This is not a very well known story--that of a wife building a monument in memory of her husband. The mausoleum stands amid ruins in the historic Najibabad town in Bijnore district in Uttar Pradesh (UP), India. Unlike the story of Taj Mahal, which is famous across the world, and which was built by a husband in memory of his wife, the 'Chahar Minar' or 'Char Minar' in Najibabad, is a mausoleum which is testimony to a woman's love for her late husband.
She was no ordinary woman--the wife of a Nawab. She got the monument constructed to immortalize her husband who had died young. The tomb was built in memory of Nawab Jahangir Khan, the king of Najibuddaula--the founder of Rohilla dynasty at Najibabad.
Historians say Nawab Jahangir Khan was married in Kotra in Kiratpur. Two years
after the marriage, once when he had gone to get back his wife, he died in a
mishap. During the celebratory fireworks on his visit, a 'gola' (large
crackers) hit him.
The death of her husband shattered his wife. The Begum, then built the
'maqbara' (tomb) in memory of her late husband, at Moazzampur Teligarhi on the
outskirts of Najibabad.
The grave [Qabr] was in the middle under the big dome, with the four minarets
around it, on four corners. The dome fell long back. The minarets stand tall
even now. Each of these minarets is quite thick, three-floor tower, with
staircase leading to the top.
The building made of 'lakhauri' has minarets separated from each other at a
distance of 50 feet. The unique structure is crumbling now.
Nomani wrote that it Sardari Begam had built the monument for her husband
Jahangir Khan. Shouldn't such monuments be conserved?
Except Agra, the
condition of numerous such monuments in districts of UP, remains pathetic.
Unlike the famous Taj Mahal, this monument is expression of a
woman's love for her husband.
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The death of her husband shattered his wife. The Begum, then built the 'maqbara' (tomb) in memory of her late husband, at Moazzampur Teligarhi on the outskirts of Najibabad.
The grave [Qabr] was in the middle under the big dome, with the four minarets around it, on four corners. The dome fell long back. The minarets stand tall even now. Each of these minarets is quite thick, three-floor tower, with staircase leading to the top.
The building made of 'lakhauri' has minarets separated from each other at a distance of 50 feet. The unique structure is crumbling now.
Nomani wrote that it Sardari Begam had built the monument for her husband Jahangir Khan. Shouldn't such monuments be conserved?
Unlike the famous Taj Mahal, this monument is expression of a woman's love for her husband.
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