Friday 27 March 2015

Chui Mal Ka Talaab in Nuh

Chui Mal ka Taalab is a masonry pond with cenotaphs located in the town of Nuh in the Mewat district of Haryana.

Chui Mal ka Talaab (pond), Nuh

Adjoining it is a grand two-storied structure, the Cenotaph of Seth Chui Mal. Both the pond and the Samadhi (memorial) have been built around the same time by Chui Mal. Of course the tomb in the structure was placed after his death by his son.

The pond in the foreground & the Cenotaph of Chui Mal in the background

The pond has eight cenotaphs around it and looks picturesque. During my talks with the owners of the property (no, it is not under State Government or the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) but privately owned by the descendants of Chui Mal) I was told that all the burj (the structure beneath the Chattri or the cenotaph) have wells underneath and therefore there is always water in the pond.

Another view of the Pond of Chui Mal in Nuh

Also during Monsoons the pond gets filled with water flowing from nearby areas. But this is changing as now people have cut plots around this place.

The beautiful pond littered with polybags

Unfortunately the open area is subjected to decay and misuse. There are plastic bags in the pond and as usual locals have scribbled their names on the cenotaphs.

A well at Chui Mal ka Talaab filled with plastic bags

I think it is imperative that the heritage properties, the Cenotaph of Chui Mal as well as the Chui Mal ka Talaab, are taken over by the State Government or ASI for despite the best intentions, the Chui Mal family cannot be expected to maintain sites in the long run as that is a skilled and expensive task.

The view of the Chui Mal ka Talaab in the background with Chattri of the memorial of Chui Mal in the foreground

Both the cenotaphs and the masonry pond are worth seeing places. Offbeat places have a charm of their own. These are sightseeing places for Delhlites and Gurgaonites looking for an outing over the weekend.

This post is part of Skywatch Friday.

9 comments:

Gabi said...

Great shots!
Greetings, Gabi

fredamans said...

Such beautiful architecture. So sad to see all the garbage.

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Wow, really beautiful. I like the reflections on the water. Too bad about the well.

Anonymous said...

Wow such beautiful reflections!

Anil Yadav said...

Thanks Gabi!

Anil Yadav said...

Yes fredamans this is the sad part about so many heritage properties in India.

Anil Yadav said...

Thank you Spare Parts and Pics. Yes it is sad about the litter.

Anil Yadav said...

Thank you ladyfi!

Unknown said...

Thanks Anil ji to provide such a great information regarding historical monuments around Delhi which has been forgotten