One of the wonderful aspects of Delhi is that old and new structures all stand together, and sometimes, when you are waiting at a traffic light and just glance around, there’s a 500-year old monument right there. Reva wished to tour the newly restored Humayun’s tomb, and I wanted to get to the wedding venue, so we went our separate ways, and I caught up with the monument a few days later, considering it was going nowhere.

It was my second visit there, but the first time that I drove in Delhi all by myself, that put a smug grin on the face. Naturally, I wanted to be there at sunrise. Got there early enough but had to cool my heels at the entrance waiting for the ticket seller. Apparently you can get a daily pass if you like your morning walks in the grounds, and then you can catch the sunrise. So I was the first paid visitor of the day, and spent a jolly couple of hours walking about, soaking in the calm, enjoying the sun’s rays in the cool morning, and getting my money’s worth in photos.

It’s a beautiful structure, commissioned by Humayun’s first wife, Bega Begum. It seems she was devoted to him, but he was in love with his second wife, Hamida Begum, who was the mother of Akbar. There’s a lot that’s been said about the architecture, the first garden-tomb in India; it’s major claim to fame being that it is the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. However, I wouldn’t care to compare the two. The Humayun’s tomb holds its own, and can probably offer a better experience of Mughal splendour. Besides Humayun, his two wives are also buried here, as are a number of other nobles in other tombs on the premises.