In the late 1620s, his empire was beset by revolts among the Deccani kingdoms to the south. Shah Jahan ruled his empire from the capital Delhi in the north. The tomb, however, is highly neglected today-grounds overgrown, walls marked with graffiti, columns marred with alarming cracks. It was at the baradari that the remains of Mumtaz laid in state for six months after her death. The garden sprawled over six miles, with two main structures, a small palace adorned with traceries and a pillared pavilion known as the baradari. The Ahukhana was built in 16th century as a deer park for Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. “But even as seven to eight million people flock to the Taj Mahal each year, no one knows or cares about the Ahukhana, the queen’s original tomb.” “As citizens of an ancient glorious civilization, we are obligated to have a deep sense of appreciation for our cultural heritage,” says Mohammed Shehzada Asif Khan, 72, a photographer, who has been organizing the Mumtaz Mahal Festival in Burhanpur for the past 40 years. There, spared the flood of tourists, are the shambling ruins of the Ahukhana, Mumtaz’s original resting place. But 500 miles southwest of the bustling streets of Agra, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, is the remote, relatively sleepy city of Burhanpur, which holds another chapter in the afterlife of Mumtaz. The glory and grandeur of the Taj Mahal stand beside those of any landmark in the world the white marble mausoleum of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and empress Mumtaz Mahal is instantly recognizable. The pavilion in Burhanpur where Mumtaz Mahal’s body lay for six months.
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