MADHUR TANKHA/thehindu.com: To ensure that the Mughal-era Arab Serai is restored to its original glory, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has been doing major restoration work for the past one and a half years.
In 2012, when the Sher Shah gate opposite the Purana Quila collapsed, conservationists in the Capital were apprehensive that the two feet tilt in the ornamental facade of the gateway of Arab Serai near the Humayun’s Tomb would meet a similar fate.
In the 20 Century, the entrance chamber’s dome had collapsed and since then much of the structure was in various stages of disintegration. Most of the structure was held up by patches of cement plaster.
As a result, Arab Serai became a dilapidated gateway. Thankfully, now this over 150-foot-long gateway — with grand vaulted rooms on either side of the principal arched entrance — is now in the process of becoming a landmark structure worth visiting.
Ismailimail 