acknowledgements Rahim ke dohe, widely known even today—four centuries since they were written—are a testimony to Rahim’s genius. Together with several Hindustani cultural icons—Hazrat Amir Khusrau, Shah Jahan’s daughter Jahanara Begum, Mirza Ghalib, among others—Rahim lies buried in close proximity to the 14th-century Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliyā’. In India, it was considered auspicious to be buried near a saint’s tomb or dargāh and hence, since the 14th century onwards, over a 100 tombs—grand, like Humayun’s Tomb, and small such as the intricate marble screen enclosure of Mughal Emperor Muhammed Shah Rangila—were built in the Nizamuddin area. Though several have disappeared, especially in the late 20th century, since 2007, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India has been undertaking a major urban conservation effort to conserve the surviving structures. In 2013, conservation works were completed at the World Heritage Site of Humayun’s Tomb allowing the experienced multi-disciplinary team to undertake the challenging multi-year conservation of the once grand but now ruinous tomb Rahim built for his wife. Conservation works here were only possible with the generous support and partnership of InterGlobe Foundation, marking India’s first ever conservation effort at a national monument undertaken with corporate funds. We hope that our efforts in ensuring Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds could be utilized for conservation and a successful conservation effort here would serve as a model for many more similar projects to be undertaken. The significance of the mausoleum lies not only in its architectural and archaeological value but primarily in its association with an eminent cultural personality, which gives it an immense historical significance. Aimed at disseminating Rahim’s literary works, including his dohe, and enhancing our understanding of both Rahim and the culture of the early Mughal era, InterGlobe has, in addition to the conservation effort, also supported an intense research programme of which this book is one outcome. We at AKTC are grateful for the valuable support and partnership provided by InterGlobe Foundation. At InterGlobe, I would especially like to thank Ms Rohini Bhatia for her leadership and personal interest as well as Ms Neelanjana Singh for her sustained involvement and continuous support. Thanks are also due to Shreya Shalini, Ganapati Arvind and Padam Prasad. I am grateful to my colleagues Shakeel Hossain and Deeti Ray for their efforts over the past year to achieve the project objectives and for bringing together scholars and musicians devoted to performing and disseminating Rahim’s cultural legacy. For the two of them, this has been a labour of love, and I appreciate their deep commitment. Coupled with the conservation effort, Deeti has also led a very successful heritage awareness programme among school children, using both walks and theatre, with the assistance of the Saire-Nizamuddin, a group of heritage volunteers from the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti. It has been a privilege for us to present here essays from a diverse group of authors, who shed light on the personality, skill, cultural and military achievement, pluralist character and value of Rahim in today’s age. The coming together of T. C. A. Raghavan, Harish Trivedi, the late Iqtidar Husain Siddiqui, Eva Orthmann, Sunil Sharma, Chander Shekhar, Wheeler M. Thackston, Mehr Afshan Farooqi, Richard Cohen, Rupert Snell and Allison Busch, has made this publication invaluable and to them we owe our sincere gratitude. 10
Celebrating Rahim
