Tucked away in a quiet corner of the city, is the mausoleum/Hazira of Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Khan, which is one of the few reminders of the Pre-Gaekwadi era of Baroda. The mausoleum or the Hazira as it is locally known, contains the graves of Qutb-Ud-Din Muhammad Khan who was the tutor of Salim/Jehangir, the son & successor of Akbar. It also houses the graves of other important people of that time including that of Naurang Khan (son of Qutb-Ud-Din Muhammad Khan) who held important offices in Gujarat under Akbar. Qutb-Ud-Din was the uncle of Mirza Aziz Koka, the foster brother of Akbar who was the governor of Gujarat, thrice in between 1573 A.D. to 1583 A.D. Qutb-Ud-Din was killed in 1583 by Muzaffar III the last Sultan of Gujarat. It was built around the year 1586 A.D..
Architecture :
Located inside what would have been a “Chahar Baug” or a planned Persian Garden, the tomb is a monumental, octagonal structure. The notion of this being a Garden Tomb is further strengthened by a “vav” or a well that is located across the road which may have supplied water for the maintenance of the gardens. Built on a high octagonal platform the tomb may have drawn inspiration from it’s predecessor tombs, like those of the Garden Tombs of the Lodi Dynasty, Tomb of Sher Shah Suri or that of Adham Khan & Maham Anga.
Each side of the high platform features five, arched niches, out of which the central niche acts as a gateway to the upper level of the platform from the four cardinal directions.All the sides of the octagonal structure has an imposing ogee/islamic arch, the massiveness of which is brought down to human scale with niches and arched openings of smaller size. These openings are adorned by stone “jalis” with geometric patterns.
The dome of the structure is a double skinned dome, which rests on a high cylindrical drum and is topped with a three tiered finial. The drum shows traces of thick plaster in brick red color. The extant parapet wall of the roof is decorated with the “Merlon” motif, which also features the traces of red color.
The exterior of the tomb is faced with red sandstone and is decorated with niches of various sizes. While tomb chamber, the lintels and the jali work on the eastern side wall are adorned with inscriptions of Quranic texts in arabic.
The actual grave rests in an underground chamber while a cenotaph is placed in the above chamber to mark the place of burial.
In all, the secluded location of the tomb provides a serene experience away from the busy roads of the city. The tomb gives a truly divine experience when visited in the early mornings or at the evenings when it is filled with the golden sunlight filtering in through the jalis, casting beautiful patterns on the walls.
Timings :
8:00 AM to 6:30 PM (on all days except Thursdays)
can i have more information on it????