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The
art and Mughal style of structure
of the Jal Mahal are beautifully
designed by the builders. These
are unique in style and construction.
The walls of Jal Mahal were
constructed with lime in those
days but even today one can
see the brightness of the walls.
This pleasant building 'whose
water and air are refreshing
like paradise', was got constructed
by Shah Quli 'Khan in 1591 A.D.
This is stated in an epigraph
set up there. Standing in the
centre of a large tank, now
dried up, and approached through
a causeway, this 'pleasure house'
like a small palace in a tank
is surmounted by five kiosks,
the larger being in the centre
and the remaining at the corners.
The under side
of the recess, a arched passage,
enhances the beauty of the tank
(dried up) and gives it a fairy
land charm. Of the large garden)
which was laid out around this
baradari exists no trace here
now. |
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On
account of its eminent location,
isolated identity and haunting
appearance, it can hardly escape
the attention of a visitor to
the town of Narnaul. It is,
therefore, called the 'signboard
of Narnaul’. It looks
like a haunted fairy place of
the old folk tales.
It was constructed
by Jamal Khan, an Afghan, as
his tomb, Though the date of
the construction is not known,
the pointed archs with the S-curves
as well as other details of
construction, put it coeval
with the tomb complex of Shah
Wilayat. Today, there are graves
inside. It is said that for
long it remained a hide out
for thieves and highwaymen and
that may account for its present
name, Chor gumbad.
It is a big
square monument with single
chamber inside. It seems double
storeyed from the outside, as
the second level is obtained
by way of providing an open
verandah running around. The
wide low dome and ogee archs
and some other features of architecture,
place it in point of time with
the tomb of Shah Nizam and old
parts of the adjoining Madarsa
built in 1357 A.D. in the Tughluq
style.
The passage
running in the thickness of
the walls may baffle the visitor,
with its twists and turns. It
is, therefore, called 'Bhul-Bhuhaiyan',
a maze. |
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This
spacious building, built by
Ray-i-Rayan Mukand Dass, the
Diwan of Narnaul, during the
reign of Shah Jahan (1628-58
A.D.) is dexterously planned
and embellished, though its
exterior is unostentatious and
drab. It is a five storeyed
structure with several halls,
rooms and pavilions. The entire
planning and the remnants of
the interior decoration show
ambitious intentions. The extensive
open terrace on the south, light
elliptical pavillions on different
levels, halls on pillars and
running verandah around a central
court, once adorned with a marble
fountain, impart to it spaciousness
and light. The profuse use of
marble for veneering and pillars
and brackets, provided with
artificial cataracts and drains,
might have been cosy retreat
during the tropical summers.
In the south-eastern
corner on the terrace, there
is a dilapidated Well, from
which the water was raised into
reservoirs, at various levels,
through the Persian wheel to
supply all the storeys. An exquisite
isolated gateway-complex, well
provided with projecting balconies
and marble veneering stands
a few metres to the west of
the palace. This is said to
have been the main entrance
to the complex The intervening
space is now being separated
by jerry-built modern constructions.
Legend has
it that the building is equipped
with four underground tunnels
leading to Jaipur, Mahendragarh,
Delhi and Dhosi. People believe
that a marriage party once went
down the tunnel leading to Delhi
and was not heard of again.
It said that Akbar and Birbal
visited this town and that is
why Chhatta Rai Mukand Das is
also popularly known as Chhatta
of Birbal.
At a small
distance from the Chhatta lies
the Sarai Rai Mukand Das. The
building bears an epigraph,
which says that, during the
reign of Shah Jahan, Rai-Rayan
Mukand Das, a servant of Nawab
Asif Khan, built the lofty building
of caravanserai under the super
vision of Mehta Puran Mal Hari
Dass. |
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The
tomb of Shah Wilayat stands
beside the mausoleum of Ibrahim
Khan. It is a big tomb-cum-collegiate
complex, which incorporates
within it a long tradition of
architecture ranging from the
Tughluq to the British period.
Much of its originality is marred
by later constructions. Originally
the tomb and the adjoining complex
were constructed during the
reign of Feroz Shah Tughluq.
The author of Gulzar says that
the eastern colonnades and the
dome were erected by Alam Khan
Mewari (in A.H. 760, A.D. 1357),
and part of the enclosure was
also erected by him.
Tughluq style
of architecture. The archs have
the ogee curves after the fashion
of the time. The tomb itself
is surmounted by a hemispherical
dome, crested by a fineal of
the Pathan style. The interior
of the dome is a perfect square
and has some paintings, which
are of much later date. Its
two enclosures were constructed
towards the end of Mughal time.
A part was even added in the
British period.
The inscription
in Persian verse over the doorway
registers the date of demise
of the Turkish saint in a chronogram
as well as in figures, i.e.
A.H. 531. |
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Sher
Shah Suri (1538-46 A.D) had
his tomb built in honour of
his able grandfather, Ibrahim
Khan, who served as an officer
of the Lodhis at Narnaul. The
monument was constructed under
the supervision of Sheikh Ahmed
Niyazi. There are two small
graves along with. the grave
of Ibrahim Khan inside the building.
The tomb is a perfect example
of the square tomb of the Pathan
style characterised by its massive
outlines, exquisite details,
and pleasing interplay of colours.
The creation, of a high terrace,
double Storey simulation, bold
archs, low domes, beautiful
kiosks on curved pillars, selender
turrets (guidastas), and elegant
merions, give it. balanced strength
and dexterity. The use of deep
red, grey and white stone encaustic
tile-work, painted ceiling with
excellent brush work and subtle
lapidary give it a richness
which is unique among such buildings
in Haryana1. |
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The
place is situated at a distance
of 3 kilometres from Narnaul.
This is the place where freedom
fighters sacrificed their lives
against Britishers for the sake
of the country. There is a historic
park laid out in the memory
of freedom fighters. It is believed
that the land of this place
became red due to the blood
of the freedom fighters. |
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The
Ain-i-Akbari and travelogue
of Latif, tell us that. Shah
Quli Khan1 had erected splended
buildings, and large tanks dug
and laid out beautiful gardens
at Narnaul. Later, he had built
for himself a fine mausoleums2.
He laid out
a beautiful garden and named
it Aram-i-Kauser, of which today
only the enclosure walls, a
well and the gateway complex
stand. Inside this garden, which
is currently under cultivation,
stands his tomb built in 1578
A.D. It is a small but a fine
monument, constructed in bluish
grey and, red stones, on An
octagonal plan, which was another
variation of the tomb style
of the Pathans.
The Tripolia
Darwaza was constructed in 1589
A.D. as main entrance to his
garden by Shah Quli Khan. |
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