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FIELD TRIP REPORT By: F. LeBlanc

I - CIPA 2001 Symposium, Potsdam Germany II - Taj Mahal, Agra, India Sept. 17 to 28, 2001 I - CIPA 2001 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM IN POTSDAM, GERMANY, Sept. 18-21, 2001 Christopher Gray and I participated to the CIPA 2001 International Symposium in Potsdam, Germany. CIPA is the ICOMOS & ISPRS (International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) Committee on Documentation of Cultural Heritage. Chris and I almost did not make it to the Symposium. In my case, my travel plans were to travel to India immediately following the CIPA Symposium. To enter India, I needed a visa. There is no consulate of India in LA. It is in San Francisco. My passport was sent there on Monday Sept. 10; I was to get it back within 5 days. Then there were the Sept. 11 events in NY. Annette had to change my departure arrangements three times. I finally received the passport and visa at 5:45 pm on the day of my departure. The plane left only a few hours later. The CIPA Symposium gathered more than 250 participants coming from all parts of the world. It was held at Potsdam University, which is located on the grounds of the Sanssoucy Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The President of ICOMOS, Michael Petzet and the President of CIPA, Peter Waldhausl were present. The Symposium’s theme was “Surveying and Documentation of Historic Buildings – Monuments – Sites, Traditional and Modern Methods. I presented the proposed initiative on Recording, Documentation and Information Management that we would like to undertake in partnership with CIPA and ICOMOS. I delivered the paper during a plenary session chaired by Robin Letellier, Vice-President of CIPA and our consultant for this initiative. Chris Gray gave a paper in collaboration with Clive Boardman on the recording work that we did for the Hieroglyphic Stairway at Copan. Both papers were very well received. The CIPA Board of Directors officially endorsed the Recording, Documentation and Information Management Initiative that we proposed. ICOMOS also gave its support via a letter prepared by Giora Solar, ICOMOS’ official representative on the Board of CIPA, and read to the participants by Gaetano Palumbo. Following is the abstract of our paper and an extract that describes the proposed initiative.

Photogrammetry technician

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The Getty Conservation Institute proposed partnership with ICOMOS & CIPA for Recording, Documentation and Information Management Abstract The Getty Conservation Institute is a program of The Getty Trust, a private foundation based in Los Angeles, California, USA. As part of its mission, the GCI undertakes conservation projects in partnership in various parts of the world. The GCI recognizes and supports the long-term work undertaken by CIPA, the ICOMOS & ISPRS Committee on Documentation of Cultural Heritage, to bring together the information users and providers in the field of heritage conservation. The GCI is interested in working in partnership with ICOMOS and CIPA on a five-year initiative to identify and define the gaps between the information users and providers and to support the International Committee in its efforts to find partners that will take on the task of bridging these gaps. The goal of this initiative entitled Recording, Documentation and Information Management (RecorDIM) is to raise the level of heritage conservation practice worldwide through the provision of supplementary guidance, training and information dissemination. To reach this goal, the GCI, ICOMOS and CIPA would join their efforts and resources to:

• organize round-table discussions to define the gaps between information users and providers

• publish guidelines for heritage recording, documentation and information management

• develop “how-to” handbooks for recording • create a web presence on this subject • develop training opportunities and material

During the Potsdam Symposium, The GCI will be seeking formal support from ICOMOS and CIPA for this partnership. This paper introduces the participants to the Getty Conservation Institute, the conservation project documentation and information requirements as per the Project Management System and the proposed Recording, Documentation and Information Management Initiative. The Recording, Documentation and Information Management Initiative (RecorDIM) The Recording, Documentation and Information Management Initiative explores ways for the GCI to contribute in partnership to raise the level of conservation practice through a more effective and improved use of recording, documentation and information management as a strategic component for the conservation of monuments and sites.

Technician with laser scanner

Measurement and drawing instruments and systems

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RecorDIM is the foundation for all field projects – it is the process of collecting and managing the essential data that will then be used to carry out the analysis, management and implementation of any project to documentation and information management as it applies to the built environment but considering its applications to collections and other movable objects. Over the last five years, under the guidance of Robin Letellier, CIPA has assembled Outreach workshops after CIPA’s General Meetings. They have identified that gaps currently exist between the users and providers of information for built cultural heritage projects. So if professionals – architects, engineers, conservation scientists or archaeologists require information to design a documentation strategy in support of a project, there is little information available to help them. Our Project is loosely called Bridging the Gap – and has as its objective to identify the gaps between the users and providers of information and to strategically find ways to fill them. When CIPA was formed over 25 years ago its composition was intended to be 50% providers represented by ISPRS – the International Council for Architectural Photogrammetry, and 50% users represented by ICOMOS. Today the composition is weighted towards the providers with much higher attendance from ISPRS (International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing). This means that it has become a place for providers to share information with little input from the users community to guide them. We already know of areas where gaps definitely do exist – namely in publications and training. The GCI intends to focus on publications that will address three basic needs in the field:

• A set of guidelines: looking at why we document. • Handbooks for how to document:: best practices, techniques and

methodologies, both for those who require hands on information to be able to carry out the work themselves and to be able to chose professional services, such as photogrammetry, advice on what is appropriate, who does it, what the deliverables are, how much it will cost and how long it will take.

• The third component would be a web presence: to be able to keep the information current and to provide a forum for information interchange.

We are also looking at designing modules for strategic training in documentation. For the publications and other activities, we will be looking for partners. We are currently planning for a two-day meeting to be held in Los Angeles at the Getty Center. The meeting would bring together a dozen key international conservation professionals drawn mainly from the information users group to join some colleagues from the GCI. They will

Potsdam New Palace, site of the Symposium

Potsdam, Sanssoucy Palace

1Potsdam Sanssouci Palace Theatre where a chamber music concert was offered to the participants

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be carefully selected from all levels of the international community - private and the public sector, including countries where resources are scarce. They will include managers, historians, conservators, architects, planners and archaeologists. The overall objective of the first round table will be for the participants to share their needs for RecorDIM and the areas they can identify where information and tools are required. We will carry out a critical review of the current availability of documentation knowledge and information - to evaluate how the needs of the field are being met and furthermore try to develop appropriate tools to address these needs. The information gathered from this meeting will be synthesized into a report that will fully define the gaps for documentation knowledge in the field and at the same time identify potential partnerships. It will provide additional material to guide the content and format for the publications – especially the handbooks. It will identify the areas where training is most required. It will also provide other areas where work is required – such as testing of new methodologies and technologies. The information gathered from this Round Table will lay the foundation for a long-term sustainable project. In addition to the publication and training, we hope to tackle a few of the gaps that will have been identified – and where we have the appropriate expertise to be able to bring resources and suitable partnerships to address them through new and existing Getty Conservation Institute projects. To implement this initiative, the Getty Conservation Institute has assigned Christopher Gray, a specialist in recording and surveying, as Project Manager and has retained the services of Robin Letellier, a well-known specialist in the RecorDIM field to coordinate this initiative at the international level. Technical papers A large number of the papers presented at the Symposium focused on new approaches or developments concerning the use of stereophotogrammetry, laser scanning and digital photographs to record buildings and sites. The technical side of the field of recording is certainly investing a great deal of resources to advance these technologies. The various approaches were compared in terms of precision, cost and time. Others spent time showing advances in hardware and software. Though the products of these new technologies are quite spectacular, many of the end users were asking the question “so what?” For instance, one of the presenters showed how a 3D digital model of a small rock hewed church in Lalibella was prepared using 57 digital photos and 210 reference points around it. Though it took only several days on site to take the pictures, it took more than one year of work at the university with several people working on the project to prepare the final model. The practical use of such a model was not discussed. It was obvious that one would need computer specialists to be able to extract measurements

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from the model, erosion quantities or to graphically identify conservation problems or areas. The same pattern was repeated when another presenter introduced the research work that took place to produce a 3D model of Ironbridge in England, one of the early monuments to be listed on the World Heritage List. There again, the preparation of the model required the use of several different scanning and measurement technologies, several different software and more than one year of work in the office. I am convinced that the only person that will ever be able to work with this model is the one who has prepared it because it is extremely complex. We certainly should continue to follow the progress of the development of these technologies, but for them to be useful in our field, we will need to be closely associated with the developers to ensure that they fully understand our requirements. Several other young minds are working on “reverse geometry” or “reverse perspective” technologies. In more simple terms, several crude examples were presented to the participants of how it is possible to take two or three pictures of a building façade with a simple digital camera and have a computer produce a 3D model of the building simply by “reversing” the process of perspective construction. If this technology is refined, it is possible to imagine that you will soon be able to walk to a historic monument or site, take a few pictures from several positions, and have software instantly produce a 3D model for your use. Not bad, but again… so what? On the user side, several innovative projects were introduced concerning heritage information management and sharing. Of interest is an initiative in Slovenia where during the past three years, a group of researchers with a small budget of $7,000 have created a web site that links pictures, plans and text concerning the historic monuments of the region or the master thesis of Egyptian Dina Taha that has designed and implemented an information system for listing and managing urban heritage in Alexandria using GIS software. The approach is being considered for implementation for the whole of Egypt. The Symposium concluded with a very successful Interactive Poster Session where 43 institutions and companies shared their discoveries, technologies, equipment or software with the participants. Potsdam A few words about Potsdam. It is located only a few miles west of Berlin. It was chosen at the beginning of the 1700s as the official residence of the Elector of Brandenburg because of its ideal setting – a natural wooded site dotted with lakes and criss-crossed by canals and arm of the Havel river. Sacked by Swedish troops during the Thirty Year War, the town was revived by Friedrich Wilhelm I. After the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, many French Huguenots emigrated to Potsdam, amongst them merchants and craftsmen who contributed to the subsequent economic development of the area.

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Under the rule of Friedrich Wilhelm, “the King-Sergeant” (1713-40), Potsdam became an administrative center and above all a garrison town (to the extent that at one time three-quarters of the population were military). The King’s son, Frederick the Great (Friedrich II: 1740-86), was on the contrary a patron of the arts and man of letters. Most of the prestigious monuments for which the city is famous today were due to him, notably Sanssouci and the New Palais. Frederick, as eloquent in French as in his own language, welcomed many eminent Frenchmen to his Curt, among them Voltaire, who lived in Potsdam for three years. In 1991, 205 years after his death, the remains of Frederick the Great were reinterred in the crypt of his beloved palace of Sanssouci in Potsdam. Technical excursions There was not much time for technical excursions, but I did get to join the group that went to the Einstein Tower in Albert Einstein Park located on Telegraph Hill. Several research institutes and observatories on Telegraph Hill made Potsdam an important place for geosciences and astronomy. Erich Mendelsohn built the Einstein Tower in 1920-21 in expressionistic design. Our guide for this visit was a retired German astrophysicist. Needless to say that this was not our “traditional” heritage preservation technical tour. Here is a summary of what we learned. Within the framework of the theory of relativity, Einstein postulated that the total amount of mass and energy in the universe was constant. Therefore, if there is a loss of mass somewhere, there is an increase in the total amount of energy. One way to confirm the theory was to analyze the spectrum of light emitted by the sun. If the theory was right, then the spectrum would move towards the red as the sun looses mass. The challenge was that there was no instrument in those days capable of measuring this infinitesimal movement. Disciples and friends of Einstein got together, created a foundation, and raised the money to build the astrophysical laboratory. It consists of a large refractor made of two very precise lens of approximately two feet in diameter that concentrate light from the sun captured through a “slit” in the rotating dome above the tower. Reflected on mirrors, the diffracted ray of light strikes a photosensitive plate located in the basement of the building. The structure supporting the lens and mirrors is totally independent from the building structure. Architect Eric Mendelsohn, a friend of Einstein, was asked to design an envelope around the instrument. He drew a sketch that has now become famous in architectural history and the building was quickly erected. It is partly in concrete and partly in brick masonry covered by stucco. Einstein was a guest at the tower, but never worked there. The building was slightly damaged during World War II but suffered the most during the 1989 restoration work when careless workers set the building on fire. The furniture inside the tower is original and was designed by Mendelsohn’s wife.

Potsdam, Telegraph Hill, Einstein Tower built 1920-21

Potsdam, Telegraph Hill, Einstein Tower built 1920-21

Sketch by Architect Mendelsohn

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II – THE TAJ MAHAL CONSERVATION COLLABORATIVE PROJECT - EXPERTS WORKSHOP, SEPT. 25-28, 2001 In India, under the responsibility of the minister of culture, the government agency responsible for the care and restoration of national historic monuments and sites is the Archaeological Survey of India. It is responsible for thousands of monuments and sites. It employs more than 1,300 professional employees and thousands of workers. The task is immense and the financial resources are scarce. Recently, the ministry of culture has decided to begin a new initiative. It decided to team up with carefully selected private sector companies and foundations to further the restoration of a small group of important historic monuments and sites. On June 21, 2001, the Archaeological Survey of India, the National Culture Fund and the Tata Group of Companies through the Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) signed a major agreement to undertake the "conservation, restoration, upgrade and beautification of the Taj Mahal and the surrounding areas" The Archaeological Survey of India Under this agreement, the Archaeological Survey of India maintains the full responsibility and control for the management and execution of the restoration work for the projects identified and described in the Agreement. The Tata Group of Companies The Tata Group of Companies is one of the most important corporate groups in India. It owns and operates a wide variety of companies among which a major chain of hotels. It is broadly recognized that this conglomerate gives to charities half of its yearly profits. The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) is the entity that signed the agreement on behalf of the Tata Group of Companies. Under the Agreement, it is responsible for financing the restoration work identified for the Taj Mahal and for gathering a group of “global” experts to review and comment on the proposed restoration work. The National Culture Fund The National Culture Fund is an entity created by the government of India to encourage and facilitate private sector donations that are 100% tax deductible. The funds for the restoration projects of the Taj Mahal will be with this agency and it will pay the bills and audit the project. To fulfill its responsibilities, the Indian Hotels Company Limited created The Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative. It is a small group of professionals who will ensure that the project moves along smoothly and meets all objectives. This Collaborative organized the Workshop of Experts to review the projects proposed by the Archaeological Survey of India. The Workshop gathered experts and managers from the Archaeological Survey of India and conservation professionals from India selected by IHCL (the list follows). Four “global” experts participated to the Workshop. They were:

Agra, Taj Mahal, view from top of Main Gate

Taj Mahal, view from the Mahtab-Bagh (Moon Garden) across the Yamuna River

Agra, Taj Mahal, Cenotaph

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• Dr. Ebba Koch from Vienna, expert in Moghul art and architecture history. She has published several works this subject and on the Taj Mahal.

• Professor James L. Wescoat Jr. from University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of Geography. He is an expert in landscape architecture and particularly in the history and development of Moghul gardens.

• Dr. Martand Singh from New Delhi, a private sector consultant who has a lengthy experience in museum development in India and is an internationally renowed clothing designer.

• The Getty Conservation Institute, represented by me. This new initiative is considered to be of such high priority by all parties that the Minister of Culture personally came to meet the participants. I shared with my colleagues that I was quite touched by the fact that I sat for lunch next to a person that is responsible for programs that impact more than one billion people. Mr. Krishna Kumar, the Managing Director of the India Hotels Company Limited flew especially from Bombay to New Delhi to greet us and to explain to us that the Tata Group had no hidden agenda with this project. It invests huge amounts of money every year in various charities. It is a tradition with this group of companies. He assured us that all the support the group would need to make this collaboration work the IHCL would be granted and that he was personally committed to this project. The newly appointed Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India, Ms Kasturi Gupta Menon, participated personally to several sessions and accompanied the group during the visits, thus showing also how important this project is to her agency. The highest ranking officers within the Archaeological Survey of India agency participated to this workshop and guided us through the site, identifying the conservation issues that needed to be addressed. Mr. Navneet Soni, the person responsible for the National Culture Fund was also present. The workshop was coordinated by Rahul Mehrotra, a private sector architect from Bombay, with the support of Amita Baig, a heritage consultant from New Delhi who also heads the office of the World Monuments Fund in Asia. The organizing group did an extraordinary job. Just consider that a few weeks before the meeting, the government of India replaced both the Minister of Culture and the Director of the ASI. Also part of the group assembled by the IHCL were the following persons:

• Tara Sharma, architectural historian and specialist in Indian art and culture

• Abha Narain Lambah, architect • Annabel Lopez, architect • Dilip Shanker, media and website specialist

On the road from Delhi to Agra, drivers have to be constantly on the lookout for potential hazards

The streets of Agra, on the way to the Mahtab-Bagh, the river garden across from the Taj, there were a few challenges

Figure 2 The experts gathered by the Indian Hotel Company Ltd.

Staff from the Archaeological Survey of India at the weather monitoring station located in the Mahman Khana building next to the Taj

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• S. K. Mathur, consultant horticulturist

The Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative. Representatives of the Archaeological Survey of India and the experts hired by the India Hotel Company Ltd.

Results of the Workshop The results of the Workshop were grouped into five categories. They are to be typed up and sent to the Archaeological Survey of India for comments before they are finalized. Following are my notes from the discussions. There are in these propositions and recommendations several areas where the Getty Conservation Institute could actively collaborate and these will be discussed during the coming weeks.

A - Architectural Projects Conservation plan: I suggested to the group that it is necessary to develop a conservation plan if the interventions on the buildings, the grounds and the infrastructure were to be carried out in a harmonious way and follow a common approach. Without getting into details I shared with them that a Conservation Plan generally contains statements on the philosophy of intervention, how the concepts of authenticity and reversibility will be applied, identification of the values that need to be preserved and shared, approaches, priorities for research, testing and conservation work, costing, special training, monitoring and evaluation etc. Proposed conservation work. The Archaeological Survey of India proposed the following architectural conservation works:

• Restoration of the missing inlay pieces in the Taj Mahal and the Main Entrance Gate

• Conservation work for the damaged stones at the Taj Mahal • Restoration of the masonry wall along the river • Restoration of the Mahman Khana building next to the Taj Mahal

Agra, Taj Mahal, Main Entrance Gate

Agra, Taj Mahal, Mahman Khana (Guest House)

Agra, Taj Mahal, Mosque

Agra, Taj Mahal, Mahman Khana stone inlay conservation problems

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• Restoration of the Eastern Side wall This is all important and necessary work. We prepared a format for the description and cost estimating the proposed work. It will be submitted to the ASI with the suggestion that they work in collaboration with the Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative group to prepare the documentation.

Proposed research and development projects: During the site visits, it became obvious that there were some technical problems that required further research. The following projects were outlined in the proposal:

• Stone weathering: dark inlay stones turn to gray after exposure to the weather. The research project would determine the cause of this weathering and explore techniques to prevent it from happening again. This research would have to be done in a conservation laboratory.

• Stone cleaning: several areas have been soiled by visitors and by other causes. The research project would analyze the nature of the dirt and determine the best cleaning techniques.

• Metal clamps: some metal clamps are oxidizing and cracking the cladding stones. The current practice of removing the stone, then replacing the metal clamps is very damaging to the original fabric. Scientists and conservators from English Heritage have tested a technique (ICCS) Impressed cathodic current system to resolve that problem without having to remove the cladding. This project would bring these experts to Agra to examine the situation at the Taj and explore the possibility of applying the same technique.

Plan of the Taj Mahal

New Delhi, India Gate

New Delhi, Jama Masjid Mosque

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B - Documentation The existing documentation concerning the Taj Mahal and the gardens needs to be evaluated in terms of accuracy and completeness. Precise and accurate documentation is the basis of all restoration projects. Article 16 of the Venice Charter is specific concerning the needs to prepare such documentation for all restoration projects. 1. The group proposed a project to evaluate and complete the base documentation This project would comprise: Research on available documentation Preparation of overall site and buildings documentation e.g. site plan, location plan, detailed building plans, detailed plans of architectural and landscape features, aerial pictures etc. Mapping of existing planting Survey of historic waterworks Definition of project scope (core, buffer zone, larger context) Documentation of building fabric 2. Proposed research and development projects Stereophotogrammetry is a standard technique used in the field of conservation to obtain detailed photographs of historic buildings that can be used to prepare accurate scalable drawings. Stereophotogrammetry has not been used as a tool by the Archaeological Survey of India. This project would bring stereophogrammetry experts to India to work with the ASI to prepare a stereophotogrammetric survey of the buildings and train ASI staff in the use of this technique. The equipment necessary could be purchased as part of this project and remain with the ASI. It could then be used on other important monuments and sites.

C – Gardens The following projects were identified in the Agreement between the parties:

1. Development of the Garden and ambiance 2. Development of Mughal Garden (Mehtab Bagh) 3. River Water Treatment

The projects were discussed on site with the workshop participants and the following recommendations were outlined for review and approval by the ASI

• Priority number one would be to resolve the issues concerning the waterworks and the water supply to the site. An important quantity of clean water is required for the grounds and for the visitor services. The waterworks need to be upgraded to meet this demand.

Amita Baig, Heritage Management Consultant and Manager of the World Monuments Fund office for Asia

Rahul Mehrotra, Architect and Conservation Consultant from Mumbai

Dr. Ebba Koch, University of Vienna, prof. of Islamic and Indian Art History and Ms Kasturi Gupta Menon, Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India

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• Garden documentation e.g. map existing plantings, survey flora, garden archive description, garden archive reconnaissance and analysis

• Garden archaeology: areas where archaeological research is needed were identified

• Garden conservation history: complete timeline, analyze plantings in Mughal paintings, prints & photos, interpret ambiance in travel accounts

• Garden Waterworks Conservation • Garden in Museum • Garden in Museum • Garden in Visitor Information Center

D – Museum A tourism study was undertaken and it showed that there were approximately two million visitors annually to the Taj. Of these, 200,000 are international visitors. The proportions of visitors to the Taj are: 75% National tourists 15% Pilgrims 10% International tourists In answer to the question “For whom is this museum going to be developed?” these proportions should always be considered. The expert proposed four areas for the story line:

1. Shah Jahan’s love story with his wife 2. The beauty of the architecture 3. The gardens 4. Poets and musicians

E – Site Management Plan Our group of experts had the opportunity to express the view that a Site Management Plan was an essential tool to ensure that the conservation work undertaken at great expense during this campaign would be well managed in the long term. I had the opportunity to share with my colleagues that in my opinion, what we have to manage in a conservation project are essentially three things:

• Assets • People • Values

Assets: these are essentially made up of buildings, grounds, infrastructure, signs and other such built or natural elements. People: this has to do with how to manage people who work on the site e.g. maintenance staff, security, visitor services, professionals etc. and people who come to visit the site e.g. pilgrims, national and international visitors

Martand Singh, Specialist in museology and interpretation from New Delhi

Prof. James L. Wescoat, Jr. University of Colorado at Boulder, Specialist in Moghul landscape architecture

Annabelle Lopez from New Delhi, Architect

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Values: if one is managing an airport, one is managing assets and people. Because we are dealing with heritage sites, we also have to manage values e.g. what is it that makes this site important and what values have to be preserved and passed on to the next generations? For example, it is generally accepted that one of the greatest values carried by the Taj is its architectural beauty. Surprisingly, I was told that no one new of any essay that addresses this question, e.g. attempted to describe in aesthetic terms what contributes to the beauty of the Taj…proportions, light, texture, colors, symmetry, forms etc. It was recommended by the group that a Site Management Plan be prepared for this site.

Conclusion This workshop was considered by all parties to be a real success and a good first step in attempting to create a fruitful and efficient collaboration between the private sector and the public sector for the conservation of a historic monument of international significance.

The Taj Mahal (The Jewel of the Palaces) The Taj Mahal was built on the banks of the Yamuna River, in the city of Agra located approximately 230 kilometers south of New Delhi, the capital of India. Aptly described as “dream in white marble” or the “monument to love”, it is a masterpiece of Moghul architecture. It represents the remarkable engineering and construction skills of the Moghuls as well as the aesthetic ideals of the period. The monument was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned from 1628 to 1658) as a garden tomb for his most favourite queen Mumtaz Mahal following her death in 1631. She died while giving birth to her 13th child. Later, after his death, the remains of Shah Jahan were brought to the Taj. Both white marble tombs lie next to each other in the cenotaph chamber of the monument while replicas of the tombs are located on the ground floor. This is a traditional practice in Moghul culture. The legend says that emperor Shah Jahan planned to build a replica of the Taj Mahal in black marble immediately across the river for his own mausoleum and to link it with a bridge in silver to the Taj where lay the remains of his beloved wife. The reality is that there were never any such plans and Shah Jahan was thrown in jail by his third son who was eager to rule the empire. The public is not allowed to visit the cenotaph chamber because it generates excessive levels of humidity. Our group was shown the cenotaph that is clad in white marble. Construction work of the Taj Mahal began in 1632 under the superintendence of Makramat Khan and Mir Abdul-Karim. The entire

Agra, Doorman at the Taj View hotel

New Delhi, Young vendor boy near India Gate

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project was carried out in twelve years (some say 22 years). The principal materials used in the core of the tomb proper, its minarets and other accessory buildings is essentially brick laid in lime mortar. The external surface of the tomb building, including its dome, drum, minarets and interior of the cenotaph chamber are lined with white marble veneering held to the structure by metal clamps whereas all the other interior surfaces are in lime plaster. Similarly, both exterior and interior of all the other accessory buildings such as the mosque, the guest house, the gates, etc. had been veneered with red sandstone, except the exterior surfaces of the domes. In the accessory buildings, a coat of red ocher was applied over the thin layer of special lime plaster. Beautiful flower decorations in pietra dura adorn the monument and semi-precious stones were inlayed in the marble. About the flowers, a poet said “they might not smell, but they bloom eternally”. The main tomb building measuring 57.30 m in width as well as height above the plinth level and identical in elevation on all four sides is located on a square plateform of 95.65 m square. The plinth itself rises about 6 m above the ground level. Four minarets measuring 5.8 m in diameter at the base and 41 m in height are located at the four corners of the plinth plateform.

Visits to architectural monuments in New Delhi Humayun’s Toms Humayun was the second Moghul ruler of India. Taj Mahal is known to have been inspired by Humayun’s Tomb and in many ways this magnificent red and white building is as spectacular as the famous “monument to love” at Agra. Humayun’s Tomb is a memorial by a grieving wife. It was built by his widow Haji Begum in 1565-66, nine year after his death. She is said to have spent one and a haqlf million rupees on the building. The splendour of this grand monument becomes overpowering on entering through the lofty double storeyed gateway. It is set in the center of a large square garden enclosed by high walls on three sides, while the river would have been the forth boundary. The chahar bagh is divided into four parts by wide causeways and water channels, and each square divided into smaller squares by pathways as in a typical mughal garden. The fountains were worked with simple yet highly developed engineering skills quite common in India during that period. Jantar Mantar Within Connaught Place is the Jantar Mantar observatory built by the Rajput king of Jaipur, Sawai Jai Singh in 1724. It was built of brick masonry covered with painted stucco. All surfaces with astrological lines pointing to stars and planets were of white marble or painted and polished plaster.

New Delhi, Humayun's Tomb, 1565

New Delhi, Jantar Mantar Observatory

New Delhi, Old Fort

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Purana Qila (Old Fort) The ruins of this fort are located on a small hill that once stood on the banks of the river Yamuna. Legend has it that the fort marked the site of Indraprastha, the magnificent capital of the Pandavas, though Sher Shah Suri carried out the construction some time between 1538 and 1545 A.D. The structure houses a mosque that has a double-storied octagonal tower. It is said that the Mughal king Humayun fell from the tower and died.

Visit of the Nizams’ Jewellery exhibition at the National Museum We were invited to visit an exceptional jewellery exhibition, the Nizams’ collection, exhibited for the first time at the National Museum. Throughout history, the jewels of India’s emperors and maharajas have been virtually unknown outside the coterie of the court and the inner circle of their trusted family. While the crown jewels of European and Russian royalty have been documented, chronicled and studied by gemologists and art historians, the jewels of India’s princes have remained locked away in the treasury of their palaces, worn on state occasions and seen by privileged visitors. In 1972, a sensation was caused in the world of jewellery with the news that the jewels of the Nizam of Hyderabad – rumoured to be one of the most exceptional collections – was being offered for sale to the Government of India. It was only 23 years later, in 1995, that the jewels were finally acquired after a prolonged drama that entailed court cases and dolossal expenses. The collection comprises a total of 325 pieces. The most spectacular piece of the collection is the Imperial (Jacob) Diamond. It was discovered in South Africa around 1884 and weighed 457.50 carats in the rough. The stone was cut and faceted in Amsterdam and reduced to 184.50 carats. The gem combines carat, color and clarity, the three cardinal C’s of the diamond trade. Alexander Malcolm Jacob, from whom the diamond subsequently got its name, sold the stone to Mahboob Ali Pasha, the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, in 1891. The sale led to a criminal suit and the Nizam had to suffer the indignity of appearing before a commission to give evidence.

Sarpech Larli Wa Kanval Almas

The Imperial (Jacob) Diamond