Yeh Dilli hei meri Jaan .. with Shruthi
Yeh Dilli hei meri jaan .. Ishq, mohabbat, pyaar...
Delhi the capital of India is a city close to my heart. I had my high school days , university, wedding and kids here. Growing up in Delhi gave me a certain confidence and an attitude that can be truly termed as spunky Punjabi. As life took me elsewhere after marriage, I looked forward to my visit after a span of several years.
As Shruthi outlined her plans over the course of her short and sweet stay in Dubai with a visit to Delhi, I thrilled in anticipation of rekindling old memories. Without a word exchanged between us, it was understood that I will accompany her.
We landed at Delhi by early evening. Shruthi's CEPT classmate Roopal welcomed us with the happiness and joy one can see only in India. They were meeting after three years and it felt like yesterday as they exchanged college stories.
Refreshed with juice and snacks we set out to make the most of the evening. This was Shruthi's first visit to Delhi.
History of Humayun's tomb.
Humayun died in 1556 AD following a fall from stairs. He left a vast empire to his young teen age son Akbar the great. The grieving queen Bega Begum set out for Mecca to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage after the death of Humayun. She vowed to build a magnificent mausoleum in his memory. She employed the services of a Persian architect, Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, hailing from Afghanistan. Bega Begum not only commissioned and paid for the construction of the tomb, but supervised its construction as well.
As the funds dwindled in the royal treasury of the declining Mughal Empire, the grandeur of the mausoleum declined. In 1880, after the establishment of the British rule in Delhi, the surrounding garden was redesigned to an English style garden. However, it was restored to the original style in a major restoration project between 1903 and 1909. During the 1947 partition of India, the complex was used to house the refugees. Plundering and defacing happened during this time. It lay in a state of neglect until the ASI took over.
The most recent phase of restoration started in 1993, after Humayun’s tomb was named as a UNESCO world Heritage Site, by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) – Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). What we see now is the restored version.
Humayun's tomb is the first garden tomb of India. Humayun’s garden-tomb is structured after the charbagh (a four quadrant garden with the four rivers of Quranic paradise represented), with pools joined by channels. Lofty gateways provide the entrance to the garden.The largeness of the project hits you when you see the spacious, perfectly planned gardens with their fountains and pathways extending in perfect alignment in four directions. Each main pathway ends at a gate.The pavilions are located in the centre. The gardens are neatly maintained with a large number of trees. It was nearing sunset and I was transported to my youth as we heard the loud chirrups of welcome from the little birdies to their respective parents flying into their nests after a hard day's work. The cluster of trees must have housed millions of nests and the evening reverberated with whoops of joy, delight, hunger, chagrin and plain happiness as the birds drowned every other sound for a few minutes. I must have heard this sound during my dad's postings in the Air Force to remote stations where wilderness was intense. To hear it again in the middle of the city was refreshing.
Delhi the capital of India is a city close to my heart. I had my high school days , university, wedding and kids here. Growing up in Delhi gave me a certain confidence and an attitude that can be truly termed as spunky Punjabi. As life took me elsewhere after marriage, I looked forward to my visit after a span of several years.
As Shruthi outlined her plans over the course of her short and sweet stay in Dubai with a visit to Delhi, I thrilled in anticipation of rekindling old memories. Without a word exchanged between us, it was understood that I will accompany her.
We landed at Delhi by early evening. Shruthi's CEPT classmate Roopal welcomed us with the happiness and joy one can see only in India. They were meeting after three years and it felt like yesterday as they exchanged college stories.
Refreshed with juice and snacks we set out to make the most of the evening. This was Shruthi's first visit to Delhi.
History of Humayun's tomb.
Humayun died in 1556 AD following a fall from stairs. He left a vast empire to his young teen age son Akbar the great. The grieving queen Bega Begum set out for Mecca to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage after the death of Humayun. She vowed to build a magnificent mausoleum in his memory. She employed the services of a Persian architect, Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, hailing from Afghanistan. Bega Begum not only commissioned and paid for the construction of the tomb, but supervised its construction as well.
As the funds dwindled in the royal treasury of the declining Mughal Empire, the grandeur of the mausoleum declined. In 1880, after the establishment of the British rule in Delhi, the surrounding garden was redesigned to an English style garden. However, it was restored to the original style in a major restoration project between 1903 and 1909. During the 1947 partition of India, the complex was used to house the refugees. Plundering and defacing happened during this time. It lay in a state of neglect until the ASI took over.
The most recent phase of restoration started in 1993, after Humayun’s tomb was named as a UNESCO world Heritage Site, by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) – Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). What we see now is the restored version.
Humayun's tomb is the first garden tomb of India. Humayun’s garden-tomb is structured after the charbagh (a four quadrant garden with the four rivers of Quranic paradise represented), with pools joined by channels. Lofty gateways provide the entrance to the garden.The largeness of the project hits you when you see the spacious, perfectly planned gardens with their fountains and pathways extending in perfect alignment in four directions. Each main pathway ends at a gate.The pavilions are located in the centre. The gardens are neatly maintained with a large number of trees. It was nearing sunset and I was transported to my youth as we heard the loud chirrups of welcome from the little birdies to their respective parents flying into their nests after a hard day's work. The cluster of trees must have housed millions of nests and the evening reverberated with whoops of joy, delight, hunger, chagrin and plain happiness as the birds drowned every other sound for a few minutes. I must have heard this sound during my dad's postings in the Air Force to remote stations where wilderness was intense. To hear it again in the middle of the city was refreshing.
To the left of the main entrance was the Arab Sarai gate. This 14 meter high gate led to the enclosure that housed the craftsman while the monument was getting built. The wooden darwaza is huge and worth seeing. Beyond the wooden doors were acres of garden lined with trees. The restored large central arch with the wooden gates creates an aura of bygone era. The blue chatris were visible behind the trees .
We entered the monument through the west gate entrance. The west gateway entrance is a massive structure. An interesting fact of this gate is there are rooms on the upper floor. The six sided star on the gates are a cosmic symbol of that era.
We got our first glimpse of the red colored beauty as we passed the west gate. The massive red sandstone structure with the wide marble onion shaped dome is awe inspiring at the first sight. The mausoleum stands on a high, wide terraced platform. It has an irregular octagon plan with four long sides. The double dome is flanked by smaller pillared domes. An uneven staircase leads us to the lower level of the tomb.
The lower level of this structure is surrounded by graceful symmetrical arches which cover the whole perimeter of the tomb.
The miniature blue shaped umbrella like structures give a relief to the red and white stone. They are called the Chatris. Chattris are decorative pillared balconies or kiosks. They are an adaptation of the Rajasthani style of architecture.
We went around the tomb in a leisurely pace. By then it was sunset. We lived in the moment of the mughal by gone era absorbing the peace and quiet of the place.
It was time for the monument to close. The stunning structure of Isa Khan's tomb caught our eye. The chowkidar was on the verge of closing the gates. We squeezed by him to take in couple of pics of the brilliant blue chatris. It was the most stunning piece that stood out in the quiet of the evening.
It had been a long day for us. We returned home to be welcomed for hot dinner with our hosts.
We entered the monument through the west gate entrance. The west gateway entrance is a massive structure. An interesting fact of this gate is there are rooms on the upper floor. The six sided star on the gates are a cosmic symbol of that era.
We got our first glimpse of the red colored beauty as we passed the west gate. The massive red sandstone structure with the wide marble onion shaped dome is awe inspiring at the first sight. The mausoleum stands on a high, wide terraced platform. It has an irregular octagon plan with four long sides. The double dome is flanked by smaller pillared domes. An uneven staircase leads us to the lower level of the tomb.
The lower level of this structure is surrounded by graceful symmetrical arches which cover the whole perimeter of the tomb.
The miniature blue shaped umbrella like structures give a relief to the red and white stone. They are called the Chatris. Chattris are decorative pillared balconies or kiosks. They are an adaptation of the Rajasthani style of architecture.
It was time for the monument to close. The stunning structure of Isa Khan's tomb caught our eye. The chowkidar was on the verge of closing the gates. We squeezed by him to take in couple of pics of the brilliant blue chatris. It was the most stunning piece that stood out in the quiet of the evening.
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