The tomb in red sandstone was built by
Ann Hessing, widow of a Dutch officer, Colonel John Hessing, after his death in
1803.
In the 18th century, during the period
of expansion of the European powers in the east, a number of European
mercenaries came to India. In the course of time they grew increasingly
powerful and played an important role in the new power struggle. They conquered
kingdoms, overturned princes and ruled provinces. A long list of such military
adventurers can be drawn, though their names are but as indistinct items on a
long forgotten scrawl, almost obliterated by the dust of time. Some of the
European military freelancers of that time rose to such a prominence that they
could mint coins of their names and bear their own distinctive imprints — a
prerogative of the royalty.
One
of the most illustrious mercenaries of those heady days of adventure and
conquest was John William Hessing (spelt Jan Willem Hessing in Dutch). He was
born in Utrecht in 1739, entered the military service of the V.O.C. (United
Dutch East India Company) at an early age of 13 and arrived in Ceylon in 1752.
Five years later, Hessing returned to the Netherlands. But after a decade, in
1763, he returned to the east, obviously longing for adventure.
Possibly as a result of the fourth
Anglo-Dutch war, by which in 1781 the British occupied the Dutch settlements in
India. Hessing, as did many of his clan, took refuge with the local rulers and
warlords and entered into military service with them.
Hessing first commissioned in the army
of the Nizam and in 1784 entered the service of Scindia. He took part in
several major battles. Hessing wanted to leave due to differences with the
senior officers, but Mahadaji Scindia did not let him go. He retained Hessing
to organise a Bodyguard Force (Khas Risala) on the European
model. He accompanied Mahadaji to Poona in June 1792. During their stay in
Poona, Mahadaji died in 1794. Daulat Rao Scindia continued with his services.
In course of time, Hessing rose appreciable in the esteem of Daulat Rao and
received from him the command of a brigade of four battalions.
In 1799, Hessing was appointed
Commander of the Agra Fort and its Maratha garrison and the city of Agra. He
held Agra till his death on 21 July 1803. Anne was devastated with grief. She
along with her sons and daughter paid tribute and got a grand tomb for the
burial of her husband. she was inspired by the Taj and so planned a similar
structure. It is situated in an old graveyard, Near Agra Civil Court on M.G.
Road.
In its plan and execution, Hessing’s
tomb is a feeble imitation of the Taj, in red sandstone. Nowhere is western
influence seen on the building. Although it is not an architectural delight
when compared with the Taj Mahal and is known even to the local populace, but
it is built in the same spirit of love and emotional appeal. A Dutch soul
permanently took abode in an Indian body.
The white mausoleum of Shah Jahan for
Mumtaz overshadows all the tombs in the world, but the ‘Red Taj’ is also a
monument of sublime love of a disconsolate spouse. The entrance has two Persian
inscriptions, one of which is the epitaph and the other a chronogram. They are:
"When Colonel John William Hessing
departed from this world, he left hundreds of scars of separation. By person he
belonged to Holland and was born in that country. He gained fame in India, by
the Grace of God."
"The author asked the angel for a
quadruplet of the chronogram. In which the day, year and month can be
condensed. When the day, year and month was searched in the Christian era. The
angel said, "The date is twenty-first July (1803)".
The tomb is actually a smaller project
on a much reduced scale and some very complicated and costly details of the Taj
such as the minars and the chhatrisbelow the dome have
been dispensed with. It is much simpler and has no inlay or mosaic.
The tomb stands on a square platform,
3.40 m and 117.68 m side, containing a crypt and a corridor around it. An
octagonal platform, 2.59 m in span is attached to its each corner.
The terrace of the main platform (on
which stands the tomb) is accessible by twin stairways attached to it on the
western side with a platform measuring 6.71x2.64 m. It is essentially a Mughal
design. Slender turrets are attached to the central iwanframe and they are
crowned, on the superstructure, by graceful pinnacles. The tomb is roofed by a
beautiful double-dome, crowned by a magnificent mahapadma (sheath of lotus
petals) and kalash. It reposes
gorgeously amidst pinnacles and chhatris of the turrets and by
any standard it is a perfect superstructure.
The interior is a square chamber of
5.38 m side. Simple squinches have been used in the phase of transition. The
ceiling has a ribs-and-panels soffit and a beautiful apex. The stone cenotaph,
bearing an inscription in English, is placed at the centre of the chamber. The
monument is essentially the art of the Jamuna Chambal region and marks
continuance of the Mughal ideas, feelings and skills in the 19th century.
Source: The Tribune
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