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The largest of old
Delhi's monuments is the Lal Quila, or the Red Fort, the thick
red sandstone walls of which, bulging with turrets and bastions, have
withstood the vagaries of time, and nature. The Lal Quila rises above a
wide dry moat, in the northeast corner of the original city of
Shahjahanabad. Its walls extend upto two kilometre, and vary in height
from 18 metres on the river side to 33 metres on the city side.
Mughal Emperor
Shahjahan started the construction of the massive fort in 1638, and work
was completed in 1648. The fort sports all the obvious trappings,
befitting a vital centre of Mughal government: halls of public and
private audience, domed and arched marble palaces, plush private
apartments, a mosque, and elaborately designed gardens. Even today, the
fort remains an impressive testimony to Mughal grandeur, despite being
attacked by the Persian Emperor Nadir Shah in 1739, and by the British
soldiers, during the war of independence in 1857.
Entrance to the fort
is through the imposing Lahore Gate, which as its name suggests faces
Lahore, now in Pakistan. This gate has a special significance for India,
since the first war of independence, and has been the venue of many an
important speech, delivered by freedom fighters and national leaders of
India.
The main entrance
opens on to the Chatta Chowk, a covered street flanked with arched
cells, that used to house Delhi's most skilful jewellers, carpet makers,
weavers and goldsmiths. This arcade was also known as the Meena Bazaar,
the shopping centre for the ladies of the court. Just beyond the Chhata
Chowk, is the heart of the fort called Naubat Khana, or the Drum House.
Musicians used to play for the emperor from the Naubat Khana, and the
arrival of princes and royalty was heralded from here.
The Fort also houses
the Diwan-i-Amor the Hall of Public Audiences, where the Emperor
would sit and hear complaints of the common folk. His alcove in the wall
was marble-panelled, and was set with precious stones, many of which
were looted, after the Mutiny of 1857. The Diwan-i-Khas is the hall of
private audiences, where the Emperor held private meetings. This hall is
made of marble, and its centre-piece used to be the Peacock Throne,
which was carried away to Iran by Nadir Shah in 1739. Today, the
Diwan-i-Khas is only a pale shadow of its original glory, yet the famous
Persian couplet inscribed on its wall reminds us of its former
magnificence: "If on earth be an eden on bliss, it is this, it is this,
none but this."
The other attractions
enclosed within this monument are the hammams or the Royal Baths, the
Shahi Burj, which used to be Shahjahan's private working area, and the
Moti Masjid or the Pearl Mosque, built by Aurangzeb for his personal
use. The Rang Mahalor the 'Palace of Colors' housed the Emperor's
wives and mistresses. This palace was crowned with gilded turrets,
delicately painted and decorated with an intricate mosaics of mirrors,
and a ceiling overlaid with gold and silver, that was wonderfully
reflected in a central pool in the marble floor.
Even today, the Lal
Quila is an eloquent reminder of the glory of the Mughal era, and its
magnificence simply leaves one awestruck. It is still a calm haven of
peace, which helps one to break away, from the frantic pace of life
outside the walls of the Fort, and transports the visitor to another
realm of existence.
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Qutab Minar, the 239ft sandstone
tower is an Indo-Islamic architectural wonder of ancient India. This
magnificent tower of victory stands in the Qutab Complex located at
Aurabindo Marg, near Mehrauli, 14 Km south of Connaught place in Delhi.
The complex has a number of other important monuments- the gateway built
in 1310, the Alai Darwaza, Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque; one of the oldest
existing mosques in India, the tombs of Altamish, Alauddin Khalji and
Imam Zamin; the 2000 year old 7m high Iron Pillar- the Alai Minar;
another tower 27m high, the Madrasa or School, great screen of Qutbuddin
Aibak in the mosque etc.
King Qutubuddin Aibak of Slave
dynasty laid the foundation of the Qutab Minar in 1199, adjoining the
Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, to proclaim the victory of Islam, after the
defeat of the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi. It was the Afghan, Muhammad
of Ghur who ousted the last Hindu king Prithviraj Chauhan in AD 1192,
but he returned to his country leaving Qutbuddin Aibak as his viceroy.
In 1206, on his masters death, Aibak crowned himself as the Sultan of
Delhi.
The word 'Qutab Minar' means
'axis minaret'. The tower which dominates the countryside for miles
around has five storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony. The tower
was built in three stages. Qutab-ud-Din completed the first storey.
Second, third and the fourth were completed by his successor and son-in
-law, Illtutmish in 1230. The minar was first struck by lightening in AD
1368 and the fallen top storey was replaced by two storeys's, the fourth
and the fifth in 1370 AD by Feroz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-88).
Qutab Minar with a height of
72.5m (239ft), is the highest stone tower in India and has a diametre of
14.32 metres at the base and about 2.75 metres at the top. The first
three storeys are made of red sandstone and are heavily indented with
different styles of fluting, alternately round and angular on the
bottom floor, round on the second and angular on the third. The fourth
and fifth floors are made of marble and sandstone.
The decoration of the Qutab Minar is consistently Islamic in character
from base to top; though the somewhat hybrid style of Firoz Shah's later
additions is noticeably distinct. Numerous inscriptions in Arabic and
Nagari characters are seen as wide encircling bands in the plain fluted
masonry of the Minar. This inscriptions reveal the history of Qutub,
from its commencement in AD1199 to its repairs in between..
There is a door on the northern
side, leading inside the tower to a spiral stairway with 379 steps that
winds its way up to the balcony in each floor and culminating in a
platform at the top. The intricate balconies held together by stalactite
vaulting technique and patterned with honey combing is a special feature
of the minar.
The minar has survived a series
of lightening bolts and earthquakes during the past centuries. After the
first lighting strike way back in AD1368 knocking off the top storey and
two floors replaced instead, by Firoz Shah Tuglaq, inscriptions indicate
that further repairs were done by Sultan Sikander Lodi in 1503. Later in
1803, the cupola on the top was thrown down and the whole pillar was
seriously injured by an earthquake. It was repaired by Major R. Smith of
the Royal Engineers who restored the Qutub Minar in 1829 replacing the
cupola with a Bengal style chhattri. The chhattri was removed in 1848,
by the Viceroy Lord Hardinge as it was criticized as not keeping in with
the architectural style of the rest of the minar. Now it stands to the
left of the entry path and is known as Smith's folly.
Today, this impressively ornate
tower has a slight tilt, but otherwise has worn the centuries remarkably
well. The staircase inside the tower to the balconies has been closed
following an accident in early 1980's when a party of school girls
panicked when the lights failed and a stampede led to a number of
deaths.
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