Purana Qila - New Delhi

 

Purana Quila (Old Fort), is located in the legendary site called Indraprastha, the capitol of Pandavas which is more than 5000 years old. It is on the banks of river Yamuna in today’s New Delhi. This is the oldest structure ever built in Delhi!

The construction of this fort was started by the second Mughal emperor Humayun during 1533 and it took five years to complete the construction.

 

There is a mosque inside the fort called Qila-i-kuhna and a beautiful monument called Sher Mandal. When Humayun recaptured this fort in 1555 after his defeat in 1540, he converted Sher Mandal into a library and an observatory tower. But soon in 1556 he slipped from the second floor and fell down while hurrying for evening prayer in this building and died! Because of the successive tragic things that took place in this Fort, it is considered unlucky for rulers who lived in this fort. 

Those times this fort was surrounded by a wide moat, connected to river Yamuna, which used to flow on the east of the fort. 

Today we can only see the ruins of this great place, but it has not lost its beauty!

A temple named after its architect

If you travel 75 KMs from Warangal you will reach Palampet Village where you can find the spectacular 13th century Ramappa Temple. This medieval temple was built for Lord Shiva by Recharla Rudra Senani of the Kakatiya Dynasty. The Ramappa temple earns its name from its chief architect – Ramappa. Normally in India a temple is named after the presiding deity; the exception being the modern temples built by Birlas - all of which are called Birla Temple! 

They say it took 40 years to build this temple and I can fully believe it considering the splendid sculptures of this temple and the technology that were available with them eight hundred years back! 

The most striking feature of this temple is the figure brackets springing from the shoulders of the outer pillars supporting the eaves slabs. These figures are made of black stones with smooth finish. It looks very different and beautiful as the main temple is built with stones of light brown color. 

 

 

The sculptures on the ceiling depict episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Luckily as they are on the ceiling these sculptures are relatively intact and not damaged much! The delicate carvings of this temple are made on jet-black, fine-grained, dolerite rock. Intricate carvings also line the walls and ceilings as well as the pillars of the structure.

 

The temple is constructed with stones brought to the site with the help of elephants. The elephant’s statues are sculptured on the wall around the temple, all of them facing in one direction which shows the way to the temple entrance. 

 

I am told that The Kakatiya Heritage Trust is lobbying to have this temple as well as the Thousand Pillar Temple and Warangal Fort, some 70 km southwest, declared as UNESCO World Heritage site.

This temple has sustained much damage due to war, time and even an earthquake! Today it stands as evidence to numerous invasions on Kakatiya Kingdom and one could see the vandalism caused by the invaders!

There is a striking similarity between the sculptures of this temple and the one in Belur built by Hoysala dynasty. The style of architecture the black stones used and the pillars all reminded me of Belur Chennakesava temple. Probably the builders of this temple drew inspiration from Belur Chennakesava temple as this one was built almost 100 years after Belur!

Now this temple is under the care of Archeological survey of India and so I am sure what is remaining in this temple will be preserved for the future!

Last flicker in the lamp of Mughal architecture

V C Pandey in his book “Environment, Security and Tourism Development in South Asia” calls Safdarjung Tomb as the “last flicker in the lamp of Mughal Architecture”

Very close to Lodi gardens in Delhi you can find Safdarjung Tomb. This is the tomb of Mirza Muqim Abul-Mansur Khan, built by his son –Nawab Shauja-ud-daula in 1753 to house the remains of his father. Like Humayun’s tomb this is also  a garden tomb. In fact it is the last tomb to be erected with a garden.

Since this place is not popular and very few people appreciate its importance there was hardly anyone when I visited. So I could shoot this monument without any difficulty of someone walking between my camera and my object! As this is also under Archeological Survey of India (ASI) it is maintained very well and photography is allowed.

By the way, I have to say something about ASI. I am not a big (even small for that matter!) fan of any Indian government department. But one BIG exception is ASI. I have visited many monuments/temples in India which are maintained by ASI. Uniformly they are all very well maintained. We must give it to them for their good work! 

Lodi gardens – New Delhi

Lodi Gardens is a park in Delhi and as the name suggests it is in Lodi road. I used to travel to Delhi a lot and this park  is very close to the hotel where I used to stay adjacent to Khan Market. This is a hotspot for morning walkers who stay in Jorbagh area of Delhi.

This beautiful park has two important tombs; the tomb of Mohammed Shah and Tomb of Sikander Lodi. Besides these two, Sheesh Gumbad and Bara Gumbad are also found in this park. These structures belong to 15th century and they are protected  by Archeological Society of India (ASI).  

According to ASI, the tomb of Mohammed Shah the last of the Sayyid Dynasty was built in 1444 by Ala-ud-din Alam Shah as a tribute to Mohammed Shah. This tomb was one of the earliest to be built in this garden. The importance of this tomb assumes greater significance as there is little architecture left in India which belongs to this period!

The tomb of Sikandar Lodi was built by his son Ibrahim Lodi in 1517 – the last Sultan of Delhi from Lodi dynasty.

 

An underground marvel

One hundred and ten kilometers from Kurnool under the flat agricultural fields lay a magnificent cave called Bellum Caves. There are wonderful stalactite and stalagmite formations in this cave.

 

 

This is the second largest underground cave in India. This cave is 3229 meters long! It has long passages and  in some places even some large chambers. Entire cave is aerated artificially through pipes! As we walk along the cave the humidity increases and you start sweating profusely as we go deeper. One needs to carry a bottle of water to drink. 

 

 

The cave’s deepest point is 120 feet from the ground level. This place is called Padhala Ganga! 

They say that this cave was formed when an underground river washed away the soft limestone from the surrounding hard stones. The walls of the caves have deep marks that are the result of erosion caused by the river. The Chambers in this cave are named differently with interesting names. Most of the chambers are not open for tourists. The few accessible places are artificially illuminated and aerated through pumped air from outside. The most beautiful of the lot was the chamber with stalactites in the shape of a banyan tree.

 

 

Andhra Pradesh tourism has done a good job of illuminating the entire cave with different colors. Bellum Caves have been adjudged as a "Unique Eco-Tourism Project" by the Government of India.

On the way to the Bellum Caves there is a manificient statue of Buddha. But no information is available why that statue is there or who installed it! But the statue is great looking!

Allahabad's Khusro Bagh

Originally it was a beautiful garden meant for pleasure built by Jahangir when he lived in Allahabad as a prince.  It became Khusro Bagh when Jahangir’s son Khusro’s tomb was erected in this garden.

 

Constructed in 1622 by Shah Jahan, the tomb stands in the midst of lush garden. The tomb is built from sandstone and has ornate carvings.

Besides the tomb of Khusro, the garden has other tombs too. Shah Begum, Khusro’s mother and Jahangir’s first wife, is also buried inside the mausoleum. Shah Begum is believed to have committed suicide after Khusro rebelled against his father.

 

The third tomb is of Nesa Begum, Khusro’s sister. As per Mughal tradition, Nesa Begum got the tomb constructed for her but was later buried in a different place!

The fourth tomb which is in the middle of the garden is known as Mausoleum of Tombolan.

All the tombs are decorated with fine Mughal frescoes with vaulted apartments. They are examples of exemplary Mughal architecture. The design of the main entrance to the garden, the tomb of Shah Begum and the surrounding gardens are attributed to Aqa Reza Jahangir’s most trusted artist.

 

The tomb of Jahangir’s first wife is built in three layers on a plinth without a main mound. They say that experts from Fatehpur Sikri were consulted for its design. The tomb has inscriptions in Arabic by Jahangir’s favorite calligrapher, Mir Abdullah Mushkin Qalam.

Nesa Begum’s tomb is on an elevated platform and has ornate panels and scalloped arches. The monument has elaborate paintings of stars made in concentric circles. There are floral paintings on the walls of the central room.

 

 

 

Amba Vilas Palace

The biggest palace in Mysore City is called Amba Vilas Palace or more popularly Mysore Palace. This is the most opulent of all surviving palaces and it is located in the city center. The Mysore palace was commissioned in 1897, and its construction was completed in 1912. It is now one of the most famous tourist attractions in Mysore. Although tourists are allowed to visit the palace, they are not allowed to take photographs inside the palace. (Most frustrating!)

 

The history of Mysore Palace spans over 500 years.  But what we see today in Mysore is the modern palace built in 1912. The architectural style of the palace is commonly described as Indo-Saracenic, and blends together Hindu, Muslim, Rajput, and Gothic styles of architecture. It is a three-storied stone structure, with marble domes and a 145 ft five-storied tower. The palace is surrounded by a large garden.

 

The three storied stone building of fine gray granite with deep pink marble domes was designed by Henry Irwin. The facade has seven expansive arches and two smaller ones flanking the central arch, which is supported by tall pillars. Above the central arch is an impressive sculpture of Gajalakshmi, the goddess of wealth, prosperity, good luck, and abundance with her elephants.

 

It is from this palace the erstwhile rulers, the Wodeyars, ruled the Mysore Kingdom.