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This antique monument from the Mughal period gives an insight into the stories about two known figures of the Mughal family.
Abdul Nabi Mosque is an octagonal shaped mosque that has been constructed on a raised platform that used to house the graves of a mother and her son both them have been a known personality from the family of the Mughals. Having a corridor outside the central dome, the tomb can be reached following the stairs from the main road. However, there are other two entrances as well, but are no longer functional being in a terrible condition. The centre hall consists of a restored grave which is supposed to be of Adam Khan since the original one was demolished by the Britishers. The whole area of the Abdul Nabi Mosque is enveloped within a boundary wall, on the rear side of which lies a dense forest.
Death of Adam Khan and Maham Anga
Adam khan who was a foster brother to the great emperor Mohd. Jallaluddin Akbar as well as the army’s noble man was accused of being involved in the assassination of Akbar’s foster father Ataga Khan, who was a husband of a wet nurse of Akbar, JiJi Anga. Akbar’s anger reached to the peak on hearing this and following to which he ordered to throw him from the fortifications of the Agra fort a number of times to make sure that he is dead. Consequently, Mahamanga another wet nurse of Akbar and Adam Khan’s mother could not take the grief of his son’s death and died soon after that. Seeing this Akbar buried Adam Khan as well as Mahamanga in close proximity to the shrine of Hazrat Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki and the well renowned Qutub Minar.
This tomb has been named Bhool Bhulaiyya after a mysterious incident that took place here. History reveals that a group of people who had come to Mehrauli for marriage, took shelter here for a night; however to everyone’s surprise, everyone disappeared mysteriously, and was never found again. It is to be believed that practically it was impossible to get lost in the corridors of the tomb; hence, the dense forest of the Lal Kot which forms the rear side of the tomb was accused of engulfing the lot of people.
Misuse and Destruction
Due to the bad fortune of this piece of ancient architect, the graves of Mahamanga and Adam Khan were destroyed from the interior of the tomb and the building was reformed into a dwelling of Lord Curzon from Bengal Civil Services. Over the years, it again underwent retransformation when it was built into a police station and then a post office. The place continued to act as a rest house after the shifting of the post office to a better building. However, years after the tomb was recovered and one of the graves was restored as the exact location of the grave of Mahamanga was unknown, hence it was not restored.
Delhi
