The Majestic Glory of Old Fort, D

                                        The Majestic Glory of Old Fort, Delhi

A brief and an in- depth survey of historical and archaeological significance of Purana Qila, one of the most ancient forts of Delhi

The Purana Qila (fig.1) is the earliest walled Mughal fort of Delhi, as it symbolizes the site of the fort constructed by the Pandavas in their legendary city of Indraprastha. Thereafter Humayun chose it as a site of Dinpanah (fig.2) and successive developments were made by Sher Shah Suri after he had driven his rival into exile in Persia. Although there is a lack of crucial evidence, archaeological finds have been discovered here dating back to the 3^rd century BC, and an ancient village, Inderpat (fig.2), remained here until the early 20^th century. The fort’s spectacular light and sound show Ishq-e-Dilli(fig.3), similar to real life multimedia son-et lumiere with India’s first permanent projection art installation describes the history of the fort beginning with 11^th century reign of Prithviraj Chauhan upto the several cities of Delhi till the modern times. As my family and I set out for an educational trip to this Mughal -era monument, we were welcomed by its lush green surroundings on all sides. As one enters this architectural wonder, one is immediately surrounded by the mystery, intrigue and imposing beauty of the place which has survived for almost five centuries. The fort has three main entrances, the Bada Darwaza (fig.3) which stands towards west and is used as an entrance to the fort till today. The Southern Gate is known as the Humayun Gate (fig.4) 
 and the third gate is recognized as Talaqi Gate or the forbidden gate (fig.5).

All three gates are double storied structures composed of sandstone and are enclosed by two large semicircular towers embellished with colored marble designs and blue tile work. There are also beautifully carved balconies (fig.6), chattris and pavilions at the North and South Gates of the Purana Qila which beautify its exterior walls. The whole architectural form and design of the Old Fort is a blend of Indian and Muslim architectural elements- complete with Rajputana jharokhas, Islamic crescent motifs, and magnificent minarets. Most of the older structures have been destroyed over time, but the mosque Qila-e-Kuhna (fig.7) , erected by Sher Shah Suri in 1540 is among the few buildings that have survived the ravages of time. It is made of quartzite, red sandstone and makrana marble. It is a single-aisled mosque with five entrances and horseshoe arches.  The delicately carved patterns on its walls and sides of doorways are excerpts from the Quran reflecting the bygone glory of the Mughal era. The stars and moon design typical to Persian architecture can also be found here. The interior of the mosque (fig.8) is adorned with marbles in shades of red, white, blue and green colors along with symbolic geometrical moon and stars design. Our last stop was Bada Darwaza where we took countless memorable photographs deeply impressed by the history and opulence of this grand architectural marvel and a renewed respect for symbols of Indian history and culture. Before departing we visited the ASI’s monument museum of ancient artifacts (fig.9) near Bada Darwaza.

References:

1.     www.makemytrip.com

2.     DK Eyewitness Travel Top Ten Delhi Guide

3.     Article, Recreating history, the hi-tech way by HT Correspondent

Article on the significance of buildings and design motifs in the Red Fort Complex, Delhi

The Red Fort and its Artistic Dimensions

A planned trip to the 16^th century historical Fort in Old Delhi is a careful inspection of its meticulous details and architectural elements

The Red Fort or “Lal Qila” as it is known widely today for its medieval Indo-Islamic architecture, history, glory and grandeur lies in the heart of Shajhanabad or Old Delhi. And is a central attraction for not only many Indian but also foreign tourists. Apart from its formidable walls measuring ….meters, there are many lesser known and significant buildings in the entire Red Fort Complex, Delhi made of red-pink buff sandstone and white marble notable for their intricate and artistic decoration consisting chiefly of floral, geometric, calligraphic and arabesque flowing designs like vases, plants, flowers and animal motifs in some instances. Last year in mid-October, 2015 as a part of our Persian Language class in National Museum Institute, the students of Persian Language planned an educational expedition to the Red Fort under the guidance of their Late Persian faculty Mr. Majid Ahmady who worked in Iran Culture House, Delhi. We went to Red Fort in a private bus in afternoon at 2’o’clock from National Museum and reached there at about 3’o’clock. Travelling in a good bus is an altogether a different and breathtaking experience as the big windows provide beautiful glimpses and views of landscapes, topography and cultural scenario of any city.   Although there are numerous buildings in the entire Red Fort Complex which are replete with exquisite floral and arabesque designs in white marble, red sandstone and Pietra-Dura inlay work like Naqqar Khana or The Drum House, Diwan-e-Aam or The Hall of Public Audience and Diwan-e-Khas or The Hall of Private Audience. There are some other specific buildings and their delicate ornamental parts like Khas Mahal Pavillion, , an ornate side wall of Naqqar Khana which I caught my eye as a keen photographer. Some specific and magnificent parts of the Red Fort are Naubat Khana or Naqqar Khana (Drum House),Shahi Burj(Emperor’s Tower) and an ornamental designs in Diwan-e-Khas, Red Fort.

The Naubat Khana, or Naqqar Khana, which literally means the drum house is situated at the entrance between the outer and inner court at the Red Fort in Delhi. The dimensions of the vaulted arcade of the Chhatta Chowk are 540 x 360 feet, and ends in the centre of the outer court.  The Naubat Khana lies in the east wall of the court which was connected to the side arcades. Musicians from the Naubat Khana would announce the arrival of the emperor and other dignitaries at the hall of public audience or Diwan-i-Am. Music was also played five times a day at selective hours. Often mostly Indian royal palaces have a drum house at the entrance. The popular name of the gate, Hathiyan pol or "elephant gate," stems from the tradition that everyone except princes of the royal blood had to dismount from their elephants at this point, before entering further into the inner fort complex. The ground plan is a rectangular structure consisting of three large stories. The construction material is red sandstone; the surface is clad in white chunam plaster. The elegantly carved floral designs on its red sandstone walls are believed to have been originally painted with gold.

 

Close-up Detail of a ornate wall inside Naubat Khana consisting of Koranic calligraphy bands, twisting vines and scrolls

Image Courtesy: Personal Collection

The interior  was colorfully painted of which some part survives now. An ornate wall (Fig.1) facing left has beautifully carved Koranic inscriptions in Arabic of made up of sandstone along with twisting vines and scrolls.

One of the bronze door knobs of Khas Mahal Pavillion showing a front view of elephant’s head and a rider atop it, Red Fort, Delhi

                                                   Image Courtesy: Personal Collection

                                                                              

                    A broken part of intricately carved marble screen in Diwan e Khas, Red Fort, Delhi

 Image Courtesy: Personal Collection

The Khas Mahal was the private seat of Mughal Emperor in Delhi. This building is located inside the Red Fort in Diwan-e-Khas, which is a large fort complex located inside the city.. Its interior is decorated with carved white marble painted with colorful floral decorations. The ceiling was also partially gilded. There is a unique elephant-head motif(Fig.2)  present on one of the big bronze door knob of the Khas Mahal Pavillion which shows a rider atop it. This motif looks typically Indian in style and design conception. In the background also there are beautiful foliage designs carved in bronze. It also has delicately carved and perforated marble screens (Fig.3)with intricate floral vase-like designs, one of them with the scale of justice (Mizan-i-adal). And others are now partly damaged due to the onslaughts of invaders like Persian ruler Nadir Shah and British Army.

                                                                                  

                                                                   

The Best Animal Friends

                                                The Cats and Nadia

Since childhood Nadia is a poetess, singer, painter and a great animal lover! Her fascination towards nature’s bounty, its sounds and spirit and the wonderful creatures was deep.  From observing and loving birds, squirrels, monkeys, rabbits, peacocks and reading about them, her most favorite animals as pets were cats and dogs! Although she never bought and adopted any favorite high breed pet animal or bird, because she didn’t like caging them and not many people in her family approve of rearing them. But there were many instances she remembered well, having company and experiences of stray cats and dogs living outside her house.

                                                                     

                                              

                                     Image Courtesy: http://leahsthoughts.com/the-cats-in-the-cradle/

Her love for cats began when she was five years old and living in Noida, Delhi with her family. It was a terrible and biting cold winter night of December in Delhi, as her whole family sat watching television at 8pm together in her parent’s room wrapped in their woolens and blankets. Shortly when they had finished the dinner, a cat came meowing stealthily and wanted food and shelter. Understanding its state and plight it was allowed inside their room and they gave it a warm place to sit and later fed it milk and small chicken pieces. Nadia remembered how it sat down on mat in front weakly looking at television! Her father Mr. Zaidi gently stroked it so as to make it comfortable and she was of friendly nature. After that incident, it started frequenting their house while Nadia would playfully and generously feed it milk. Initially, she felt scared but by cat’s friendly and soft behavior, both slowly grew close and became good friends. As a kid, she used to read story books, comics about fairies, demons and moral stories of animals like Panchatantra and Aesop fables often like humans in a jungle setting. One of her favorite story magazine is Champak totally about animals and humans, which is colorful, funny and interesting. It also gives us moralistic message about life. From that magazine she chose a name for this cat and named her ‘Masha’, sounding like billi mousi or Aunt Cat in Hindi, as in Hindi nursery rhymes, simply so lovable!

Masha was a female stray cat of simple grayish green color with black marks of normal size and a pretty tail. And greenish eyes which sparkled at night, but she wasn’t dangerous. Throughout the day Nadia loved to stroke it while drinking milk, playing and snuggling anywhere. Whenever she called it lovingly, it would come gently raising its tail and would sit with her as long as they could. It was not a coward and troublesome creature unlike other cats. Slowly, it became part of their daily lives and Nadia would even kiss and pat its back generously. Though, Mr. Zaidi warned her to be careful so that it doesn’t get angry and irritated. And she made a mistake one day!  During those days all people of her locality kept dogs as their pets having nice names like Goldie, Hector and Bozo and would take them out for morning and evening walks. Their breeds were high mostly Pomeranian, Labrador and Golden retriever, Sheep and Bull Dogs. Seeing them, Nadia also nurtured this desire of taking her pet out for a walk with strap, collar and handle. But her parents avoided pets due to maintaining hygiene and cleanliness. 

                                                                    

                                                  Image Courtesy: https://www.fotolia.com/cat2/40025045?k=milk

Feeling lucky to have Masha as her pet cat then, she stupidly tried to tie a plastic rope around its neck so as to take it out for a walk. Not realizing it was a stray, she was effortlessly suffocating it when it bit her hand, thank God not brutally, but still an injury of red mark of her teeth occurred on her palm! Immediately, she was rushed to the hospital receiving injection and anti rabies vaccines against cats, dogs and monkeys. Her wound was bandaged and she grew alright within a few days. But now Nadia stayed away from Masha cat due to its mood and danger. Meanwhile, it had given birth to few kittens but didn’t leave their house. It had now become a menace to handle the cat and its kittens troubling everyone in the kitchen for food all the time. Slowly, they were driven out while growing up and Masha died later. After that Nadia never found such a good pet, but befriended stray animals outside her house!