Inside the Qutb Shahi tombs complex the long spell of rain has left its mark. There is lichen and moss growing on Fathima Khanum’s tomb, laying at rest misgivings about the pristine off-white colour of the monuments. This lichen will eventually wither in Hyderabad summer giving the tombs the appearance of age-old monuments, but with a difference. “There will be no seepage or structural instability due to this growth,” says CEO of Aga Khan Trust for Culture Ratish Nanda .
This confidence stems from the fact that the conservation effort mounted by AKTC, Telangana Archaeology and Museums Department and aided by Tata Trusts is using techniques that were used to build the monuments in the first place some 450 years ago.
Under a blue plastic tarp, Jagdish Prasad from Bharatpur sits comfortably on scaffolding and applies lime mortar with a mason’s trowel with the care of a surgeon. “Oh this is easy work. Once I start working I cannot take my eyes off this,” he says. The trowel is no bigger than a painter’s spatula and the gap between two plaster lines no thicker than a pencil.
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“There are squads of workers who specialise in what they do ,” informs Rajpal Singh of AKTC, pointing to brisk work on the outer portion of the hammam. “These workmen bring specialised skills which were overlooked earlier. We are not training them, we are just tapping and channelising the available talent,” says Mr. Nanda.
The specialised nature and focus of the conservation effort can be seen at multiple locations within the tombs complex. The workers near the big well create cured limestone plaster adding organic ingredients like jaggery, egg, woodapple and dry palash flowers.