306. Plan of Tomb of Mahmúd Begurra, near Kaira. Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.
307. Tomb of Mahmúd Begurra, near Kaira. (From a Photograph.)
The most beautiful, however, of these provincial examples is the tomb at Mahmúdabad, of its class one of the most beautiful in India ([Woodcut No. 306]). It was erected by the same Mahmúd Begurra, A.D. 1484, who erected the tomb of Kutub-ul-Alum at Butwa, described above ([Woodcut No. 304]), and is said to have been designed by the same architect. This is, however, a far more successful example, and though small—it is only 94 ft. square, exclusive of the porch—there is a simplicity about its plan, a solidity and balance of parts in the design, which is not always found in these tombs, and has rarely, if ever, been surpassed in any tomb in India. The details, too, are all elegant and appropriate, so that it only wants somewhat increased dimensions to rank among the very first of its class. Its constructive arrangements, too, are so perfect that no alterations in them would be required, if the scale had been very much increased.
The tomb itself is surrounded by a screen of perforated stonework, of the very finest tracery, and with its double verandah aids in giving the sepulchral chamber that seclusion and repose so indispensable in a mausoleum.[520]
CHAPTER VI.
MALWA.
CONTENTS.
The Great Mosque at Mandu.