Move Over Hauz Khas Fort, We're Taking You Through Unexplored Nila Gumbad

Picture Credits: Lal Kariyath Photography

After you’re done looking at the great and prominent monuments of Delhi, it’s time to let the real exploration begin! While the great forts, mausoleums, temples and mosques have big stories to tell, it’s the little ones that have the more intriguing details, the more interesting and fascinating anecdotes *eyes twinkling with amusement*.

The beauty of these monuments lies in the fact that while they are definitely past their prime, they nonetheless retain enough beauty and magnificence to set you guessing about how it all might have looked.

A Special Monument

A very special little monument, the Nila Gumbad (Blue Dome), lies some way off the splendid Humayun’s Tomb. Located outside the eastern wall of this tomb, the Nila Gumbad is believed to house the remains of Miyan Fahim, a servant of the Mughal courtier-poet Abdur Rahim Khan, the son of Akbar’s caretaker Bairam Khan.

Exactly Where It Is

The Nila Gumbad falls in the vicinity of Humayun’s Tomb, near the Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin. The best way to get there if you’re travelling by bus is to take the 894, 405 or 403 and get off at Nizamuddin. Also, not very far is the Jangpura Metro Station. The best time to visit the monument is early on a winter morning, when the sun’s rays begin to filter in through the skylight, breathing life into the relic of an age-long past.

The Unique Tilework

It is perhaps the only monument in Delhi which still carries remnants of medieval Persian tile work. Largely dilapidated today, it still retains its base and vestiges of some of the tiles that gave it its name. Shaped like an octagon on the outside and square inside, it also retains green and yellow tiles from the days of its glory.

While there are a few cracks in the building and a little vegetation growing unkempt, it stands its ground, defying the elements as they take their toll. 

True Blue

The Nila Gumbad gives us an insight into an often-overlooked aspect of Islamic architecture. Green colour is most commonly identified with Islamic insignia, but in many parts of the Muslim world, buildings of antiquity and even those of today feature a lot of blue, especially at the top.

The reason is, a lot of Islamic cultures grew in deserts and dry, hot places. Large buildings like tombs, seminaries and mosques were the skyscrapers of that era, visible from very far off. 

Travellers in the desert were soothed at the sight of the blue domes as they got reminded of water and received hope that the trials and travails of their arduous journeys would soon come to an end. The structure therefore establishes our beautiful city in a connect with the great centres of culture, history and antiquity spread across our vast continent.   

A true-blue gumbad that lies largely unappreciated, how about packing a couple sandwiches and taking a few bottles of bantas and just set to exploring - the old fashioned way?!