Delhi’s weirdest dome.

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]

It looks like icing on the cake. But who licked off more than half of the yummy cream?

This is the weirdest dome among all of the Delhi monuments. It tops Rahim’s tomb on Mathura Road. The dome is made of stone and lime mortar, but parts are covered with marble blocks.

Actually the dome had no marble in living memory. These white blocks were put up a few years ago during an ambitious conservation project. One wonders if funds dried up, preventing the acquisition of the rest of the marble needed to complete the conservation. A citizen is naturally perturbed for such a significant 17th century monument built by Mughal-era poet Rahim (originally) as a tomb for his wife Mah Bano.

Due to the sensitivity of the subject, it is prudent to share the full explanation told to this reporter by conservation architect Ratish Nanda, the CEO of Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which conserved the monument, along with InterGlobe Foundation in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India.

“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.

“Rahim’s tomb was not as well-built as Humayun tomb–with the stone on the façade not tied into the masonry. There was so much damage that it required a major restoration.

“On the façade, we were able to restore the stones in patterns wherever the evidence of their existence was available. As for the dome, we knew from historical records that it was entirely covered in white marble, which was later removed for the dome of Safdarjung Tomb (a short drive away from Rahim’s tomb). The conservation plan included a recommendation to the ASI for restoring 15-20% of marble on the dome to suggest what the original dome looked like. Additionally, the blocks gave much-needed weight and stability to the base of the dome.

“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.”

To sum up, dear reader, Rahim’s dome may or may not eventually regain all its lost marble. For now, the marbled portion is most clearly viewed from one spot alone—the Barapullah flyover. See photos.

The mystery of the missing marble