A Visit to a place of Archaeological Interest
The massive Red Fort in Delhi is a place of great archaeological interest. This fort was built by the famous Moghul Emperor Shah Jehan on the right bank of the river Jamuna, on the eastern side of the city and near Chandni Chowk. Its foundation stone was laid in 1639 A.D. and it was completed after 9 years and 3 months at an estimated cost of nine crores of rupees.
Purchasing the admission ticket, we enter the fort through Lahori Gate—the main entrance facing Chandni Chowk. During the Moghul days a festival known as Meena Bazar was held in front of this gate. Passing through the Lahori Gate we find a vaulted hall. On both sides of the roadway there are shops where we can buy curios, photo-graphs and eatables.
Across the grassy ground, we find ourselves beneath a two storeyed building which was Naubat-Khana during the Moghul regime. Here the Royal Band used to play five times a day; on Sunday ‘sacred day to the sun’ and Saturday (the day of the week on which the king was born) the music was played the whole day. On the second storey of Naubat-Khana is the Indian War Memorial Museum containing stamps, pictures, coins, armoury and war material.
Then we reach Diwan-i-Am. It is enclosed by arcaded cloisters which were once brilliantly gifted and brightly deco-rated with flowers. A beautiful golden railing was fixed around this building. In the centre of the front wall inside the Diwan-i-Am, about ten feet high from the ground is a marble recess. Here was the Emperor’s seat. On its front wall is the mosaic work of Austin de Bordeaux, a french artist of genius, representing beautiful birds, flowers and fruits in the most natural manner. At the time of the mutiny in 1857 a good many of these jewels and stones were picked out.
Below the throne is a marble dais on which the Wazir stood and told the foreign news and presented applications to the Emperor. In front of the throne of the Wazir was the space reserved for the nobles and ambassadors. The outer platform known as Gulal Bari was reserved for the minor officials and the public. Daily in the morning the petitions were presented to the king for his decision.
We now enter Rang Mahal. It is so called from the coloured decoration with which it was formerly adorned. Its ceiling is now decorated with flowers. The original ceiling, it is said, was of silver and ornamented with golden flowers but it was taken off and melted during the reign of Farrukhshayar. In, the back wall of the building which is towards the Jamuna, there are five beautiful screened windows from where the Begums and princesses watched the elephant and wild beast fights, which were held on the sandy ground. In the centre of the Rang Mahal is a tank in which there is a beautiful lotus of marble. The water gushing forth from the cup, the waving Of the plants and flowers under the dancing water must have presented a scene of fascinating beauty. Outside the Rang Mahal is a huge vessel of stone in which the water of this tank fell.
To the south of Rang Mahal, there is a museum which contains the Moghul relics—pictures, dresses, swords, armour, manuscripts, etc. of the Moghul times.
And now we come to see a magnificent marble palace of exquisite craftsmanship known as Diwan-i-Khas. Here the Emperor used to retire after the morning Darbar or Diwan-i-Am for confidential discussions with the privileged few. The ceiling of the hall is supported by thirty two richly carved pillars, once inlaid with precious gems. Its original ceiling wasof silver, valued at 29 lakhs of rupees, which was looted by Jats in 1779 A.D. Over an arch in the central hall the famous inscription in Persian letters runs as follows :-
“If there be a paradise on earth,
It is this, it is this, it is this.”
And it must have been a paradise on earth in those days. The white marble dais, which formerly stood in this central chamber, is the Peacock Throne which was completed in seven years at a cost of Rs. 9 crores and was studded with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and other valuable gems. It was later on taken away by Nadir Shah and since then nothing is known about it.
On the northern side of Diwan-i-Khas is the site of three marble apartments connected with each other—Tashbi Khana or the house of worship, Khwab-Ghah or the bed chamber and Baithak or the conversation house. Nahar-i-Bahisht or the Stream of paradise runs amid these palaces dividing these into two equal parts.
Near the Diwan-i-Khas are the Hamams, the baths for the royal family. On the northern side of the Hamams is the beautiful pearl Mosque (Moti Masjid) built by Aurangzeb in 1662 for the royal family. In the open nearby there are two water pavilions known as ‘Sawan’ and ‘Bhadon’ which were used by the royal family during the rainy season for their entertainment.
The Red Fort is a living symbol of the splendour of the Moghul Kings in India.
