Delhiwale: Delhi’s weirdest dome

Rahim's tomb in Delhi has a partially restored marble dome, sparking debate on conservation efforts. The restoration aimed to stabilise and suggest the original look. It looks like icing on the cake. But who licked off more than half of the yummy cream? In a recent article, Ratish Nanda, the CEO of Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), along with InterGlobe Foundation in partnership with the Archaelogical Survey of India, explains how the site is being conserved. “It was a complex conservation project, and we could take it only because of our experience with Humayun’s tomb where we had completed the conservation a year before starting with Rahim’s mausoleum (which was completed in 2020). “Rahim’s monument was in a ruinous condition, with walls having cracks right under the dome; cracks so wide and deep that you could have put your whole arm in them. “Though restoring the marble to the dome was questioned by some archaeologists and historians as it seemed to ‘undo history,’ I hope the marble is someday restored to the entire dome--as originally meant--both for the integrity and protection of the dome.”