Delhi Sights - Purana Qila

Since I had time on my hands I decided to visit Purana Qila, popularly known as Pandavon ka Qila, presumed to be the site where the city of Indraprastha of the Mahabharata stood. 

In 1533, Mughal Emperor Humayun built a city on this elevated mound of earth and named it Dinepanah. However Sher Shah Sur defeated Humayun and sent him fleeing for a decade and a half. 

Sher Shah demolished Humayuns city and remodeled it and what stands today have been built by Sher Shah. Humayun returned in 1556 and defeated Sher Shah's son and lived in the Purana Qila till he died here.

The Qila is right next to the Delhi Zoo and since it was Women's Day, there was no entry fee. To the left before the Bada Darwaza, a trail takes you to a water body, a moat in its better days fed by the Yamuna, now used for more tranquil purposes such as boating. It has a nice walk around it too but today my focus was the Qila.

And no guides either, owing to a serious lack of demand I guess. As we entered the fort it was pleasing to see really well kept lawns, beautifully landscaped gardens, tall trees. Perfect for a peaceful outing. There were security guards guarding each of the ruins. Was interesting knowing that we were walking the land that was perhaps once walked on by the Pandavas, Humayun, Sher Shah. Hmmm.

Suresh's interest in ruins has improved since yesterday and we went in through what was known as the Bada Darwaza. It's the huge main gate of the fort. We walked right along the walls which now houses various offices, until we got to the Humayun Darwaza, another massive gate. There were steps in a semi circular pattern and I figured this must be where they did the sound and light show.

 A little towards the middle of the gardens we saw this beautiful building, two storeyed, which is the place where Humayun fell and died while climbing down the stairs they say (in an opium haze say some who knows such details).  However the structure, good looking one, is called Sher Mandal. In fact even the gate that's called Humayun Darwaza was built by Sher Shah they say. Sher Shah Sur if we remember, was the one who unseated Humayun from Delhi, and had him on the run for 15 years. Sher Shah did some good work in Delhi when he ruled the city and this fort is more him than the Mughals.

To the right are excavated remains, a hammam or a bathing place, and a baoli or well. And then, there is the stunning Kila-e-Kuhna mosque or Sher Shah's mosque, which is brilliant in looks, architecture, design. Simply stunning. 

From there we walked to the other corner where there was this Talaqi Darwaza, again great in scale. Many young lovers were around, finding quiet places, young families, girls who got friends to make reels while they posed in various ways. Delhi's wide open spaces are brilliant to just get a book and read and laze around. A whiff of a fragrant plant reminded us of the good life of the Kings and Emperors of those days. 

Fully satisfied after an hour of walking around the Purana Qila, which by the way boasts of one of the better sound and light shows (now not functional), I walked out feeling quite satisfied.

Thought for the Day - Smile Without a Reason, It Makes You a Kinder Person

Taking my experiment of smiling for no reason (more as a way to being my best friend) further, I realised a couple of things - that it needs practice and it does instantly change your outlook to life for the better. 

For the first, I realise that I stop smiling for no reason if I am not aware. So I started practicing it on my walk - just smiling to myself. I think I'll soon get much better at it. 

For the second, I realised that the stretching of the lips automatically seems to turn the tap of kindness, compassion and love on. It's almost mechanical. All I do is stretch my lips and I become kinder to myself, more compassionate to myself and more loving to myself.

 And I am sure, to others too.

So, exercise those lips. Stretch them and you'll see some difference.

Delhi Sights - Red Fort or Lal Qila

The Red Fort or Lal Qila is where the Prime Minister addresses the nation every Independence Day. Its an imposing red sandstone structure of massive scale, it's Lahori gate or the main gate aligned directly with Chandni Chowk outside, across a large ground. Considering the history attached to Red Fort and Delhi, I was quite curious to know more about it and went there with Suresh. Tickets are 50 bucks for Indians. Guide came at 999. Good knowledge and a ton of bias. He has a PhD, taught history at JNU, starred in 'Eat, Pray, Love.'

The Red Fort was commissioned in 1639 by Mughal emperor Shahjahan (one of the great builders, the one who commissioned the Taj Mahal) who had moved the capital back to Delhi from Agra where his father Akbar had set up capital. This new capital, old Delhi as it is known now, was called Shahjahanabad and was the place from where Shahjahan ruled over most of India and after him, his son Aurangzeb. 

The Red Fort was designed by the same architect who designed Taj Mahal, Ustad Ahmad Lahori (the main gate is named after him as Lahori gate). Some accounts say that its an extension of the Salimgarh fort built by Salim Shah Sur son of Sher Shah Sur - a contemporary of Humayun who deposed Humayun from Delhi for a decade and a half from 1540-55 . The Red Fort is an asymmetrical, white and red fort, built on the banks of the Yamuna. It has both Mughal and Indian styles.

Some history. After Shahjahan passed away in prison in the Agra Fort in 1666 (imprisoned by Aurangzeb), and thereafter Aurangzeb who passed away in 1707, the Mughal empire weakened. Jalandhar Shah who succeeded him in 1712 was murdered in a year and Farrukhsiyar was made the emperor. 

Sensing opportunity, Nadir Shah of Persia attacked the Red Fort in 1739, which was under Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah Rangila. Nadir Shah defeated the mighty Mughal army, massacred commoners, set the city ablaze in three weeks of mayhem, took away the peacock throne and the Koh i Noor and many valuable diamonds and jewels on elephants and camels and horses. He stripped jewels and art work from the buildings in the fort.

In 1752 the Maratha Confederacy promised protection to the Mughal throne. In 1758 they successfully fended off the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Durrani (Ahmad Khan Abdali who served with Nadir Shah of Persia and later became the founder of modern day Afghanistan) in 1758 at Panipat. To fund their war against Durrani who came at Delhi again and again, they stripped the silver off the ceiling of the Diwan e Khas. In 1761 the Marathas lost the third battle of Panipat to Durrani, considered to be the biggest battle of the 18th century.

However in 1771, under Mahadaji Shinde, the Marathas recaptured the Red Fort from the Rohilla Afghans at the behest of the exiled Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, and placed him on the throne. Shah Alam II would have an interesting career after that as in in 1764 the Jats conquered Red Fort and took away the Mughal throne while retreating after taking their pound of flesh (it's now sitting in the palace at Deeg, Rajasthan). in 1783 the Sikh misls or Confederacy captured Red Fort, and after negotiating a tribute withdrew in favour of emperor, Shah Alam II, on the condition that 7 gurudwaras would be built including Sis Ganj Sahib (Shrine of the Severed Head) at Chandni Chowk. The Sis Ganj Sahib is a gurudwara built on the site where the ninth Sikh guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was beheaded on the orders of Aurangzeb for refusing to convert to Islam and for protesting against the persecution of Kashmiri Pandits. It is a magnificent structure in Chandni Chowk which has the relics of that time. A tree and a well.

Shah Alam II rode his luck again when Ghulam Kadir, a Rohilla Afghan (grandson of Najib Ul Dawlah, who was instrumental in the victory of the Afghans against Marathas in the third battle of Panipat)   captured Red Fort in 1788 and imprisoned Shah Alam. Mahadaji Shinde of the Maratha Confederacy came to the rescue again, killed Kadir and reinstated Shah Alam, once again This time the Maratha flag flew over the Red Fort for a little over a decade. 

From 1803-1805 the Anglo- Maratha wars were waged, which the British ultimately won. The British put a puppet Mughal regime and kept a resident to control it. Things went well for the British until 1857, when the uprising against the British began as the Sepoy Mutiny. The Mutiny took the British by surprise and in retribution they tried and exiled Bahadur Shah Zafar, the Mughal emperor under whose banner the revolt was organised. The British took control over the Red Fort, demolished 80 percent of the structures and used it as an army base. This continued until India got independence on August 15, 1947. It was from here that Jawaharlal Nehru gave his first speech.

The main gate as with all forts is not straight and turns at a 90 degree turn. Massive gates and arches lead to what now is a marketplace in a beautifully decorated corridor. On the other side of it we came into a large open space within the fort and instantly to the left one can recognise British architecture - after the 1857 Sepoy mutiny the British apparently built their own for their army. 

The lawns and gardens are green and beautiful though. More British buildings which were earlier hosting the garrison have now been converted into museums etc. 

Next comes the Naubat Khana where drums would be played ceremonially. We did a bit of Bijapur like whispering in the Naubat Ghar walls and it worked. Onwards to the Diwan e Aam where the peacock throne once sat before Nadir Shah took it away to Persia. Behind it was the Rang Mahal which was used for entertainment (over for men and another for women) and then the Diwan e Khaas, where the emperor met important people, a structure built in marble. To the left of Diwan e Khas lay the emperors quarters and the famous Moti masjid built by Aurangzeb.

Further to the left were the harems, two structures called Sawan and Badhon, with water flowing between them and so on.  By now we were tired and stopped at a canteen and drank some lassi, ate some cake. 

We then saw the gate connecting Red Fort to the Salimgarh fort which is now used as a jail apparently. Then a stepwell under which our guide said were cells where they imprisoned INA authorities (who were tried here).

It boggles my mind to think of the changes the Red Fort has seen -  Mughals, British, Marathas, Sikhs, Jats, Rohillas and more.That  it has seen amazing days is quite evident despite the destruction. One can only imagine the abundance, the riches of those times. And one just wonders how it would be if those walls could talk.

Delhi Sights - Rajghat

It's quite stunning. The beautifully manicured lawns, flowers, minimalistic design, the perfectly landscaped area, and the peace that envelops the entire area.

We walked in, took our shoes off, and went to pay respects to India's biggest hero, at the place where he was cremated after being shot by Nathuram Godse on January 31, 1948. 10 lakh people joined the funeral procession. A simple black marble platform with the words Hey Ram on it, an eternal flame on one end. Deep respect for the great soul and we moved on to view the vistas around. 

The area is full of memorials - Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Charan Singh, Vajpayee and so on. Very peaceful.

Delhi Sights - Lotus Temple

Our good friend Ali Mumtaz from our Civil Engineering days was a Bahai. In fact i vaguely remember him and his family (they were from Port Blair) going to Delhi for the inauguration of the Lotus Temple on January 1, 1987. Ali would tell us that the Bahai Faith took the best of all religions, did not discriminate and stood for unity of all people. Or that's what i remember.

So it was good to visit the Lotus Temple today and remember Ali. It's in the middle of the city, next to the Kalkaji mandir and is one of the sights on Delhi to see. The Lotus shaped temple stands in the middle of well manicured lawns, trees, flowering plants in a vast area and presents an awesome sight.

 

Lots of visitors everyday so queues start at the security check. A fair bit of a walk and we turned towards the temple. Closer to the temple, we took off our shoes, put them in bags provided by them, handed them over, and walked into the temple. It's a huge hall, 34 m high, with marble topped benches (for 1300 people) to sit on and meditate for as long as you please in silence. There are no idols, no rituals, no lectures. Just silence. 

The building, designed by Iranian Architect Fariborz Sahba, has 27 free standing marble clad petals in clusters of 3 to form 9 sides. It's foundation stone was laid in 1979 and it was inaugurated in 1987. 8000 Bahais attended, 4000 from other countries and 4000 from India. Ali and family must have been part of that. 

The Bahai Faith was begun by Bahaullah (1817-1892) of Iran, inspired by the prophecy of the Bab who said that a prophet would appear (the Bab was executed for heresy). Bahaullah claimed he was the Prophet in 1963 and founded the Faith which now has 5 million followers. It is run by a Universal House of Justice which is located in Israel. Much like Ali told me, the Faith stands for unity of people and a united world order. 

There were people from all over, many foreigners among them. We were sent in batches, well organised by a lady who spoke in English and a distracted gent who spoke in Hindi. No entry fee, no pictures allowed inside the hall. I sat and meditated for a while (on my favourite topic - world peace) and when i opened my eyes, realised that most people in my group had left. Suresh and I collected our shoes and made our way back to the car, stopping enroute to drink some cool coconut water. This one is for you Ali bhai.

Oh, and Ali Mumtaz of Port Blair was a handsome young lad who was into things like going to the gym even in those days which got him a strong body. He was the best singer in our batch singing songs like 'Aate jaate khubsurat awara sadkon pe', was of a temperamental nature and got easily riled, played handball for the University and was a hit with the girls. He has gone back to the Andamans, where he hosted us once during our college days, and is a senior engineer in the government there. In most of extreme ennui, we would sit in the dark recesses of our canteen and sing our blues away loudly. More on Ali later.

Thought for the Day - Connect with Yourself, Smile

What do you do when you want to connect with someone? Guess we start with a smile right? I realised that's what i needed to do to connect with myself. 

So this morning at the park i decided to smile at myself for no reason. Just strech my lips - which automatically made my eyes relax and be more kind - which automatically opened a window to myself - and I was away. I liked having that smile in my eyes. Felt connected for sure. Good practice I felt. 

Do this more often i told myself. Smile, be kind to yourself, be friends with yourself. High time!

Delhi University - A Whirlwind Tour

So there we were at the Vishwavidyalaya Metro, the path to the campus, the colleges on the North Campus which has colleges such as Hindu College, St Stephen's, Miranda House, SRCC, Hansraj, Kirorimal and a whole bunch. 

The walk from the college to the PG, the coffee shops we hear about, the bakery, the Kamala Nagar shopping area where the kids go every other day to eat or buy stuff, the paani Puri bhaiyya, the chai and sutta joint.

Hearing about these places was one thing, seeing them another. The heart tugs. Gets protective. But one must allow them to fly, to strengthen their wings. And I fall back again and listen to the many stories and the excitement around it.