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Red Fort |
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| So called because of the red stone with which
it is built, the Red Fort is one of the most magnificent palaces
in the world. India's history is also closely linked with this
fort. It was frorth here ht the British deposed the last Mughal
ruler, Bhadur Shah Zafar, marking
the end of the three century long Mughal rule. It was also fromits
ramparts that the first prime. Minister of India, pandit Jawharlal
Nehru, announced to the nation that India was free form colonial
rule. |
| The mughal emperor, Shah
Jahan, after ruling from Agra for elleven years, decided
to shift to Delhi and laid the foundation stone of the Red Fort
in 1618. For its inauguration in 1647, the main halls of the
palace were draped in rich tapestry and covered with silk from
china and velvet from Turkey. With a circumference of almost
one and a half miles, the fort is an irregular octagon and has
two entrances, the Lahore and Delhi Gates. |
| Form the Lahore Gate, a visitor has access to
the Chatta Chowk (vaulted arcade ) which as once a royal market
and housed court jewelers, miniature painters carpet manufacturers,
workers in enamel, silk weavers and families of specialized
craftsmen. The road from the royal market leads to the Nawabarkhana
(band house) where the royal band played five times a day. The
band house also marks the entry into the main palace and all
visitors, except royalty had to dismount here. The Diwani-I-Am
is the Red Fort's hall of public audience. |
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| Built of sandstone covered with shell plaster
polished to look like ivory, the 80 x 40 feet hall is sub-divided
by columns. The Mughal emperors would hold court here and meet
dignitaries and foreign emissaries. The most imposing feature
of the Diwqani-I-Am is the alcove in the back wall where the
emperor sat in state on a richly carved and inlaid marble platform.
In the recess behind the platform are fine examples of Italian
pietra-dura work. The piece de resistance of the fort, the Diwan-I-Khas
was the hall of private audience. |
| The most highly ornamented of all Shah Jahan's
buildings, the 90 x 67 feet Diwani-I-Khas is a pavilion of white
marble supported by intricately carved pillars. So enamoured
was the emperor by the beauty of this pavilion that he engraved
on it the following words: If there is paradise on the face
of this earth, it is this, it is this." Richly decorated
with flowers of inlaid mosaic work of cornelian and other stones,
the Diwan-I-Khas once housed the famous Peacock Throne, which
when it was plundered by Nadir Shah in 1739, was valued at six
million sterling. Residence of the senior queens, the Rang Mahal
(hall of colours ) has a central hall surrounded by six apartments.
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| The apartments are assured privacy by intricately
carved screens which do not hinder the free flow of fresh air
and light. The stream of paradise flows through the main hall,
and is marked in the centre by a huge lotus shaped marble basin
with an ivory fountain. Constructed by Emperor Aurangzeb in
1662 as his private mosque Moti Masjid (pearl mosque) is built
with highly polished marble. The mosque is a good example of
the Mughal fetish for symmetry with cusped arches, sinuous decorative
designs, carved cornices and bulbous domes. Other building of
interest in the Red Fort complex are the Musamman Burg (Octagonal
tower), Khwabgah (bedroom) and the Hammam (royal baths). |
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