This early Mughal tomb which is now part of the Sunder Nursery park, originally stood with another 16th century tomb – Sunderwala Mahal and the Lotus Pond, in a 700-metre square-shaped garden enclosure.

The domed tomb measures 14’ 6” square in plan. The internal walls are profusely adorned with incised plaster.

The domed tomb measures 14’ 6” square in plan. The internal walls are profusely adorned with incised plaster.

In design, the building resembles the Lakkarwala Burj, another UNESCO World Heritage monument in Sunder Nursery, and has a similar band of Arabesque Quranic inscriptions encircling the inner walls above the doorways.

Although it is a mausoleum, there is no trace of any grave seen here now.

Sunder Burj sits prominently in the entrance zone of the park, and therefore landscaping its immediate vicinity and planning the Garden of delight around it has significantly enhanced its historical setting.

Conservation was carried out between 2010 and 2012, by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture with a grant from the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.

Conservation was carried out between 2010 and 2012, by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture with a grant from the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.

Ceiling:

One of the most significant features of Sunder Burj is its highly ornamental star-patterned internal ceiling, which suffered heavy damage due to water seepage and later repairs that used cement and whitewashing. A team of highly trained craftspeople carefully scraped off these cement layers from both the internal and external wall surfaces and cleaned the remaining portions of original plasterwork.

Dome:

The cracks on the dome which led to water penetration, causing loss of decorative plasterwork on the ceiling below, were stitched with lime mortar. Dome repairs included removing cement plaster and replastering it with lime mortar along with cleaning and restoring missing portions of the interior ceiling.

Interiors:

While cleaning the original wall surfaces on the external façade, the team discovered layers of polychrome plaster underneath, and this was restored as per original designs. After the cement plaster was removed, the façade and interiors were lime plastered and finished with a layer of lime punning using matured lime putty mixed with traditional additives and marble. The Quranic inscription on the lintel level inside the monument was carefully restored in matching calligraphic style that was approved by scholars. The cement concrete flooring was replaced with red sandstone that was hand-chiselled and fixed with lime mortar after the base layer was consolidated.

Wooden doors have also been installed in the four openings.

The four arched openings over the doorways whose sandstone lattice screens were missing when the work began, were closed with hand-crafted sandstone lattice screens, which are an integral part of the building.