What is the image the word “grand” brings to mind? To a Delhi-wala, there can only be one vision: towering minarets, bulbous domes and soaring arches! Ruined as they may be today, the forts of Delhi still inspire jaw-dropping amazement a thousand years after they were built. So here’s my take on this week’s photo challenge…the grandness…
Tag: Red Fort
Purani Dilli at Ramzaan| A Photo Essay
On any ordinary day, one peek at the majestic Jama Masjid of Old Delhi will take your breath away. It will bring to your mind a picture of a royal cavalcade proceeding slowly from the Delhi Gate of the Red Fort to the entry of the royal mosque, a mighty Mughal Emperor making his way…
A Fort Lost in Time | Adilabad Fort, Delhi
The one place that every child visiting Delhi is dragged to, is, of course, the Red fort. It is a monument that attracts one of the highest footfalls in the country. That’s perhaps because it used to be the power-center of a greater part of India less than a century ago. But what of the…
An old painting of the Red Fort along the Yamuna
Thomas Metcalfe, as Governor-General’s Agent at the Imperial court of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar in early 19th century Delhi, ordered a series of images of the monuments & ruins of this city, to be created by Delhi artist Mazhar Ali Khan. Here’s one such masterpiece…a painting of the Red Fort as viewed from Metcalfe’s…
The Less Favorite Mosque
In the chaos of Chandni Chowk, in the horrific blare of horns and pushing and shoving of thousands of people going about their daily business and shopping sprees, history is often lost… What remain are yards and yards of sequinned sarees displayed on shop windows, vendors selling everything kitschy in the world, and a din like…
Poetry in Stone
Little did I know before I started my discovery of Delhi that this was once a land of many poets. Khusrau, Rahim, Zauq, Ghalib and countless others gave to this city its beautiful culture of lyrical poetry over the centuries. I owe my discovery of one poet’s grave to that of another…and each of them…
Pic-A-Day Project: Friday Prayers
The majestic Jama Masjid at twilight, full of pigeons in the fore ground, is a sight to behold. Add to that the melodious call to prayer echoing through the bazaars of Old Delhi, and you’ll almost feel transported to Shah Jahan’s time. Can you imagine the emperor walking out of the Delhi Gate of his…
Pic-A-Day Project: Flying High!
This is the famous rampart of the Red Fort, from where the Indian tricolor is unfurled every Independence Day by the Prime Minister of the country. The fort of course, has seen many a royal coronation and many a bloody battle, but today it is one of the most unmistakable symbols of the country’s independence….
An alternate view | Red Fort, Delhi
The first point to be ‘ticked’ off the list when a traveler visits Delhi is usually the Red Fort, the beautiful red-sandstone-and-marble citadel built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1648 AD. Though not much of its splendor remains, visitors are still touched by the imagined beauty of the palaces where Mughal life once…
At the end of the tunnel | Tughlaqabad Fort, Delhi
Once upon a time, many centuries ago, the mighty military rulers of the Tughlaq dynasty built a fort in Delhi. They called it Tughlaqabad. And although it had walls as thick as can be- standing sternly, majestically, almost menacingly, to this day- the ravages of time have badly crumbled up the buildings within it, until…
Wonder where this is?
Hello dear friends! Can you guess the name and location of this beautiful mosque in Delhi?
Patch of green, splash of royalty! Lodi Gardens, Delhi
When I moved to Delhi a few years ago, I spent the first few months in the ‘new industrial areas’ of Noida and Gurgaon, much like the countless other ‘immigrants’ to Delhi. Shortly my job would send me globetrotting for months on end…and the end effect was that even though I was a resident of…
A Date With Delhi 