A Kid’s Guide to Humayun’s Tomb

Via India Real Time – WSJ

A new illustrated guide, “Let’s Explore Humayun’s Tomb,” aims to bring the history and architecture of medieval Delhi alive for children. The book was published earlier this month by the Archaeological Survey of India, and was commissioned by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which restored the tomb and is now working with the community in the surrounding neighborhood of Nizamuddin.

Conservation architect Ratish Nanda, India head for the trust, says that over 300,000 children visit the tomb every year. The book, available in Hindi and English, is a way to allow more children explore art, architecture and the city’s history, he said.

“A lot of what the book uses is oral history in Nizamuddin, the usual Mughal chronicles, — Akbarnama, Babarnama — and so on, and a lot of understanding of the site,” said Mr. Nanda in a recent interview. About 70,000 books have been printed in the first run, and should already be available at the tomb .