Archive for the ‘States of North India’ Category

Panipat : The City Historical

It is located 92km North of Delhi on the banks of the river Yamuna. Panipat is renowed for the famous battle that took place here. The roots of the town of Panipat a District Headquarter 34 kilomerters south of Karnal on Sher Shah Suri Marg – goes to antiquity. Excavations of the Panipat Grey Ware a district Kind of pottery at Panipat has revealed the existence of early Aryan settlements at the place. Panipat was one of the five disputed “Prasthas” during the Mahabharata War.Historically speaking, Paniapt has ever been more importance politically as well as administratively than Karnal. In the days gone by, it was described by the French Traveller Jacquemount, as the largest city except Delhi which he saw in North India .There was originally one Tehsil at Panipat alone . The headquarters of the district has remained at Panipat till as late as 1854, when was shifted to Karnal.
The old fort is in shambles today. The walled city of Panipat, which has 15 gates gently from all sites towards the fort. It strategic location has made Panipat the scene of some of the historical battles in Indian History. The Mughals Babar onwards had always had a soft cornor for the city. Under the Patronage of the Muslim rulers, Panipat emerged as a centre of Sufi saints, Muslim scholars, the ologians and Mughal aries. Most of the Historical Building in date neck to their reign.
How To Reach
By Rail: The city Railway station called Panipat Junction is one of the major railway stations on the Delhi Ambala/Jammu Section. It is about 96 Kilometers from Delhi Railway Station, 103 KM from New Delhi Railway Station and 107 KM from Hazrat Nizammudin Railway station of Delhi. It takes approximately from one hour to one and half hours by train to reach Panipat junction.
By Road: It is well connected by National Highway. The historic Grand Trunk Road (GT Road/National Highway 1) passes right through the heart of Panipat from Kolkata to Amritsar (and further beyond the Indian border of Wagah). Regular and direct bus services from Maharana Pratrap Inter-State Bus Terminus (Popularly known as ISBT), New Delhi is available every 15-20 minutes. You can also board the buses to Ambala, Chandigarh, Amritsar etc. to reach Panipat. (Panipat is about 96 Kms from ISBT Delhi).
Grave of Ibrahim Lodhi
It is located near Tehsil Offcie at Panipat. Ibrahim Lodhi fought fiercely with his uncle Babur, in the battle known to us today as the “First Battle of Panipat” and was slained and burried at this place. It was one of Sher Shah Suri’s dying regret that he could never fulfil his intention of erecting a tomb to the fallem monarch. Much later, the British erected a plain plateform over the place, with ashort Urdu Inspriction on it.
Kabuli Bagh
Babur laid the foundation of garden of Kabuli Bagh along with a mosque and a tank after the First battle to commemorate his victory over Ibrahim Lodhi. Some years later when Humayun defeated Salem Shah near Panipat, he added a masonary Platform to it and called it ‘Chabutra” Fateh Mubarak, bearing the inspription 934 Hijri (A.D.1557).These building and the garden still exist under the name of Kabuli Bagh called so after Babur’s wife – Mussammat Kabuli begum.
Kaithal
It is located by the Bidkiar lake, a picturesque man-made lake. In 1767, it passed to the Sikh leader Bhai Desu Singh whose descendants, the Bhais of Khaithal, achieved some prominence on the Indian side of the Sutlej before the British acquired the territory in 1843. The old ruined fort of the Bhais overlooks the lake.
Surajkund
It is located 20 km away from Delhi’s city centre, between the villages of Baharpur and Lakkarpur in Haryana. The village got its name from a splendid water tank that is believed to have been constructed by the Rajput king Suraj Pal in the 11th century. The main attraction of Surajkund is the annual Surajkund Crafts Mela which is held between the 1st and 15th February in the village complex. This fair is organized on the periphery of the water tank and brings together potters, weavers, embroiderers, wood carvers, metal workers, stonesmiths, painters and other craftsmen, across the county.
Devi Temple
A temple dedicated to local deity exists on the bank of a large tank. A Shiva temple believed to have been built by Maratha named Mangal Raghunath who had remained in Panipat after the battle, also exists besides it.
Kala Amb
According to the tradition, the site 8 Kilometers from Panipat and 42 Kilometers from Karnal, where Sadashiv Rao Bhau commanded his maratha forces during the third battle of Panipat was marked, by a black Mango Tree (Kala Amb) which has since disappeared. The dark colour of its foliage was probably 0the origin of the name. The site has a brick Piller with an iron rod and the structure is surrounded by an iron fence.The site is being developed and beautified by a society with Governor, Haryana as its President.
The counrty side is no less famous than the city of Panipat remanets of various buildings and structure alongwith galical and archaeologocal intrest.
Salar Gunj Gate
This gate is situated in the middle of Panipat city historical importance to Nawab Salar Juge, The gate still denoting its archacological interest .
Tomb of Bu-Ali Shah Kalandar
Seven hundared years old this tomb is known as Dargah of Shah Kalandar Khizar Khan son of allau-din Khilji who got this tomb constructed. Bu-Ali-Shah kalander was born in 1190 A.D. His father’s name was Salar Fakirudin.
There are tombs of Hakim Mukaram Khan and Khawaja Altaf Hussain Hali in the premises of this tomb. Hali was a great Urdu poet. A large number of people from all walks of life, Hindu, Muslims, Sikh and Christians visit the tomb of Shah Kalandar and offer prayers here on every Thursday.
Shri Ram Sharnam
Shri Ram Sharnam stands as an emblem of supreme devotion to Shri Ram and Selfless service of humanity in the war : ravaged historical city of Panipat. The grace and dignity of its congregation halls and its atmosphare suffused with pity and devotion attract devotees in large numbers. With ceutres spread all over India and abrod, Shri Ram Sharnam Panipat has the honour of being the only prayer hall inaugrated by Swami Satya Nandji himself in 1960, who described it as devinely inspired. swamiji’s great desciple Maa Shakuntala Devi and Maa Darshi Devi, the present head of Shri Ram Sharnam have worked with great commitment and devotion to develop it into a singular place for the mental, moral and spiritual advancement of its innumerable devotees.
Ajmer is located 132 kms away from Jaipur and 198 kms from Jodhpur. It is connected by road to Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur and Kota. Ajmer is a railway junction on the Delhi-Ahmedabad section of the Western Railway. During the Urs, special buses ply from cities all over India carrying people to Ajmer and back. The ornament of city Ajmer, full of utmost divinity and power, the place where you will the atmosphere full of divine peace and love. Dargah Shariff of Hazrat Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti a must visited place in India, one of the holiest place and utmost divinity for Muslims, dargaah is open for the people from all faiths, every one can come and perform prayers.The great saint is believed to have retreated to his meditation grounds six days prior to his death, he was burried at the same spot. The death aniversary of the great saint, known as the festival of Urs, is celebrated over a period of six days. Devouts from all over the world come here to pay their homage to the great saint.
Under the rule of Humayun the Ajmer Sharif mosque was completed. Empror Akbar was a regular visitor to this religious shrine.
The holy shrine is in the middle of Ajmer city and is spread over a large area. Two massive iron cauldrons (degs) are placed at the entrance of the dargah where devotees put there donations which are later distributed among the poor.
Akbar and Shahjahan had constructed two mosques in the complex and the saint’s tomb, with a marble dome, is in the centre of the second courtyard and is surrounded by a silver platform.
Ajmer situated in the foothills of `Ajaya Meru’ the unconquerable hill, this green paradise was founded in 1100 AD by Aijpal Chauhan. The city was founded by Raja Ajay Pal Chauhan in the 7th Century A.D. and continued to be a major center of the Chauhan power till 1193 A.D.
One of the major city of Rajisthan, Ajmer became domicile to various dynasties, which left behind ineradicable mark of Hindu, Isalamic culture and traditions on the city’s history. It is a holy place for both Hindus and Muslims.
The city is embellished with the monolith of a Sufi saint, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, whose blessings are anxiously received by devotees, The dargha known as the ‘Dargah Sharif’.
Places Of Interest

The Dargah :
It is India’s most significant shrine for Muslims and thousands of devotees of all religions visit the holy place through the year. It is located at the foot of a barren hill. It  is a marble domed mausoleum. Legend has it that the Mughal emperor, Akbar visited the saint in the 16th century in pursuit of a boon for a child, the saint obliged the Emperor. He used to make a pilgrimage to the Dargah from Agra once a year. The shrine is next only to Mecca or Median for the Muslims of south Asia.
Shahjahan’s Mosque :
It is the most outstanding of all the sanctums within the shrine of the Dargah. Inside the premises of Dargah there is a dazzling structure in white marble with a long (30.5m) having low corridor and delicate carvings with trelliswork.
Adhai-din-ka-jhonpra :
Mohhamed Ghauri conquered Ajmer and transfigured the building into a mosque by constructing a seven arched wall in front of the pillared hall in just two-and-half days (adhai-din). An unprecedented structure, this is a masterpiece of Indo-Islamic architecture located just beyond the Dargah. In 1193 A.D.
Taragarh Fort :
A view of the entire city from the fort is unimaginable. Initially the fort was Mugals for the military activity, later it was used as a sanitarium by the British.The remnants of the Taragarh Fort, perched on a hill, can be approached by a exciting one and a half hour steep climb.

The Jantar Mantar was built in 1710 by Raja Jai Singh II of Jaipur (1699-1743) in Delhi. This is an observatory consisting of mason-built astronomical instruments to chart the course of the heavens. Jai Singh, who was a very scholarly king with a very keen interest in astronomy and astrology, had other observatories built too – in Ujjain, Jaipur, Mathura (which no longer survives) and Varanasi.

The first among these was this one in Delhi. The yantras (instruments, which has been distorted to Jantar) are built of brick rubble and plastered with lime. The yantras have evocative names like, samrat yantra, jai prakash, ram yantra and niyati chakra; each of which are used to for various astronomical calculations.

It seems that even when he was far from being a king Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq had dreamed of raising his city, Tughlaqabad. Earlier, Ghiyas-ud-din had been a general (he rose to being the governor of an important province like Punjab, but that’s another story) in Ala-ud-din Khalji’s army. Once while on the road with Ala-ud-din, Ghiyas-ud-din, on spotting this area, mentioned to the sultan what an ideal setting it seemed to provide for a new city. Upon this the king indulgently (and, knowing Ala-ud-din, also perhaps patronizingly) replied, ‘When you become king, build it.’ Knowing full well, as every boss, that while he was around there was not a shadow of a chance of anyone else taking his place. After the death of Ala-ud-din various events conspired to put the general on the throne at last. Then he fulfilled his long-cherished dream.

Romanticism apart, Tughlaqabad also made perfect strategic sense. Those were the times the Mongols were a real menace to society and generally a pain in the neck for all the sultans of the Delhi Sultanate. Almost everything that the sultans built was aimed baffling the Mongols with sheer structural magnificence (read somewhere to duck in and hope for the best).

Tughlaqabad fort, situated as it was on high rocky ground, was ideally located to withstand sieges. Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq helped matters along by putting up formidable walls which, though short on aesthetic value, are excellent examples of solid unimaginative masonry and not the type that any invading army could hope to scale in a hurry. Tughlaq put ramparts towering at heights of anywhere between 9m (30ft) to 15.2m (50ft), and rising up to 29.8m (98ft) around the citadel, between himself and the Mongols.

The fort is half-hexagonal in shape and Ghiyas-ud-din seems to have built defenses around and in it till he was blue in the face. The outer walls are built around the silhouette of the surrounding land and, what with their height and width, add formidably to the natural barriers. They were also well defended. On the north, east and west sides it is protected by trenches that go far down, and in the south a lake acts sentinel.

¤ Humayun- The Mughal Emperor Costructed The Fort

When the second Mughal emperor Humayun decided to make a city of his own he decided on the site of the ancient city of Indraprastha. Humayun was quite a scholar with a fine grasp on such matters and so it is certain that the site was chosen deliberately. When his Sher Shah Suri overthrew him, he destroyed most of Dinpanah (refuge of the faithful) as the city of Humayun was called to make way for his own Dilli Sher Shahi or Shergarh. Incidentally, Humayun was probably the only emperor in history who built a city in Delhi and did not give it his own name – this was typical of Humayun’s rather sophisticated and dreamy character. The Layout of The Massive Colossal.

In plan the Old fort, now simply called Purana Qila by Delhites, is irregularly orbital. The walls of the immense Qila tower down on the road that takes one to Pragati Maidan from the height of 18m, and run on for about 2km. It has three main gates – the Humayun darwaza, Talaqi darwaza and Bara darwaza (which one uses to enter the fort today). The double-storeyed gates are quite huge and are built with red sandstone. of all the gates entry was forbidden from Talaqi (forbidden) darwaza, the northern gate. It is not clear why this was so. Other Attractions of The Fort.
 
Sher Shah Suri and his successor could not complete the city, and when Humayun defeated Sher Shah’s son to take back his city, he did not deal with Dilli Sher shahi as the latter had done with Dinpanah. In fact the Mughal emperor very handsomely completed the city and even used several of the buildings like the Sher Mandal, a rather pretty two-storeyed octagonal building. Humayun used this as his library and, then tripped to his death from its steps.

Built during the reign of Shah Jahan, the Lal Qila (or Red Fort) has been a mute witness to innumerable conspiracies, scandals, battles….. Completed in a span of nine years, it cost about ten million rupees , with about half the sum going towards the building of palaces.

The fort is octagonal in shape, like most Islamic buildings in India. The north of the fort is connected to the smaller Salimgarh fort. The Red Fort is an intimidating structure. It measures 900m by 550m, with its rampart walls covering a perimeter of 2.41km. It towers at a height of 33.5m. On the outside, you can still see the moat that was originally connected with the Yamuna River.

Besides the Lahori Gate, the entry point is the Hathipol (elephant gate), where the king and his visitors would dismount from their elephants. The other major attractions of the Red Fort are the Mumtaz Mahal, the Rang Mahal, the Khas Mahal, the Diwan-i-Am, the Diwan-i-Khas, the Hamam and the Shah Burj.

Every year, on the 15th of August, the National Flag of India is hoisted at the Red Fort by the Prime Minister , celebrating India’s independence.

The Khirkee mosque was built by Khan-i-jahan Junan Shah the prime minister of Feroze Shah Tughlaq in 1380. The mosque gets its name from its exquisite windows or khirkees.

Gordon Risley Hearn in his The Seven Cities of Delhi (1906) after describing the mosque as ‘a very fine one’ says:
In plan it is square and within the encircling wall there is a colonnade; but the interior, instead of being left open, as other mosques of the time were, has arcades in the shape of a cross; four courts are thus left open… the windows in the outer walls are closed by heavy sand stone grilles… (the) mosque is well worthy of inspection…

The Great Interior Work

The inner courtyards, which attracted the attention of Hearn, are indeed very fascinating for an architecture and history student. Two covered passages go across it and intersect each other, bang in the middle, at right angles and so the courtyard is divided into four squares. The roof is supported by massive monolithic columns, which were typical of this period. The gateways and prayer niche are flanked by sloping towers.

Near the Red Fort about 500m away is the Jama masjid, the biggest mosque in India. It was begun by Shah Jahan in 1650 and completed six years later and the whole cost about a million rupees. It is hard to imagine a building more suited to evoking the awe of the majesty of Allah in man. The mosque stands on a rocky elevation. Its huge gateway looks down at you like fastidious connoisseur from an immense platform which has steps that lead up to it.

Constructed in Sandstone and white marble, Jama Masjid can be entered from both the directions – North and the South Gates. The eastern gateway is supposed to remain open in Friday and was used by the emperor himself. Jama Masjid is cluttered by devotees who offer namaz, especially during Muslim Festival. For those who don’t belong to non – Muslim community, a specified time is mentioned to enter the mosque.

Archives

Designed by Gadgets, In collaboration with  Health Advisor, web hosting, and Webhosting Philippines .