The Red Fort and its Artistic
Dimensions
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.
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