The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c30.s1.9

v3.c30.s1.9

Whatever buildings may have been erected under the short-lived dynasty of Rāja Kāns, which interrupted the Iliyās Shāh succession between the years 1409 and 1438, the only one of note now generally assigned to it is the Eklākhī tomb at Pāndua. According to tradition, as recorded in the *Riyāz-us-Salātīn*, this is the tomb of Jalāl-ud-dīn Muhammad Shāh, the proselyte son of Rāja Kāns, who was converted to Islam by the Saint Nūr Qutb-i-ʻĀlam. Be this tradition correct or not, the tomb is one of the finest in Bengal and peculiarly interesting as the prototype on which, strange to say, many mosques in this part of India were subsequently modelled. Its design is simple: a square, rather low structure 75 feet each way, with gently curving cornice and octagonal turret at each corner—the whole surmounted by a single dome, which is carried on squinch arches and supported besides by pillars. The fabric is of brick, helped out with slabs of dark hornblende taken from Hindu temples; and, as usual, the decoration of the exterior is executed in moulded terracotta or carved brick, glazed tiles being employed only in the overhanging cornices. The interior was originally decorated with painted flowers and other devices, but only faint traces of this ornamentation are now visible. Compared with the tomb of Rukn-i-ʻĀlam at Multān, or the contemporary monuments of the Sayyid kings of Delhi, the Eklākhī tomb cannot be pronounced a great achievement. Its general lines are not unpleasing; there is merit in the treatment of the curved, overhanging cornice; the corner turrets are effective; and there is great beauty and variety in the low terracotta relief work. It fails, however, because it lacks the height and dignity so essential to monuments of this kind, and—more important still—because too much thought has been given to surface decoration, too little to structural formative beauty. This is a weakness common to most buildings of the Bengal school, and one which they share with the generality of the monuments of Eastern Persia. In both places the architects were apt to regard the fabric of a structure rather as a vehicle for ornament than as a thing of beauty in itself; and as often as not they seem incapable of thinking freely of three dimensions. In the few rare instances in Bengal, such as the *Dākhil Darwāza* at Gaur, where structural and decorative beauty went hand in hand, the result was as perfect an example of brick architecture as can be found anywhere in the world.