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INTRODUCING The
Delhi City
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State |
Delhi |
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City |
Delhi |
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Population |
1,38,50,507 |
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Area |
11117.8 sq.km. |
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Latitude |
26.55 N |
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Longitude |
75.52E |
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Airports |
Delhi City Airport |
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STD Code |
011 |
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Best
Season |
Oct-March |
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Local
Languages |
Hindi,
English |
Weather
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Edwin
Lutyens, the world famous architect, would have
neverset his mind on designing New Delhi and the famed Connaught Place
shopping centre in the heart of India’s capital, had it not been for
the glorious past that it could boast of.
The British Empire had termed India as the land" where the sun never
sets" and to add flavour to this phrase Lutyen called his creation as
the "Rome of Hindoostan".
Lutyen perhaps could have drawn
inspiration from the Persian inscription on the ceiling of the
Diwan-e-Khas (Hall of Nobles) at the glorious Red Fort which says" If
there be a paradise on Earth; it is this, oh it is this, oh it is
this". The couplet was rendered into such beautiful verse by the noted
poet, Firdaus, in the court of the Mughal Emperor, Shahjahan. What
could have made him weave such a magical extract must surely have been
the trance and magnetism that the city of Delhi had for the lovers of
good things.
As much as it can boast of its chequered
present, Delhi has an equally if not better past. The ancient
history of Delhi manifested in the landmarks and memorials still
stands testimony to the present history. The times when the epic
Mahabharata was written refers to Delhi as Indraprastha and was
supposed to have been founded by the Pandavas in as early as 1450 B.C.
whose remains have been excavated within the ramparts of the Old Fort
(Purana Qila) .
The Gupta and the Maurya dynasties,
around 320 A.D. when India was known as the Golden Bird, were
mesmerised by the elegant vistas of Delhi and made their presence felt
for a long time while ruling from Indraprastha. This was followed by
the Muslim Kings in the latter half of the 12th century and then by
the slave Kings and the Khaljis who ruled for over a century and built
a new capital Siri, in 1302 A.D. where today stands the imposing Siri
Fort area and the Asian Games Village. After the Khaljis came the
Tughlaks in the early 15th century who gave an additional impetus to
the building activity in Indraprastha with the shaping of the
Tughlakabad Fort built by Ghyias-ud-din Tughlak. This was not the end
of the new revival initiated by the Tughlaks and was followed by the
setting up of the cities of Jahanpanah( asylum of the world) and
Firozabad (Kotla Ferozeshah) by the successors of Ghyias-ud-din.
The first Mughal conqueror and emperor ,
Babar, had a liking for Agra where he set up his capital, although his
son, Humayun, returned to Delhi and built the Purana Qila as his fort
and seat of governance. Then came the Suri dynasty wherein Sher Shah
Suri opted yet again for Dilli as the capital which he built in 1542
A.D. And it had its epicentre as the very same Purana Qila. For the
first time then the capital got its name Dilli, though some historians
say that the brain behind giving this name was Raja Dillu who was
supposed to have ruled in this area as far back as 100 B.C. Although
the next Mughal emperor, Akbar, preferred to shift to Agra and
Fathepur Sikri, his son, derived an affable penchant for Delhi and
began work on building the historic Red Fort (Lal Qila) in 1638 A.D.
Much before all this during the 11th century A.D., a Hindu King,
Anangpal is said to have built the first city, Lal Kot and much after
the Lodi dynasty was said to have been credited with the setting up of
the sixth of the seven cities in the form of the Lodi tombs.
The seven cities, each with a unique
characteristic of its own were Lal Kot, Siri, Tughlakabad, the ruined
fortress east of the imposing Qutab Minar.
 Tughlakabad
was said to have become a ghost city 15 years after it was built
following a supposed curse from the Sufi saint, Azam-ud-din. The other
cities were Jahanpanah, Ferozeshah Kotla, Lodi Tombs and the Purana
Qila.
In 1911, the British asked Lutyens to
give a new meaning to city development which is reflected in the
architectural designs and sophistication that buildings in New Delhi
like Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, Connaught Place
and various administrative buildings like the South and North blocks
along the breathtaking view available from Raj Path.
Modern Delhi has something for everyone
and that is amply reflected in the cosmopolitan culture that nurtures
festivals of all faiths and religions, places of worship. You can take
a stroll at your own leisurely pace, or a jog or a run and move faster
than the common man. This is also reflected in the market places, the
dhabas and restaurants or the gorgeous five-star hotels. Theatre,
drama and entertainment of all sorts including the best of
discotheques are all there. Delhi is one city from where you can
branch off to any corner of the country either by a well-connected
system of railways or by road and air. The rest is for you to explore.
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