“When Allah created the world, he created mountains to weigh the world down so that it wouldn’t fly away. Just like one puts down heavy pegs at the corners of tents to prevent them from flying away”, this was the last story that Rahmatullah Sahab told us before we left the Paigah Tombs. A story he recounted from the holy Quran to explain to us the beauty of the Deccans.
The moment we walked into the Paigah Tomb complex, we were greeted with the sight of massive restoration that is on-going. And in midst of that rubble and mortar stood an elderly gentleman with flowing white beard, in a spotless white shirt-pyjama. He came forward with a smile, greeted us and walked us to the tombs. A few questions about where we came from followed; and he started casually showing us around.
Somewhere between a gap in that conversation, I started telling Om about the composition of mortars that were used by the Qutub Shahi dynasty and later the Nizams. Siwara – a combination of egg whites, jaggery, urad daal that was soaked and fermented, and mixed with limestone. The mortar that build the mighty Golconda, the beautiful Qutub Shahi tombs and the exquisite Paigah tombs and sustained centuries in time. Our elderly guide turned to me at this and asked if I was a conservationist! I am one just interested in old architecture and history, I said. In that moment siwara bonded more than just mere walls; it formed a bond between the elderly gentleman and I. As different as our world and we could have been…
From that point onwards, we walked through the tombs, carefully guided by him; pointing out every nook and corner, explaining every design and stopping us at every now and then to take our photographs. He was eager to show the lattices that were made of baked terracotta and covered in limewash – a technique that protected them from rust that metal was prone to or discoloration that stones went through in braving time. The tombstone brought all the way from Italy and changed colour depending on humidity. The merger of Persian, Mughal and Rajputana styles of architecture under the same roof. The pineapples carved in balustrades, the damrus in the edges of the roofs, palm leaves etched on the pillars. The only grave with peitra dura work on marble. Each one a symbol of people and cultures that touched the tombs, whether through the dynasty and their friends and family, or through the masons and stone carvers who came from Rajasthan.
So engrossed were we in the beauty of the tombs and the magic of the storytelling that it was almost towards the end that Om asked his name. “Rahmatullah, I have been the caretaker of the masjid here for the last 55 years”. I asked if I could take a photograph with him and he shyly agreed. “I love these tombs but not enough tourists come visiting these and these were almost lost to encroachment. Atleast now the Aga Khan Trust is working on restoring it”.
As we exited, I thought how a beautiful monument just transformed into a magical visit due to a moment’s bond over siwara and a person’s lifelong passion of telling stories about the Paigah tombs. Om fondly joked with Rahmatullah Sahab telling him that he is the jinn (spirit) of this complex! He retorted, “Iss jagah pe teen jinn rehte hae jo meri dekh-bhal karte hae aur mae isski dekh-bhal karta hun; mae toh deewana hun, sahab”. (“There are three spirits in this place who look after my well being and I look after this place, I am a moonstruck person, sir”)
