By Raju Gopalakrishnan
KABUL, April 16 (Reuters) – The empire of Babur, the 16th century founder of the Mughal dynasty, stretched from Samarkand to central India, but he died pining for Kabul and insisting on being buried in the place he called paradise on earth.
His open-air tomb on a hillside in what is now the capital of Afghanistan is set in an oasis of greenery. With the snow-fringed Hindu Kush ranges providing a majestic backdrop, the tomb is set amidst a garden of walnut, mulberry, apple and pomegranate trees as well as a small marble mosque, fountains and water channels.
But the views below are far from paradise. These days the tomb overlooks a war-ravaged city of about four million people, dusty and choked with garbage.
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PARADISE
Just a few years ago, it would have been difficult to believe Babur’s burial spot, ravaged by war and neglect, was the prototype for the scores of Mughal gardens across India and Pakistan.
The red sandstone and marble tomb to his son, Humayun, is set in one in India’s capital New Delhi. Another descendant, Shahjahan, built the Taj Mahal in Agra.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture began the multi-million dollar rehabilitation of Bagh-i-Babur, or Babur’s garden, in 2002, clearing up debris, rebuilding fountains and water channels, and planting trees.
One of the first tasks was to rebuild the Pakhsa mud and straw wall which encircles the 11-hectare garden to prevent encroachment. About a third of the funds are being used by the Trust to improve conditions for the people who live on the hillside, says project manager Jolyon Leslie.
“We hope it will become beautiful again,” said the garden’s site architect Abdul Hameed. “But I don’t know. There has to be peace for the next 10-20 years.”
The marble tablet above the grave says “Paradise is forever the abode of Babur Badshah.”
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