Metcalfe's follies (part II)

Here's my evidence for why Metcalfe must have been a peculiar fellow. (If living in a tomb is not enough evidence already.)

Back in the early 1800s, it was all the rage in England to construct follies in one's garden. Fake ruins, making it look like you had a piece of ancient Greece on your property was soooo cool.
It seems Thomas Metcalfe agreed. And he added follies to the design of his garden at Dilkusha.
A cracked piece of carving here next to the roses. An over turned pillar cap there beside the jasmine tree.
A ziggurat at the end of the lane.

What!?

Seriously, who needs a ziggurat?!
I can just imagine him giving directions to some friends invited to an evening lawn party at Dilkusha, "Turn right at the ziggurat, it's the end of my driveway."

He was surrounded by the real stuff. He was living in the shadow of this, the Qutb Minar!
Why in the world did he think he needed to build more? To build fake stuff?
I think that is very peculiar, Sir Metcalfe.

Quli's tomb (part I)

Quli Khan was Adham Khan's brother. But other than being built to honor him, the fascination of this tomb has nothing to do with Quli.
For this place has three different names and many different stories.

The first name is Quli Khan's tomb, 'cause, ya, it is.
But no one knows it by that name. I am pretty sure, because as we walked all over trying to find it, I asked the people for Quli's tomb and got nothin' but blank stares.

What it is known as is the Metcalfe House.
Named after British official, Thomas Metcalfe, who bought the tomb in the 1830s from Quli's family and turned it into a summer residence for himself and later his brother, Charles.

I wouldn't think that living in a three hundred year old tomb would have been very comfortable, but it seems Thomas Metcalfe tried to make some improvements around the property.

And then he renamed the place 'Dilkusha' because it made his heart happy.

I think Sir Metcalfe must have been a peculiar man.

To be continued...