Qutub Minar
Qutab-ud-din Aibak, the first Muslim ruler of Delhi,
commenced the construction of the Qutab Minar in 1200
AD, but could only finish the basement. His successor,
Iltutmush, added three more storeys, and in 1368, Firoz
Shah Tughlak constructed the fifth and the last storey.
The development of architectural styles from Aibak to
Tughlak are quite evident in the minar. The relief work
and even the materials used for construction differ.
The 238 feet Qutab Minar is 47 feet at the base and
tapers to nine feet at the apex. The tower is ornamented
by bands of inscriptions and by four projecting balconies
supported by elaborately decorated brackets.
Even in ruin, the Quwwat Ui Islam (Light of Islam)
Mosque in the Qutab complex is one of the most magnificent
in the world. Its construction was started by Qutab-ud-din
Aibak in 1193 and the mosque was completed in 1197.
additions were made to the building by Iltutmush in
1230 and Alla-ud-din Khilji in 1315.
The main mosque comprises of an inner and outer courtyard,
of which the inner is surrouded by an exquisite collonade,
the pillars of which are made of richly decorated shafts.
Most of these shafts are from the 27 Hindu temples which
were plundered to construct the mosque. It is, therefore,
not surprising that the Muslim mosque has typical Hindu
ornamentation.
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Red Fort :-
Red Fort is one of the most magnificent
palaces in the world. India's history is also closely
linked with this fort. It was frorth here ht the British
deposed the last Mughal ruler, Bhadur Shah Zafar, marking
the end of the three century long Mughal rule. It was
also fromits ramparts that the first prime. Minister
of India, pandit Jawharlal Nehru, announced to the nation
that India was free form colonial rule.
The mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, after ruling from Agra
for eleven years, decided to shift to Delhi and laid
the foundation stone of the Red Fort in 1618. For its
inauguration in 1647, the main halls of the palace were
draped in rich tapestry and covered with silk from china
and velvet from Turkey. With a circumference of almost
one and a half miles, the fort is an irregular octagon
and has two entrances, the Lahore and Delhi Gates.
Form the Lahore Gate, a visitor has access to the Chatta
Chowk (vaulted arcade ) which as once a royal market
and housed court jewelers, miniature painters carpet
manufacturers, workers in enamel, silk weavers and families
of specialized craftsmen. The road from the royal market
leads to the Nawabarkhana (band house) where the royal
band played five times a day. The band house also marks
the entry into the main palace and all visitors, except
royalty had to dismount here.
The Diwani-I-Am is the Red Fort's hall of public audience.
Built of sandstone covered with shell plaster polished
to look like ivory, the 80 x 40 feet hall is sub-divided
by columns. The Mughal emperors would hold court here
and meet dignitaries and foreign emissaries. The most
imposing feature of the Diwqani-I-Am is the alcove in
the back wall where the emperor sat in state on a richly
carved and inlaid marble platform. In the recess behind
the platform are fine examples of Italian pietra-dura
work.
Residence of the senior queens, the Rang Mahal (hall
of colours ) has a central hall surrounded by six apartments.
The apartments are assured privacy by intricately carved
screens which do not hinder the free flow of fresh air
and light. The stream of paradise flows through the
main hall, and is marked in the centre by a huge lotus
shaped marble basin with an ivory fountain.
Constructed by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1662 as his private
mosque Moti Masjid (pearl mosque) is built with highly
polished marble. The mosque is a good example of the
Mughal fetish for symmetry with cusped arches, sinuous
decorative designs, carved cornices and bulbous domes.
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Purana Quila
Covering a circuit of about a mile, the walls of the
fort have three gates and are surrounded by a mat fed
by the river Yamuna.
The wall was built by Humayun while the buildings in
the fort are attributed to Sher Shar. The notable buildings
that have survived in the fort are the Sher Mandal and
the Quila-I-kholina Mosque. Sher Mandal is a two storeyed
octagonal tower which was used by Humayun as his library.
The mosque, built around 1541-42, is a landmark in Indo
Islamic architecture.
The architect has shown skill by enriching each part
with moulding, bracketed openings, marble inlay, carving
and other establishments. A variety of materials have
also been used to construct the small mosque (168 x
44 feet). The entrance arch is of marble, the spandrels
of red sandstone studded with marble bossed, the columns
and pilasters of black and white marble.
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Under patronage from the emperor,
he set on himself the task of correcting the existing
astronomical tables and updating the almanac with
more reliable instruments. Delhi's Jantar Mantar
is the first of the five observatories that he built
with large masonary instruments. |
At first sight, the Jantar Mantar appears like a gallery
of modern art. It is, however, an observatory. Sawai
Jia Singh II of Jaipur (1699-1743), a keen astronomer
and a noble in the Mughal court, was dissatisfied by
the errors of brass and metal astronomical instruments.
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India Gate
Located on Rajpath, the road which leads to the magnificent
Rashtrapati Bhawan, the gate is 160 feet high with an
arch of 138 feet.
Built as a memorial to commemorate the 70,000 India
soldiers killed in World War I, India Gate was designed
by Sir Edwin Lutyens and completed in 1931.Built from
sandstone, the arch also houses the Eternal Flame, a
gesture in memory of the Indian soldiers who laid their
lives in the 1971 war with Pakistan.
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