Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

New Delhi, Jul 22 (PTI) The “country’s first” sunken museum at the magnificent Humayun’s Tomb site in Delhi that marries modern 21st-century architecture with Mughal-era craftsmanship in its design is all set for its inauguration next week.

The museum, whose layout is inspired by the medieval ‘baolis’ or traditional water tanks, is slated to be inaugurated by Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on June 29, coinciding with the ongoing meeting of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in the national capital, an official source told PTI.

It’s 24 karat gold—the kalash , or the finial, at the top of the Humayun’s Tomb. The gilded metal glistens in sunshine. Just some steps away is a much smaller tomb. Its dome is dotted with wild grass. But it too is as intense as its celebrity counterpart. The effect is caused by the dome’s enigmatic blue, which is neither shiny, nor pale. The shade appears fragile, and one fears it might wash out during the rains, or under the harsh sunshine.

From doom to bloomA collaboration between the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and ASI sees the garden at Humayun's Tomb get a much needed facelift, says Maitreyee handique

Published : April 19, 2003

'I am not the star of the show,' Ritesh Nanda protests as he shies away from the range of our cameraman Amit Kumar's focus, 'the star is behind you.'

The star, in question, is the garden at Humayun's Tomb, a star destination on a traveller's itinerary, bang in the nerve centre of teeming Delhi. The site was declared a world heritage monument by UNESCO in 1992.