Humayun’s Helmet that Doubled as Cooking Pot during His Exile
By Raza Elahi
During his travel towards Persia in winter of 1543, Mughal emperor Humayun and his retinue experienced immense hardship. On one occasion, he had to sacrifice a horse and cook horse meat in a helmet. The ‘royal’ party, which included Hamida Banu, Bairam Khan and around 30 warriors, passed through the frigid mountains. They laboured through the snow and so scarce were the rations that a precious horse was killed for food. ‘There was no cooking pot. So they boiled some of the meat in a helmet (pic below) and some they roasted,’ writes Gulbadan Begum, sister of Humayun, in Humayun-Nama.
Humayun, the second Mughal king, had travelled three times more than Marco Polo, the famed explorer, covering 34,000 kilometers during his lifetime as a warrior, through present-day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.
The emperor, who ruled Hindustan in two stints (1530-40 & 1555-60), was so obsessed with astronomy and astrology that he used to wear a specific colour each day of the week to align with the planet of the day.
More such interesting stories of Humayun are lovingly told in the newly-curated Humayun Tomb World Heritage Site Museum — how he missed Hindustan when he was sent by father Babur to Badakhshan; how he was defeated by Sher Shah Suri and sought refuge in Iran and unceasingly plotted his way back to the throne of Hindustan after 15 years; and he was so fond of books that he used to carry his libraries on camelbacks during his travels.
A highlight of the museum is an immersive gallery featuring a 270-degree screen, offering virtual tours of the World Heritage Site's monuments and gardens.
The museum transports visitors to the grandeur of the Mughal era with 700 artefacts, including Bahadur Shah Zafar’s throne and intricate antiques.
The museum is a facility of the Archaeological Survey of India designed and built by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture at the culmination of 25 years of conservation effort at the 300-acre Humayun’s Tomb – Sunder Nursery – Nizamuddin Basti area of Delhi, wherein over 60 monuments have been conserved and the Sunder Nursery city park created as part of a single conservation and development project.
The museum, whose layout is inspired by the medieval 'baolis', or traditional water tanks, showcases the legacy of Humayun and the heritage of the Nizamuddin area over the last seven centuries.
On 26 December 1530, Humayun succeeded his father Babur to the throne of Delhi as ruler of the Mughal territories in the Indian subcontinent (which is now Northern India, Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan) from 1530 to 1540 and again from 1555 to his death in 1556.
All the pics and video above are taken inside the museum by me.
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