Archive for the ‘Delhi’ Category
May 28th, 2010 | 
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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.
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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.
If it were not for the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms of 1919, the Parliament House may not have been built. It’s corny how the building most indispensable to modern Indian democracy came up as an afterthought. Earlier called the Circular House, it was added to the layout at a later stage following the reforms which created a large Legislative Assembly.
This edifice is the brainchild of Herbert Baker and was much criticized in comparison with Lutyens creations. An article by Robert Byron in Architectural Review, January 1931describes it thus: “The Council Chamber has been Sir Herbert’s unhappiest venture. Its effect from a distance has been described. It resembles a Spanish bull-ring, lying like a mill-wheel dropped accidentally on its side.”
The Massive Structure
To the northwest of Vijay Chowk, this huge circular, colonnaded building comprises three semicircular chambers for the Legislatures and a Central Library crowned by a 27.4m high dome. It is 173m in diameter and covers 2.02 hectares in area, with colonnaded verandahs enclosing the entire circumference. The three semi-circular areas were designed for the Chamber of Princes, the Council of State and the Legislative Assembly. Today they house the chambers of the Lok Sabha (House of the People), Rajya Sabha (Upper House) and the library. A verandah with 144 columns surrounds the three chambers. The boundary wall has blocks of sandstone carved in geometrical patterns that echo the Mughal jalis.
An entry pass to the library can be obtained from the Visitor’s reception on Raisina Road by providing a letter of introduction from a Member of Parliament. The library working hours are from 1000-1800. To obtain a visitor’s pass to Sansad Bhawan, Indian nationals should apply to the Parliament Secretariat. Foreign nationals should apply through their embassies or high commissions.
Lotus Temple – a modern of Delhi is one such temple that facilitates the Bhai’s Faith of Worship. The Baha’i House of Worship is dedicated to the oneness of all religions and mankind. Subsidiary buildings that afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to the poor, shelter to the wayfarer, solace to the bereaved and education to the ignorant will abound around the House of Worship.
There is no clergy in the Baha’i Faith and its service consists of prayers and readings of selections from Baha’i scriptures, and religious texts of the other faiths of the world.
The Bahai’s Faith
The Baha’is lay great emphasis on prayer and meditation. These, they believe are important instruments for the progress of the human soul, both in this world and the next. The Baha’is pray to one God, the Creator of the Universe.
The act of praying is described as ‘Conversation with God’.Meditation is perceived as the ‘Key for opening the doors of mysteries’. In that state, man withdraws himself from all outside objects and immerses himself in the ocean of spiritual life.
In the Baha’i Holy Writings, there are prayers for all occasions. Prayers can be offered individually or collectively. Great importance is given to prayers as is revealed in all the Scriptures.
However, the Baha’i Writings specify that the mere act of praying is not sufficient. The inspiration drawn from one’s prayers must be translated into action that promotes the well being of humanity.