Mandu the “City of Joy,” is a celebration in stone of life and joy. Strategically located on an inaccessible spur of the Malwa plateau, with close proximity to military and trade routes, Mandu was an excellent natural garrison. But it was the natural beauty and delightful, mild climate that led to its accelerated development. Scholars, crafts, music, dance and arts all flourished in one of the most important cities of medieval India. Monuments built in the 14th and 15th centuries are magnificent expressions of Afghan, Persian and Tughlaq architecture and Hindu-Muslim synthesis in building art which was perfected in later Moghul buildings. It is no wonder that Hoshang Shah’s Tomb provided inspiration for the master builders of the Taj Mahal centuries later.