Delhiwale: Lost beauty regained

The red sandstone walls are sculpted with calligraphy. Marble and black stone form flowers and stars. Every surface is as detailed as an illustrated page in an art book. Yet Delhi’s most ornate monument is little known. Maybe because it stands in cramped and super-crowded Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti, ringed by private residences. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture has completed a decade-long conservation of Atgah Khan’s tomb, except for the crypt. Stone carvers repaired the red sandstone. Marble and tile inlay required other craftspeople, and the painted portions fell to another set of trained hands. The scandalous cement was removed layer by layer without damaging the old decoration beneath. The recovery of surviving fragments helped recreate the missing patterns and colours.