India Travel News

New Delhi: When the signs of ‘ageing’ started showing up on Taj Mahal sometime back and the marble started getting a yellowish colour, conservationists prescribed a beauty treatment for the monument of love in the form of mud-pack. Now, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) is using the same age-old formula of applying multani mitti on the historic gates of the 17th century mosque Jama Masjid.

Intricate Mughal craftsmanship and exquisite engravings on the north, south and eastern gateways of the Jama Masjid — each over 25-feet high — were wrapped under years of neglect. But after the mud-pack treatment, the gates, made of an alloy comprising tin and copper, are slowly regaining their glory and original design, says Syed Tariq Bukhari, general secretary, Jama Masjid Delhi Consultative Council. ASI officials say that this is the first time that the gates, which had turned black with age, are being given a proper cleaning.

Elaborating on the treatment, Sunil Upadhyay, archeological chemist, ASI, says: ‘‘We generally apply four to five layers on a structure for a visible effect. The layers dry up and fall off in three to four days. The process is repeated several times. This multani mitti used for the gates has a different chemical composition than that applied on Taj Mahal.’’

At Jama Masjid, workers are in the process of peeling off the dried mud with toothbrushes to give it a polished look. Stating that it’s a time-consuming and rigorous process, an official said: ‘‘Work on each gate can take up to three months. The colour — originally bronze — that will emerge after the treatment will stay for at least 10 years.’’ Officials said that while conservation work has happened in the mosque in the past, hardly any attention were paid to the historic gates.

The mud-pack treatment on gates is part of the Jama Masjid conservation plan, that started after an HC order in 2006. Delhi Wakf Board prepared a conservation report which was submitted to HC. The report was forwarded to ASI for starting the conservation plan in phases. The conservation work finally kick-started last year.
Since then the ASI has repaired the broken flooring, fixed seepages in the main dome and replaced damaged jhajjas. However, a lot of work still remains to be done and officials say that it will take up to two to three years. The initial phases of work will be concentrated on areas that require immediate attention after which more elaborate work will take place.

The Masjid-i-Jahan Numa Urdu, known as Jama Masjid, is the biggest mosque in India. Commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, it was built in 1656 AD. The architecture and design of the Jama Masjid is very similar to the Badshahi Masjid in Lahore, which was commissioned by Shah Jahan’s son Aurangzeb in 1673.