5/5 Shivank Y. 2 years ago on Google
VISITORS
TO
DELHI
ARE
USUALLY
delighted
to
be
driven
around
the
area
of
the
city
known
as
New
Delhi
or
Lutyens’
Delhi.
It’s
a
vast
area
of
broad,
leafy
streets
and
gracious
buildings
designed
by
British
architect
Sir
Edwin
Lutyens
to
be
the
capital
of
the
British
Raj,
the
seat
of
power
for
their
“Jewel
in
the
Crown.”
The
centre
point
is
India
Gate,
which
is
bisected
by
Raj
Path—formerly
King’s
Way—and
makes
for
a
very
impressive
imperial
vista.
However,
the
empty
cupola
that
lines
up
a
few
meters
behind
India
Gate
presents
a
head-scratching
mystery
to
the
uninitiated.
The
answer
lies
in
an
ancient
prophecy:
“Whosoever
builds
a
new
city
in
Delhi
will
lose
it.”
Delhi
has
been
the
capital
city
of
at
least
seven
or
eight
great
epochs,
and
probably
several
more
lesser
ones.
But
every
conqueror
gets
conquered
and
loses
the
city,
some
believe
due
to
the
prophecy.
The
British
are
only
the
most
recent.
They
declared
Delhi
the
capital
of
British
India
in
1911,
built
a
glorious
planned
city,
and
lost
it
in
1947—a
mere
36
years
of
rule
from
Delhi.
After
India
declared
independence
on
August
15,
1947,
the
Indian
people
pulled
down
the
statue
of
King
George
V
that
had
stood
in
the
canopy
behind
India
Gate,
and
left
it
empty
as
mute
testimony
to
their
struggle
and
their
victory.
The
empty
canopy
is
just
one
of
countless
monuments,
forts,
tombs,
and
other
ruins,
scattered
throughout
the
city,
that
tell
the
story
of
Delhi’s
many
epochs,
and
point
to
the
truth
in
the
ancient
prophecy.
The
Mughal
dynasty
ruled
India
before
the
British
occupation
superseded
them
in
the
mid-19th
century.
Red
Fort
was
once
the
opulent
home
and
seat
of
power
of
the
Mughal
Emperor
Shah
Jahan,
better
known
as
the
builder
of
the
Taj
Mahal.
He
moved
the
capital
to
Delhi
from
Agra
and
began
construction
on
the
Red
Fort,
a
massive
citadel
that
took
10
years
to
complete,
in
1639.
The
area
around
Red
Fort,
called
Shajahanabad,
was
also
developed
to
include
Chandni
Chowk,
which
means
“moonlight
square.”
It
was
designed
by
the
emperor’s
favourite
daughter
Princess
Jahanara
Begum,
to
include
a
series
of
canals
that
reflected
moonlight.
Today,
Red
Fort
is
a
UNESCO
World
Heritage
site,
and
the
former
glorious
capital
is
called
Old
Delhi—an
area
of
the
city
notorious
for
overcrowded
markets,
chaotic
narrow
lanes,
dilapidated
buildings,
and
masses
of
tangled
electrical
wires
that
defy
believability.
Old
Delhi
is
but
another
example
of
a
lost
empire,
though
the
Mughals
did
hold
it
for
about
200
years
until
it
fell
into
British
hands
after
the
1857
uprising.
The
history
of
Delhi
goes
all
the
way
back
to
the
Mahabharata,
the
great
epic
of
ancient
India.
The
Pandavas
cleared
an
area
to
establish
their
kingdom
Indraprastha
on
the
banks
of
the
Yamuna
river,
where
Delhi
now
stands.
Much
more
recently,
between
1100
and
1947,
there
have
been
eight
capital
cities
in
Delhi—though
historians
often
refer
to
the
“Seven
Cities
of
Delhi.”
They
are:
The
oldest
city,
near
the
site
of
the
Qutab
Minar;
Siri;
Tughlqabad;
Jahanpanah;
Firozobad;
the
city
around
Purana
Qila;
Shahjahanabad;
and
New
Delhi.
All
of
these
civilizations
have
left
behind
remnants,
and
three
of
them
are
UNESCO
World
Heritage
sites:
Qutab
Minar,
Red
Fort,
and
Humayun’s
Tomb.
You
can
visit
the
Qutab
Minar
complex,
and
see
the
crumbling
walls
of
Siri
Fort.
Purana
Qila
is
still
standing
and
of
course
Red
Fort
and
Old
Delhi
are
top
tourist
attractions.
Each
one
is
a
living
reminder
of
the
ancient
prophecy.
~shivank
yadav
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