Itimad-ud-Daulah's Tomb: The jewel box of Agra

On a sunny afternoon of 1893, an English archaeologist, Edmund William Smith from the Archaeological Survey of India stares at a pristine marble tomb in Agra and pinches himself in awe. “Can it be true?”, he wonders…” that the Baby Taj actually exists!” He walks around it, hardly smelling the sweet-scented flowers of the surrounding garden and repeatedly exclaims at the beauty of Itimad-ud-Daulah’s Tomb. Edmund has been sent to photograph various monuments of historical importance, in and around Agra and was visiting this tomb for the first time. Its red gates, typical of Mughal architecture did not quite reveal the interiors and the mausoleum‘s beauty has taken his breath away. He spends an entire afternoon there; exploring its every nook and cranny and watching in wonder at the dusty fingers of sunlight trailing in through the stone lattices. Two tombs lay side by side in eternal slumber and the marble monument was peacefully silent. The decorative marble also kept the monument cool and an afternoon from Edmund‘s March of 1893 slipped away quietly.

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Itimad-ud-Daulah‘s Tomb

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Itimad-ud-Daulah’s Tomb is the pearl of Agra

In the evening, after he returns to his official bungalow, Edmund starts processing his photographs and the images in the darkroom continue to captivate him. He sits moodily, absentmindedly nursing his daily dose of gin and tonic in his hand and thinks of the mausoleum. All around him, spring has made the mango trees burst forth into fragrant blossoms and cuckoos are singing wildly. A deep saffron sunset has softened the acrid Agra heat and spring flowers have scented the air sweet. Violet dusk sets in guarantying a generous sprinkling of stars on the night sky, but, Edmund does not notice any of this. He quietly stares into the distance before suddenly, springing up to fetch his personal journal. Thoughts bubble out as words pour out of him and he writes in large, looping quick hand.

It is like poetry in marble.

The artistic details of Itimad-ud-Daulah’s Tomb

“Over the domed chamber is another containing two white marble cenotaphs, surrounded by red marble (khattu) borders…inlaid with scrolls in bluish-black slate from Ulwar, looped together with small rosettes of white and a mottled marble, called abri…Between the tombs is a band of white marble studded with black rosettes of the same material with white centers separated with figures like Maltese crosses in mottled marble (dal-chana)…The tombs are not in the center of the chamber. The floor around them is of marble mosaic…The ground is of white marble, and starting diagonally from the four corners of the floor and surrounding the tombs in irregular twists is a leaf scroll in marble of an old gold colour known in Northern India as khattu. Emerging at intervals from the concave side of the spirals are large leaves modeled after those peculiar to Persian, Arabian and Turkish ornament, which fill up to a great extent the vacant spaces between the meanders of the scroll. Underlying the big scroll and subordinate to it is another of intricate design in bluish-black stone. Issuing from the meandering sides of the scroll are flowers and leaves of variegated marbles. Surrounding the floor is a broad chain border of leaves in black stone, khattu and abri (jasper) inlaid upon a field of white marble.”

It was built by a powerful Mughal empress.

This is the best of offbeat Agra

Many years later in 1901, his thoughts reached out to hundreds of people through his book called the Moghul Colour Decoration of Agra and they flocked to visit the beautiful tomb, which is also known as the Baby Taj or Jewel Box of Agra. Officially known as the Itimad-ud-Daulah’s Tomb, it is indeed the prettiest mausoleum of Agra and we too had sought shelter from the blazing Agra sun within its quiet painted interiors. That was in March of 2016, and Tarek and I were exploring India on a Royal Enfield motorbike. Agra was already very hot and our morning at the Fort was a messy one. Blazing heat, pregnancy, and a huge oily breakfast made me throw up in a most disgusting way. Needless to say, I was exhausted and weak, by the time we reached Itimad-ud-Daulah‘s Tomb and the noon sun kept the site absolutely empty. The first sight of the mausoleum was enough to take our breaths away and we ended up spending the whole afternoon there. Pigeons crooned from the delicately painted niches and stone flowers sprang all around us. Though a lot of beautiful Persian inspired frescoes were in bad shape, the Itimad-ud-Daulah‘s Tomb was still breathtakingly beautiful and it was quite evident that a lot of love had influenced its construction.

She dedicated the monument

To her legendary father.

The baby Taj of Agra

Built-in 1625 by Empress Noor Jehan, the favorite wife of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir, the Itimad-ud-Daulah Tomb was in memory of her father Ghayas-ud-din (Itimad-ud-Daulah). It contains both his and his wife’s graves and is the first Mughal structure to be constructed completely from pure marble. Itimad-ud-Daulah‘s Tomb is also the first monument to have been decorated with pietra dura extensively and the first mausoleum to be built on the banks of the gentle Yamuna. Before that, both sides of the river had been endless rows of undisturbed pleasure gardens and mango and guava orchards had cropped between them. The tomb in which the empress‘s father was buried resembles a jewel box and it is set in a small, tranquil garden. Beautiful pietra dura work covers it completely and stone inlaid cypresses, wine glasses, and an amazing variety of geometrical arabesque set off its perfect beauty. The splendid jali screens set in arched recesses filter in subdued light and four small minarets mark the four corners of the mausoleum. Due to the profusion of intricate marble work and extensive use of pietra dura art, the Itimad-ud-Daulah‘s Tomb is often referred to as the Baby Taj, though in reality Taj Mahal was inspired by the latter.

The interior and exterior of the building

Are decorated with lavish use of pietra dura.

Travel guide to Itimad-ud-Daulah’s Tomb

Though not grandiose or overwhelming like the Taj Mahal, Itimad-ud-Dauah‘s Tomb is definitely one of the most exquisite Mughal structures and one not to be missed, when in Agra. Incidentally, the empress built a similar mausoleum in Lahore, Pakistan for her beloved husband, Mughal Emperor Jahangir. The tomb is both architecturally and historically important. The pristine white marble monument marks the departure from the red sandstone buildings of Mughal architecture. It is located in the Moti Bagh region of Agra around 25 minutes away from the Taj Mahal and 14 minutes away from Agra Fort. One can easily get cabs, auto-rickshaw, and buses from any part of Agra to Itimad-Ud-Daulah’s tomb. The monument is open from dawn to dusk. The entrance fee is as follows -Indian Visitors: (Total- Rs. 30). Citizens of visitors of SAARC (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives, and Afghanistan) and BIMSTEC Countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Myanmar) -(Total- 30). Foreign Visitors: (Total- Rs.310) (NOTE: Foreign Visitors who purchase Agra Development Authority (ADA)’s Pathkar (Toll tax) ticket of Rs.500/- for TajMahal, need not purchase any other Pathkar (Toll tax) ticket if he/she visits the monuments viz. Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar’s Tomb, Itimad-ud-Daulah’s tomb on the same day). Children below 15 years of age are allowed free entry. Club your visit to the Itimad-ud-Daulah‘s Tomb with a brief stopover at Chini ka Rauza and end the day by catching the sunset at Mehtab Bagh.