ASI Is Reviving 'Chhota Hammam' In Red Fort, Which Was Hidden Under Thick Vegetation For Years

In your next visit to Red Fort, New Delhi you will be able to get a clearer view of the monuments inside the fort. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has decided to conserve the ¡®Chhota Hammam¡¯, which is near the Asad Burj. Hammam, also known as the Turkish Bath, is the Middle Eastern variant of a steam bath.

The hammam ritual is rather simple, but it does involve several steps, all aimed at cleansing and relaxing, which many modern-day hammams still utilise.

A single undated picture of the chhota hammam is the only reference that the ASI has, to conserve it. Hidden under weeds, the hammam will be conserved by January 2020 and open to the public for the first time ever, as reported by the Indian Express. Right next to the Asad Burj, occupied by the Army till 2003, lies the hammam.

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¡°All we know is that this hammam was for palatial use. Since the Red Fort opened to the public, this portion was always covered in thick vegetation. We have started clearing it now and should begin conservation after Independence Day,¡± Dr N K Pathak, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI Delhi circle told the Indian Express.

At least 4.46 metres below the surface, the rectangular hammam is 21.5 X 6.3 square metre in size. There are two staircases made of Lakhori bricks and red sandstone which leads to the bath. The staircases has 15 arches, including one which has space to keep 10 oil lamps that once lit up the hammam.

For now, the wild plants have taken over the hammam.

Luv Kush Soni, ASI¡¯s conservation assistant at Red Fort told the Indian Express, ¡°Conservation will take six months and will begin with ¡®pointing,¡¯ the process of strengthening Lakhori bricks using lime mortar. Broken arches made of Lakhori bricks will be replaced, so will the missing pieces of the red sandstone floor¡±.

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An ASI official also said that a budget of Rs 1-1.5 crore will be set aside for the project and at least 100 workers will be employed for the same. A pathway too will be built to connect Imtiaz Mahal with the hammam.

Shama Mitra Chenoy, associate professor of History at Delhi¡¯s Shivaji College, also said ¡°Mirza Jahangir Bahadur, son of Mughal emperor Akbar II, lived in Asad Burj in the early 19th Century. Close proximity of the hammam to the Asad Burj means that it was probably used by Mirza Jahangir Bahadur¡­ plus, Asad Burj was the water bastion.¡±

The Red Fort was built between 1639-48 by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jhan. The fort was plundered of its artwork and jewels during Nadir Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire in 1747. Most of the fort's precious marble structures were subsequently destroyed by the British following the Revolt of 1857.

It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007 as part of the Red Fort Complex.