This intriguing park, surrounded by huge walls, contains four highly impressive Mughal tombs. One is that of Prince Khusru, the eldest son of Emperor Jehangir, who tried to overthrow his father in 1606, but was instead apprehended, imprisoned and blinded. He was finally murdered in 1622 on the orders of his half-brother, who later took the throne under the name Shah Jahan. If Khusru’s coup had succeeded, Shah Jahan would not have become emperor – and the Taj Mahal would not exist.
A three-storey pavilion-shaped tomb belongs to Shah Begum, Khusru’s mother (Jehangir’s first wife), who committed suicide in 1603 with an opium overdose, distraught over the ongoing feud between her son and his father. Between these two, a third, particularly attractive tomb was constructed by Nesa Begum, Khusru’s sister, although it was never actually used as a tomb. A smaller structure, called Tamolon’s Tomb, stands to the west of the others, but its origin is unknown.
If you linger around the tombs of Prince Khusru and Shah Begum, someone will appear with keys to let you inside, where you can see a beautiful array of nature paintings and unique, tree-shaped window jalis (carved lattices). You'll have to negotiate a price – figure on around ₹100 for all four tombs. Weekends can be busy here.
