Tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah: Restoring the Spirit of an Authentic Mughal Char Bagh

The gardens of the Tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah, situated on the right bank of the River Yamuna in Agra, were constructed around the year 1622. What was originally one among many pleasure gardens situated along the river was transformed into a funerary garden when Empress Nur Jahan had the white marble mausoleum built to house the tomb of her mother and eventually that of her father.

The gardens at the tomb followed the traditional char bagh layout popular among Mughal landscapers in the seventeenth century, with pathways and channels running in the center and manmade waterfalls and water tanks with fountains completing the image of the waters of paradise. Displaying the highly refined aesthetics of Mughal culture, the gardens of the period are historically significant as a repository of Mughal architecture and expression. The aesthetic and technological significance of the garden are exemplified in the exquisite spatial planning and innovations in irrigation systems and waterworks. While no concrete evidence is available to support this, it is most likely that the gardens had large flower parterres along the central axes and tree avenues on the sides along boundary walls. At the garden at the tomb of I'timad-ud-Daulah, the flora was sustained through a system of wells and pipes. Two wells were camouflaged in the two towers facing the river, with additional wells outside, to augment the water supply when scarce. Order and symmetry were basic parameters that guided the layout of Mughal gardens and vegetation in its natural form was used to soften the otherwise rigid formal setting.

Religion was another influencing factor in the development of garden design. To an individual practicing Islam, a religion originating in the desert, life would be considered a journey through the material world before ultimately reaching paradise. If the world is thus considered a desert, paradise would be it opposite—a garden where life thrives and beauty abounds. The Quran promises the attainment of paradise after death, with streams of milk, water, wine, and honey flowing through a garden landscape: "This is the paradise which the righteous have been promised: it is watered by running streams: eternal are its fruit and eternal are its shades. Such is the reward of the righteous."

The four streams in Mughal garden design are thought to be representative of these paradisiacal streams of the milk, water, wine, and honey mentioned above. Water, considered the symbol of eternal life, particularly in its flowing form, thus has an important place in the gardens. Other examples of religious symbolism in the Mughal gardens are the cypress trees and fruit trees in the lawns. In Islam, the entwined cypress and fruit trees are used to represent life and eternity.

Being a tomb garden, the presence of the mausoleum supported by carefully selected vegetation would have contributed to an ambience of reserved dignity and sobriety instead of the exuberance of the pleasure gardens.

Unfortunately, gardens and landscapes are rarely accorded the same historical significance as their accompanying architectural counterparts. The historical value of gardens and landscapes is constantly undermined and hence they are often overlooked during conservation efforts. This is further antagonized by the living nature of gardens, making them naturally more prone to change. Historical records show that the gardens at the Tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah suffered the same dismissal over the years, resulting in a neglect of the preservation of their original state. As times changed, the gardens were subject to modifications on the basis of new aesthetics of design derived from changing cultural, ecological, economic, and political influences with scant respect to historical relevance.

The neglect of the gardens at the Tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah began in the early eighteenth century following the death of Aurangzeb, a moment that marks the beginning of the long decline of the Mughal Empire. Records show that many of the gardens in Delhi and Agra were put to agricultural use or cultivated as orchards, with funds for their upkeep running dangerously low. It was around the year 1803 that Agra became part of British India and an interest was shown in the maintenance of its historic sites. The riverfront gardens now served as temporary recreational residences for Europeans in Agra. However, as interest in the sites developed, the intervention in their upkeep, until now restricted to pruning trees to avoid obstruction of the view, grew aggressive. Sadly, from the year 1900 onward, the gardens lost much of their original content. Photographs and etchings show the landscape turning increasingly alien in character from the original. Planting beds and potted plants adorned the platforms and most of the free-growing trees were cut to make for a better, unhindered viewing experience. The traditional char bagh seemed to be making way for a garden that was more English in character, and the avenues punctuated by cypress trees remained the last semblance of the original Mughal landscape. Despite the preservation of authenticity of monuments and art gaining importance, the historicity of the gardens remained neglected.

Following Indian independence, renewed attempts were made to restore the gardens. In 1958, electric motors and pumps were installed to improve irrigation. In addition, a pipeline system was laid out and hydrants were provided in the lawns. The forecourt was "improved" by laying two strips of lawn with stone edging on either side of the pathway leading to the mausoleum, new flowers and plants were introduced, and a car park was paved in the forecourt. In 1961, the riverside lawns and the lawns of the forecourt were returfed and rose-beds were added. Four years later, two rear plots were returfed with Calcutta dub grass and the vineyard was renovated. Then, between 1977 and 1978, an attempt was made to bring out “an ideal garden on the Mughal style,” and what were thought to be appropriate renovations were made, including the planting of flora known to be found in the Islamic gardens and the revival of defunct fountains. In 2002, the inner part of the garden was developed in the Mughal style: new grass was planted and a bore well was sunk.

Today, the landscapes and gardens are devoid of the historic meaning and symbolism that were an inherent part of the original concept. The need thus arises to evoke as close as possible the original experience while respecting issues pertaining to a contemporary context. There is an urgent need to restore the paradisiacal experience of the original Mughal gardens.

This project aims to be this much-needed phase—restoring the gardens to their original Mughal intent, meaning, and form. The endeavor required significant archival research and analysis—via memoirs of emperors and court historians, accounts of European travelers, photographs from the early twentieth century, records of intervention by ASI from the nineteenth century onward, and works of scholars studying the area—to understand the principles that guided the development and design of the gardens in the seventeenth century. This research has provided a better understanding of the history of the site, events that shaped it, its components, and the purpose behind the design principles while also shedding light on the transformation the garden has undergone in the last three hundred years.

This study was followed by a scientific exploration using test pits, which helped determine the original ground and surface levels, stratigraphic layering of the soil to reveal ground and planting levels, and the relationship between ground level, planting beds, and pathways within gardens. After documenting and surveying the site in its present form, a detailed study into the horticultural status of the site as it exists today was undertaken in order to restore the original layout of the garden.