Chaunsath Khamba Tomb, Nizamuddin, Delhi

Chaunsath Khamba (64 Pillars) – Mirza Aziz Koka (said to be the foster brother of Mughal Emperor Akbar) had built this mausoleum for himself during the period 1623-24 CE. The roof of the tomb is held up by 64 pillars and maybe that’s why it was named so.

In the year 2010, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in India and the Archaeological Survey of India, joining hands with the German Embassy, undertook extensive conservation work of this tomb, which took about four years to complete.

Mirza Aziz Koka had served as the Governor of Gujarat under the reigns of Emperor Jahangir. He died in Sarkej (Ahmedabad) and was buried there. Later his grave was shifted to its present location at Chausanth Khamba.

Chausanth Khamba is situated very close to the famous Sufi Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah at Nizamuddin Basti, New Delhi and the Mazar of the prominent Urdu and Persian Poet Mirza Ghalib Saheb.

I visited the place very recently. Though I visit the Nizamuddin Dargah quite often and was also aware of the existence of Ghalib Saheb’s Mazar in the vicinity, but I could somehow never been able to locate it and, about this Chausanth Khamba Tomb, I had absolutely no idea. I found that the security guard deployed at the site keeps that Tomb locked (except the Urs Hall area) and opens it only on request by the ‘genuine’ visitors.