening of doorways now blocked with masonry, removal of cement repairs made in the 20th century, restoration of the decorative plasterwork, & rebuilding of collapsed portions of the northern & western arcade walls (refer Times of India article - "Nila Gumbad gets a facelift & heritage corridor"). The northern arcade, is thought to have protected the monument from Yamuna that once flowed near Humayun’s Tomb but later changed course & shifted away. So far I did not observe any signs of any kind of construction or restoration activity.

The narrower walls display medallions & paintwork resembling red bricks

Again what interests me the most about monuments in Delhi is how many of them are interconnected to each other. After Akbar's death, a struggle for supremacy ensued between his sons, with each possessing his own armies & retinue of generals. Abdul Rahim was opposed to Jahangir's accession to the throne of Delhi. After Jahangir did became emperor, the first thing he did was punish all those who opposed him & those he considered blackguards. He ordered the execution of two of Rahim's sons & their bodies were left to rot at Khooni Darwaza (refer Pixelated Memories - Khooni Darwaza) to act as a warning to future traitors & mavericks. Guess Abdul Rahim & his other sons did make up with the new emperor later, since Feroze Khan did support Jahangir against Mahabat Khan & Jahangir also allowed for the construction of a magnificent mausoleum for Rahim about 2 kilometers away from Nila Gumbad & very close to his own grandfather Humayun's tomb complex (refer Pixelated Memories - Humayun's Tomb Complex).

Ignored!!

Moving along the road next to the tomb, one encounters the boundary wall of Humayun’s Tomb  & its back entrance with the hanging jharokhas (projecting chambers/windows) that the royal family might have used to view the river Yamuna. Moving further along, one comes across Gurudwara Damdama Sahib, Chilla-Khanqah Nizamuddin (refer Pixelated Memories Chilla-Khanqah Nizamuddin) & the main entrance to Humayun’s Tomb Complex. It is disheartening to see that so very near to the World Heritage Site of Humayun’s Tomb Complex, the Nila Gumbad is languishing in anonymity & ignorance.

Edit June 15, 2013 - AKTC has finally started work on the restoration of the Nila Gumbad. The structure might be included within the Humayun's Tomb Complex or an extended heritage zone also including an unknown Mughal Tomb (refer Pixelated Memories - Unknown Tomb, Nizamuddin Area), Batashewala Mahal & several other structures. Fingers crossed!!

How to reach: The easiest way would be to take a local train to Hazrat Nizamuddin Station, the tomb is bang next to Platform 1. Nearest Metro Station would be JLN station, but that’s quite some distance away. The tomb is situated near the back side of Humayun’s Tomb Complex & one can walk along the Complex boundary to reach it.
Open: Entry to visitors is not allowed. But try to convince the guard to open it for you during the day time.
Entrance Fee: Nil
Photography/Video Charges: Nil
Time required for sight seeing: 30 minutes
Relevant Links -

1. Pixelated Memories - Chilla-Khanqah Nizamuddin
2. Pixelated Memories - Humayun's Tomb Complex
3. Pixelated Memories - Khooni Darwaza
4. Pixelated Memories - Unknown Tomb, Nizamuddin Area