Aam Khas Bagh

Aam Khas Bagh in Sirhind, Punjab is a Mughal era royal caravanserai & garden complex built initially during the reign of Akbar, with Hafiz Sultan Muhammad Rakhna as the architect. The site was divided into parts, the Aam, open to the public, and the Khas, reserved for the Emperor's private use. After Rakhna's death, it passed through the hands of successive Mughal rulers and was further expanded, rebuilt, and adorned during the subsequent reigns of Emperor Jahangir (1605–1627) and Emperor Shah Jahan (1628–1658). Jahangir took a close personal interest in its upkeep, appointing an official well versed in horticulture and building to maintain it during the fourteenth year of his reign, and is recorded to have visited at least twice more. Shah Jahan showed even greater attachment to the site, visiting six times according to contemporary chronicles and celebrating the Nauroz festival here during his seventh regnal year. The complex's most striking feature is its water engineering. A huge well just outside the Sard Khana supplied the entire palace's cooling and fountain system, with water hauled up by large pulleys and channelled through terracotta pipes built into the walls, feeding fountains, waterfalls, and air-conditioned chambers on demand, a functioning climate-control system centuries before mechanical air conditioning existed. The hamam's floors were heated through cavities beneath them, filled with warm smoke from a nearby fire. Beyond the ruins, the complex also includes an 11-acre orchard of mango, pear, and guava trees, some over seventy years old, alongside a maintained Mughal-style garden and nursery. The key monuments within the complex are: Sard Khana – An air-conditioned chamber built by Emperor Jahangir. Water was pulled through large pulleys from an adjoining well and passed through water channels running through the walls, used for fountains and waterfalls. Sheesh Mahal (Daulat-Khana-E-Khas) – Built on the orders of Emperor Jahangir, with some later alterations. Its domes were decorated with glazed tiles, some of which are still visible today. Hamam – Constructed by the orders of Emperor Jahangir. Water was taken through underground terracotta channels, with a unique method used for heating it. Tank – Also built under Jahangir. A Mehtabi-Chabutra (moonlit viewing platform) once stood at its centre but has since fallen down. Quarters for Mughal employees were built on its east and west sides. Daulat Khana-E-Khas – A double-storeyed monument built by Shah Jahan as his private residence. Its rooms and main walls were decorated with intricate designs; the central hall measured 18 x 14 feet, and its eastern wall bore two tall minarets. Tanks and fountains on the northern side added to the building's grandeur. Today, Aam Khas Bagh is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India and operates partly as a tourist complex known as "Maulasari." During the annual Shaheedi Jor Mela at nearby Fatehgarh Sahib, a light-and-sound show recounting the history of Sirhind and the martyrdom of the Chhote Sahibzaade is staged here at night. Despite periodic renovation efforts, parts of the complex, particularly the Daulat Khana-e-Khas, Sard Khana, and Shahi Hamam, have repeatedly fallen back into disrepair from neglect.