A MUGHAL SPLENDOR REGAINED - 2002-09-29

New York Time. n packed, polluted and noisy New Delhi, the tranquil, sweet-scented oasis of Humayun's tomb is still remarkably empty, even desolate at times. 'For reasons I don't understand, Humayun's tomb has always been overlooked', said Tom Kessinger, general manager of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which funded the garden's $650,000 restoration. 'It's the insiders' best-kept secret in historical and architectural terms'. That may soon change. The restoration of the garden, itself a monumental task, will be completed by year's end. Summer monsoon rains will drench the spindly, newly planted lemon and mango saplings, the hibiscus and the jasmine cuttings, and make them grow. By December, for the first time in four centuries, water will again flow at a stately pace through a system of hand-chiseled sandstone channels and gurgle from fountains at the center of the garden's square pools. The flowing water seems certain to bring not just life to the garden, but people, too.