Location: Uttar Pradesh, India
Client: World Monuments Fund
Area: 1.2 Acres
Status: Completed
One of the most revered sufi saint of Mughal period, Sheikh Salim Chishti’s (1478-1572) khanqah is located at Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Uttar Pradesh. According to archival records, in 1568, Mughal Emperor Akbar visited the saint to pray for a male heir and subsequently in 1569 he was blessed with a son, Jahangir. Overwhelmed, Akbar built a house for the saint, Khanqah, which is adjoining the first building built in Fatehpur Sikri, the Sangtarash Mosque (Stonecutters’ mosque), as well as a mahal for himself, called Rang Mahal, which is adjoining the Khanqah.
Presently, both the Rang Mahal and the Khanqah complex are engulfed in encroachments, which have degraded the built fabric and very little public knowledge exists of its significance.
The proposal for the complex included recovering the lost historic footprint of the complex through scientific investigations, trial pits and area clearance; reviving/ strengthening the physical connections; restoring the character, use and built form through the conservation and restoration of historic fabric, structural repairs and strengthening, removal of incompatible repairs and insensitive intervention as well as upgrading the services; reconnecting the complex back with the communities, pilgrims, and visitors through adaptive reuse of historic spaces.
