Agra in the Mutiny
Agra did not take any prominent part in the events of the Mutiny. Amob plundered the city, burnt the public offices, and killed a numberof Europeans; but the rioters left soon to join their comrades atDelhi. There was a small engagement outside the city. The Britishtroops and the whole of the European population were afterwards shutup in the Fort until the capture of Delhi. The Lieutenant-Governor,Mr. John Russell Colvin, died there, and was buried in front ofthe Diwan-i-am.
The Fort
The present Fort was commenced by Akbar in 1566, on the siteof an older one constructed by Salim Shah Sur, the son of ShereShah. Its vast walls (seventy feet in height, and a mile and a halfin circuit), its turrets, and noble gateways present from the outsidea most imposing appearance. It contains within its walls that mostexquisite of mosques, the Muti Masjid, and the palaces of Akbar andShah Jahan. The principal or north entrance is the Delhi Gate, nearlyopposite to the railway station and the Jami Masjid. Formerly therewas a walled enclosure in front of this gate, called the Tripulia,or Three Gates, which was used as a market. This was cleared away bythe military authorities in 1875. Crossing the drawbridge over themoat which surrounds the Fort, the visitor passes the outer gate,and by a paved incline reaches the Hathi Pol, or Elephant Gate(Plate III.), so called from the two stone elephants, with riders,which formerly stood outside the gate, on the highest of the platformson either side of it. The statues and elephants were thrown down byorder of Aurangzib. There are four hollow places in each platform,where the legs of the elephants were morticed into it.
The gate is a fine example of the early Mogul style; it contains the_Naubat khana_, or music gallery, where the royal kettledrums announcedthe Emperor's arrival or departure, and all state functions. It wasalso a guard-house, and probably the quarters of a high militaryofficer, but it is certainly not, as the guides have it, the "DarshanDarwaza," or "Gate of Sights," described by William Finch, wherethe Emperor Jahangir showed himself at sunrise to his nobles and tothe multitude assembled in the plain below. The Darshan Darwaza wasundoubtedly near the old disused water-gate, which was joined to theroyal apartments of the palace by a private passage, and answers toFinch's description of "leading into a fair court extending alongthe river." The Elephant Gate is at a considerable distance from thepalace, and was never connected with it, except by the public road.
It is worth while to climb the top of the gate by the staircase onthe right, inside the Fort. There is a fine view of the Fort, andbeyond the walls the ever-beautiful white domes of the Taj appear inthe distance. The Itmad-ud-daulah is visible on the left. Towardsthe town you look down into the quadrangle of the Jami Masjid. Thepavilions on the summit of the great octagonal towers flanking thegate are finely carved, and bear traces of painting and enamelledtile-work. Descending the staircase to the floors beneath, one canwander through the curious small chambers and look out from thebalconies on the front of the gate.
The Muti Masjid
The road to the left after passing the Elephant Gate leads up to theentrance of the Muti Masjid, or "Pearl Mosque," placed on the highestpoint of the Fort enclosure. [6] You pass on the left a buildingknown as Dansa Jat's house, said to have been occupied by the Rajahsof Bharatpur when the Jats held the Fort. It has been made hideousby modern additions which have converted it into officers' quarters.
The entrance to the Muti Masjid is very plain and unpretending, sothat one is hardly prepared for the beauty, purity, and the unaffectedexpression of an exalted religious feeling which characterize theinterior. It is rare to find an Indian building in which the effectis produced with hardly any ornament, but solely by the perfectionof proportions, beauty of material, and harmony of constructivedesign. The courtyard, in front of the mosque, with its arcadesand gateways, is a noble setting to the Pearl, as the mosque isappropriately called. There is a subtle rhythm in the placing of thethree domes over the seven arches of the mosque, which saves the wholedesign from monotony, while the marvellous grace of the contours,which is so characteristic of the finest of Shah Jahan's buildings,makes each dome grow up from the roof like a flower-bud on the point ofunfolding. The octagonal pavilions at the four corners of the mosque,and the dainty little kiosques placed as decoration over the archesand over the gateways of the courtyard, echo the harmonies of thelarger constructive details, and give completeness to the composition.
The interior of the mosque owes its dignity to the same greatness ofstyle and perfection of the proportions. The three aisles are formedby massive piers of single blocks of marble. With all its simplicity,there is consummate art both in the placing of the ornament and inthe beautiful springing of the arches from the supporting piers. Thefine workmanship is worthy of the art.
On either side of the mosque there is a small chamber for the ladiesof the zanana, with a window filled with a carved marble _grille_looking on to the interior. They could thus attend to the services ofthe mosque without being seen. The staircases on the right and leftof the courtyard give private access to the apartments of the palace.
The Persian inscription inlaid in black marble under the wide,projecting cornice of the mosque is a poetic tribute to the beauty ofthe building and a panegyric of its founder. From it we learn thatit was built by Shah Jahan, it took seven years to build, and costthree lakhs of rupees.
The dimensions of the courtyard, given by Fergusson, are 154 feetby 158 feet; and of the Mosque: length, 159 feet; depth, 56 feet,internally.
The Dersane Darwaza
Nearly opposite to the Muti Masjid, you pass on the left aninclined passage which leads to an old gateway, a part of Akbar'sbuildings. Very little remains of the original buildings whichconnected it with the palace in the time of Jahangir, but there cannotbe much doubt that this was the locality described by William Finchas the "Dersane Darwaza, leading into a fair court, extending alongthe river, in which the King looks forth every morning at sun-rising,which he salutes, and then his nobles resort to their _Tesillam_(obeisance). Right under the place where he looks out, is a kindof scaffold, whereon his nobles stand, but the _Addis_ with othersawait below in the court. Here also every noone he looketh forthto behold _Tamashah_, or fighting of Elephants, Lyons, Buffles,killing of Deare with Leopards, which is a custom on every day ofthe weeke, Sunday excepted, on which is no fighting; but Tuesday,on the contrary, is a day of blood, both of fighting beasts, andjusticed men, the King judging and seeing executions."
The Diwan-i-am
The road now turns towards the right, through the Mina Bazar, theold market-place, where merchants displayed jewellery, brocades,and similar stuffs for the nobles and others attending the court. Agateway leads into the great courtyard of the Diwan-i-am, or Hall ofPublic Audience, which, with its surrounding arcades, was for a longtime used as an armoury for the British garrison. The hall itself wasrestored in 1876 by Sir John Strachey, then Lieutenant-Governor ofthe North-West Provinces. The courtyard has recently been put back,as far as possible, into its original condition by Lord Curzon'sorders. A further great improvement has been made by the removal ofthe hideous modern additions which entirely concealed all the arcades.
The present hall, which is an open pavilion formed by a triple rowof colonnades, was commenced by Shah Jahan, but, if we may believetradition, was not completed until the 27th year of the reign ofAurangzib. The arcades surrounding the quadrangle are probably ofAkbar's time. The interior dimensions of the hall are 192 feet by 64feet. It is constructed of red sandstone, plastered over with a finewhite polished stucco, which served both as a protection to the stoneand as a ground for coloured decoration and gilding. This plaster-workwas carried to the perfection of a fine art by the old Mogul builders,but the restoration of it in 1876 was very indifferently carried out.
The throne of the Emperor was in an alcove of inlaid marble at theback of the hall, and connected with the royal apartments behind. Herehe sat daily to give audience to his court, to receive ambassadors,and to administer justice. At the foot of the alcove is a squareslab of marble, about 3 feet in height, on which, it is said,his ministers stood to receive petitions to the Emperor, and toconvey his commands thereon. On the right and left of the throne arechambers with perforated marble windows, through which the ladies ofthe zanana could view the proceedings. Bernier's lively description,though it properly belongs to the Diwan-i-am at Delhi, will enableus to picture the scene in the days of the Great Mogul.
"The monarch every day, about noon, sits upon his throne, with someof his sons at his right and left, while eunuchs standing about theroyal person flap away the flies with peacocks' tails, agitate the airwith large fans, or wait with undivided attention and profound humilityto perform the different services allotted to each. Immediately underthe throne is an enclosure, surrounded by silver rails, in which areassembled the whole body of _omrahs_ (nobles), the Rajas, and theambassadors, all standing, their eyes bent downwards and their handscrossed. At a greater distance from the throne are the _mansebdhars_,or inferior _omrahs_, also standing in the same posture of profoundreverence. The remainder of the spacious room, and, indeed, the wholecourtyard, is filled with persons of all ranks, high and low, richand poor; because it is in this extensive hall that the King givesaudience indiscriminately to all his subjects; hence it is called_Am Khas_, or audience chamber of high and low.
"During the hour and a half, or two hours, that this ceremonycontinues, a certain number of the royal horses pass before the throne,that the King may see whether they are well used and Usbec, of everykind, and each dog with a small red covering; lastly, every speciesof the birds of prey used in field sports for catching partridges,cranes, hares, and even, it is said, for hunting antelopes, on whichthey pounce with violence, beating their heads and blinding them withtheir wings and claws."
After this parade, the more serious business of the day was attendedto. The Emperor reviewed his cavalry with peculiar attention, for hewas personally acquainted with every trooper. Then all the petitionsheld up in the assembled crowd were read and disposed of before theaudience closed.
On festivals or other special occasions the pillars of the hall werehung with gold brocades, and flowered satin canopies fastened withred silken cords were raised over the whole apartment. The floor wascovered entirely with the most magnificent silk carpets. A gorgeoustent, larger than the hall, to which it was fastened, and supportedby poles overlaid with silver, was pitched outside. Every compartmentof the arcades round the courtyard was decorated by one of the greatnobles, at his own expense, with gold brocades and costly carpets,each one vying with the other to attract the attention of the Emperor,to whom, on such occasions, an offering of gold or jewels, more or lessvaluable according to the pay and rank of the giver, must be presented.
JAHANGIR'S CISTERN.--Just in front of the Diwan-i-am is a great stonecistern, cut out of a single block, with steps inside and out, knownas Jahangir's _Hauz_, a bowl or bath-tub. There is a long Persianinscription round the outer rim; the only part now decipherable showsthat it was made for Jahangir in 1019 A.H. (A.D. 1611). It is nearly 5feet in height and 8 feet in diameter at the top. Its original placeis said to have been one of the courts of the Jahangiri Mahal.
THE TOMB OF MR. COLVIN.--Close by Jahangiri's _Hauz_ is the grave ofMr. John Russell Colvin, the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-WestProvinces, who died in the Fort during the disturbances of 1857.
