The Haveli Todar Mal popularly known as Jahaz Haveli or Jahaz Mahal is the 17th century residence (

haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', mean ...

) of Todar Mal, who became the diwan in the court of

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sirhind, under

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. Today, it is remembered for the cremation of young martyred sons of

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Sing ...

and his mother. The haveli is situated in Harnam Nagar, on the Eastern side of

Sirhind Sirhind-Fategarh is a town and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab. Demographics In the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constituted 54% of the population and female ...

Rupnagar Rupnagar (; formerly known as Ropar is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. Rupnagar is a newly created fifth Divisional Headquarters of Punjab comprising Rupnagar, Mohali, and its adjoining distr ...

Railway Line just 1 km away from

Fatehgarh Sahib Fatehgarh Sahib is a city and a sacred pilgrimage site of Sikhism in the north west Indian state of Punjab. It is the headquarters of Fatehgarh Sahib district, located about north of Sirhind. Fatehgarh Sahib is named after Fateh Singh, the 7-y ...

, and is now being taken over and restored by

SGPC The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; "Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee") is an organization in India responsible for the management of Gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the union ...

with the help of Punjab govt and

INTACH The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is a non-profit charitable organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. In 2007, the United Nations awarded INTACH a special consultative status with Unite ...

Architecture

The lavish

constructed with

i bricks stand just outside the Mughal Governor Nawab Wazir Khan's palace, once boasts of a grand reception area to receive and entertain guests and a well laid-out ground complete with a pool and fountains.

Diwan Todar Mal

Todar Mal was a Jain, who rose to become the diwan in the court of

Wazir Khan of

. When the Nawab had Guru Gobind Singh's two younger sons put to death,

Todar Mal Raja Todar Mal (1 January 1500 – 8 November 1589) was the Finance Minister (Mushriff-i-Diwan) of the Mughal empire during Emperor Akbar's reign. He was also the Vakil-us-Sultanat (Counsellor of the Empire) and Joint Wazir. He was one of the ...

conveyed the sad news to their grandmother—who died of shock. Diwan Todar Mal donated his own family gold to purchase a small piece of land to cremate the young sons of the 10th

Sikh Guru The Sikh gurus ( Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established this religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the found ...

in 1704 A.D, by paying an exorbitant price to the Wazir Khan

Governor Of Sarhind A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. He had built

Gurdwara Jyoti Sarup Fatehgarh Sahib is a city and a sacred pilgrimage site of Sikhism in the north west Indian state of Punjab. It is the headquarters of Fatehgarh Sahib district, located about north of Sirhind. Fatehgarh Sahib is named after Fateh Singh, the 7-y ...

on the site of the cremation at

. A large hall of the gurdwara honours the builder by being named after him: Diwan

Yadagiri Hall. In

Sikh history Guru Nanak founded the Sikh faith in the Punjab region of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, and present-day Pakistan, in the end of fifteenth century. He was first of the ten Sikh Gurus. The tenth, Guru Gobind Singh, formalised its pr ...

, he is remembered for buying a small piece of land at a very huge price saying the world's costliest land ever bought for the cremation of the dead bodies of

Mata Gujri Mata Gujri (Gurmukhi: ਮਾਤਾ ਗੁਜਰੀ; ''mātā gujarī''; 1624–1705), also spelt as Mata Gujari, was the wife of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhism, and the mother of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of Sikhism. Bio ...

, the mother and

Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Zorawar Singh (17 November 1696 – 5 or 6 December 1705, pa, ਸਾਹਿਬਜ਼ਾਦਾ ਜ਼ੋਰਾਵਰ ਸਿੰਘ), alternatively spelt as Jorawar Singh, was a son of Guru Gobind Singh who was executed in the court of Wazir Khan, t ...

and

Baba Fateh Singh Fateh Singh (Gurmukhi: ਫਤਿਹ ਸਿੰਘ ; 25 February 1699 – 12 December 1705), commonly referred to with honorifics as Baba Fateh Singh or Sahibzada Baba Fateh Singh, was the fourth and youngest son of Guru Gobind Singh. He was bor ...

, the two younger sons of 10th

in 1704 A.D, by paying an exorbitant price to the Wazir Khan

. He had to cover the whole piece of land with gold coins (ashrafis) in a vertical position, as he was asked to vertically place gold coins on the land and only that much land was given to him which he could cover with gold coins. He later also made arrangements for their cremation. But, according to Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, the bodies of all the three were cremated by the descendants of Todar Mall Shahjahani because the latter had already died in 1665-66. Todar Mal, however had to bear the brunt of Wazir Khan's wrath, and he and his family had to abandon the haveli soon after, and themselves faded into oblivion, with dilapidated building being their only reminder. In the coming years, the haveli fell into rapid disrepair, and collapsed at many place. Though it survived ransacking of Sirhind by

Banda Bahadur Banda Singh Bahadur (born Lachman Dev) (27 October 1670 – 9 June 1716), was a Sikh warrior and a commander of Khalsa army. At age 15, he left home to become an ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Bairagi. He established a monastery a ...

and during the reign of The

Sikh Confederacy The Misls (derived from an Arabic word مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent and is cit ...

, the haveli was left untouched out of respect for Diwan Todar Mal. Today, Gurdwara Jyoti Swarup, now stands at the place where these three martyrs were cremated and the road connecting the two Gurdwaras is known as Dewan Todar Mal Marg. Even today Diwan Todar Mal is deeply respected by the

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

and a ''Diwan Todar Mal Memorial Hall'', congregation hall has been constructed at historic

Gurudwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

Gallery

Brief description of history of Haveli Todar Mal 03.jpg, Brief description of history of Haveli Todar Mal, Fatehgarh Sahib district, Punjab, India Haveli Todar Mal 02.jpg, Haveli Todar Mal,Fatehgarh Sahib district, Punjab, India Ruins of Haveli Todar Mal 04.jpg, Ruins of Haveli Todar Mal, Fatehgarh Sahib district, Punjab, India Well at Haveli Todar Mal 05.jpg, Well at Haveli Todar Mal, Fatehgarh Sahib district, Punjab ,India

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Todarmal Jahaj Haveli, slide show

IGNCA Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi is a premier government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous institute under the Union Ministry of Culture. History The Indira Gandhi National centre for arts ...

{{coord missing, Punjab (India) Monuments and memorials in Punjab, India Houses completed in the 17th century Fatehgarh Sahib Buildings and structures in Punjab, India Havelis