@bbcnews

BBC News · checked 54m ago

Public24.67 GB1,560 posts & reels2,755 changes

40 of 63

image

Have you ever witnessed a painting come alive? I had a similar experience a few days ago, when I stepped into the pavilion to watch the Humayun's Tomb all lit up as if the moonlight was falling on it. The Covid-19 pandemic was crippling in many respects but it had its own perks as well, just like two sides of a coin. I faced quite a few setbacks during the pandemic but I also had a few dreams come true. Like having monuments like the Humayun's Tomb, at their surreal best, all to myself, with no one to intrude my photography or my thoughts. I sat here on one end of the entry pavilion, for over an hour, gazing at the surreal opulence of the Mughal race, that they've left for us to reminisce of the times gone by. Stories flowed by, and my imagination was at play, imagining the time when the tomb was at its magnificent best, when Shah Jahan visited to pay obeisance to his forefather before inaugurating his own city, when shortly after his beloved son Dara Shikoh was secretly buried in one of the dungeons and when the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, reached this fortified enclosure of his ancestors to seek refuge but was instead forced to surrender to the British. Indeed this was the spot where the last Mughal Emperor gave up his title and Hindustan ceased to be the golden bird that it had been for centuries at an end. I stopped at this point to have one last look at this symbol of love which had once inspired the Taj Mahal and couldn't help but wonder about the fragility of human destiny. But then again, the bad thing about good times is that they come to an end and the good thing about bad times is also that they come to an end... . . . . . . . . #unzipdelhi #delhi #humayunstomb #humayun #humayuntomb #unesco #unescoworldheritage #mughalempire #mughal #mughalart #mughalarchitecture #mughals #history #monument #nightphotography #Delhi6 #olddelhi #chandnichowk #shahjahan #painting #teampixel #delhigram #sodelhi #travelling #storytelling #storyteller #storytime #staysafe #covid19 #lockdown

Taken: 12 Oct 2020, 15:56:27
Likes: 1443
Comments: 49
On Instagram: instagram.com/…9HKasbrR
Shortcode: CGP9HKasbrR
pk: 2418420297980033745
Posted by: @unzip_delhi
Tags: @bbcnews

Location

Humayun's Tomb

28.67123, 77.17786

Tagged in the image (19)

@natgeotravellerindia(Nat Geo Traveller India)@natgeoyourshot(National Geographic Your Shot)@akdn(Aga Khan Development Network)@nytimes(The New York Times)@bbcnews(BBC News)@googlelocalguides(Google Local Guides)@lonelyplanetmagazineindia(Lonely Planet Magazine India)@googleartsculture(Google Arts & Culture)@lostwithpurpose(Alex Reynolds | Adventure Travel)@natgeotravel(National Geographic Travel)@oneplus_india(OnePlus India)@historytv18(HISTORY TV18)@cntravellerindia(Condé Nast Traveller India)@unesco(UNESCO)@bbc_travel(BBC Travel)@unescoindia(UNESCO New Delhi)@natgeoindia(National Geographic India)@lonelyplanet(Lonely Planet)@googleindia(Google India)

Download image82 KB

2 files archived

ImageoriginalThe original bytes as archived.1440×1800 · 82 KB

SHA-256cde65fec…c573ea7f

Previewmade by usA 400px WebP we derived for grids.320×400 · 7 KB

SHA-256add4f87f…d1e72048

History

Nothing has changed since. Edits, tag changes, pins and removals land here.

What we were doing (2)

Last confirmed still up28 Aug 2026

Found and archivedFound after it was posted, so nothing here covers what came before.28 Aug 2026