When conservation experts started work on Humayun?s Tomb, located in the heart of the capital city, about six years ago, they had a monumental task in front of them. The main marble dome and roof were leaking, the blue Persian tiles were gone, the original lime plaster had fallen off at several places on the walls and ceilings, and the mausoleum and its attached structures, such as the gateways and pavilions, were in bad shape.
Things had come to such a pass that craftsmen had to remove about a million kilos of concrete?laid in the 20th century, ostensibly to prevent water ingress?from the roof using hand tools. Similarly, over 2,25,000 sq ft of lime plaster had to be applied to areas where it had either been lost or replaced in recent times with cement plaster. It took 2,00,000 man-days of work and efforts of 1,500 conservationists and craftsmen to restore the original glory of Humayun?s Tomb.
The restoration work on Humayun?s Tomb started with its gardens in 1997. In 2007, conservation work started on all structures of the tomb, which involved significant archival research programme coupled with meticulous documentation, including the use of 3D laser scanning technology, removal of million kilos of concrete and cement plastering of about 40-cm thickness over the roofs to restore the original architecture of the tomb.
Humayun?s Tomb?commissioned by Mughal emperor Humayun?s first wife Bega Begum in 1569-70, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian architect chosen by her?was among the first monuments in Delhi to be named a Unesco world heritage site in 1993. The complex encompasses the main tomb of Humayun, which houses the graves of Bega Begum, Hamida Begum, and also Dara Shikoh, the great great grandson of Humayun and son of the later emperor Shah Jahan, as well as numerous other subsequent Mughals, including emperor Jahandar Shah, Farrukhsiyar, Rafi Ul-Darjat, Rafi Ud-Daulat and Alamgir.
Since 2007, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), under an urban renewal initiative and in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and several government agencies and co-funding partners, has been undertaking conservation and restoration work of over 30 monuments, including the 16th-century Unesco world heritage site in New Delhi that inspired the Taj Mahal, among other Mughal architectural marvels.
It was important that the originality of the monument was restored. Keeping this in mind, several people were trained from scratch. Master craftsmen from Uzbekistan were especially flown into the country to train 12 youths from the adjoining Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti in the art of tile-making?which had been lost in India?to restore the canopies on the roof.
?What we have done in the last six-seven years had to mainly rely on the original builders, which is a significant departure from the traditional preserve-and-found theory,? says Ratish Nanda, project director, AKTC.
Citing the example of the 42 arched recesses, which had collapsed in the 18th or the 19th century, Nanda says, ?Because of the significance of the enclosure wall to the original builder and the living craft technique, we thought it was necessary and appropriate to rebuild portions of this enclosure wall using the same material, the same building technology, including the brick shuttering, and the same tools to match the work of the original builders.?
Teaching people in tile-making also helped in creation of economic opportunities. ?Now, even if these youths (about 1,000 craftsmen were trained for the process) live for another 200 years, there is enough work for them. These craft skills can also be used for modern architecture,? says Nanda.
However, it was not an easy task to maintain the structural architecture of the monument. The stone paving of the lower plinth was restored after the removal of over 40,000 sq ft of concrete and the manual resetting of stone blocks, which weighed in excess of 2,500 kg each.
The sandstone paving of the upper floor also needed to be restored to its historic pattern, while ensuring that an adequate slope is available to drain rainwater.
Two Egypt-made lamps were also installed in the main chamber and the west gate, which were brought from Cairo.
A prominent intervention was the removal of cement plaster and the restoration of the decorative star-shaped patterns on the facade of the 68 mini mausoleums on the ground level where 160 Mughal family members, including Dara Shikoh, were buried.
Before actually starting the project, the conservation experts found that although the mausoleum and its associated structures were in a relatively stable structural condition, they were in a severe state of material deterioration. They believed that the architectural details used by the Mughal builders had been compromised by 20th-century repair works.
This argument, however, does not find a ready buyer in the ASI. Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, superintending archaeologist, says the agency has to follow certain procedures set by the government in undertaking their conservation activities.
?We are responsible for the government?s money. We are bound to answer where we have used our funds. Moreover, we are responsible for the regular maintenance of all the 174 heritage properties in India, and not just one.?
While Swarnkar accepts the fact that the ASI has been supervising the Humayun?s Tomb project, as it is the only government agency in the country responsible for the upkeep of heritage properties, he rues that the AKTC has failed in a few areas. ?When one looks critically at the roofs, one can see that the sewage is still there. In fact, the problem has not been solved yet. The concrete placed on the roofs had some specific purpose, which has now been removed,? adds Swarnkar.
While Nanda refuses to comment on the funding of the project, he says 70-80% of the money that the trust receives go into craftsmen?s wages. ?The funds were necessary to monetarily support the people, from the architects to the workers, involved in the process.? Sir Dorabji Tata Trust co-funded the project.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Since 2007, master craftsmen?stone carvers, plasterers, masons, tile makers and carpenters? undertook 2,00,000 man-days of work to restore Humayun?s Tomb and its associated structures. State-of-the-art technology such as 3D laser scanning was used to document the structures and undertake conservation works. Each stone on the facade was individually inspected to ensure minimum intervention. Around 12% of the facade stone eventually required to be replaced were prepared using the same tools and techniques used by Mughal builders. At the onset, a million kilos of concrete, laid on the roof in the 20th century, was removed by stone carvers using hand tools to minimise vibrations.