New
Delhi is one of the oldest cities in the world and presently one of the
most progressive. It is a city of
contrasts
with a unique blend of ancient and modern. This is the city that defies
a one-line description like - the capital of India or capital of the
world's largest democracy.
India's history is synonymous with
New Delhi. It was from the ramparts of its Red Fort that India's first
Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru unfurled the National flag on
August 15,1947, signifying the end of the three hundred years long
British rule.
Over the millennia, it has wooed rulers,
attracted plunderers, and tried historians with so many details. Today,
even as it preserves an enviable heritage, New Delhi in every sense is a
true cosmopolitan city always on the move. It has brought within its
fold people of all ethnic groups and their traditions and culture,
reflected in a variety of arts, crafts, cuisines, festivals and
lifestyles.
Major Attractions - Delhi Travel Tourism
- Qutab Minar
15 kms south of Delhi, stands the soaring
tower of victory, the Qutab Minar. The buildings in this complex,
date from the onset of Muslim rule in India. It is nearly 73 meters
high and tapers from a 15-meter-diameter base to just 2.5 meters at
the top. The tower has five distinct storeys, and each storey is
marked by a projecting balcony. The first three storeys are made or
red sandstone, the fourth and fifth of marble of sandstone.
- Lotus Temple
Lotus Temple is located in Kalkaji in
the south of Delhi. It is in the shape of lotus and has rightly been
given the name. It is made of marble, cement, dolomite and sand. It
is open to all faiths and is an ideal place for meditation and
obtaining peace and tranquility.
- Jantar Mantar
Jantar Mantar was built in 1724 by
Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur, who later built observatories on the
same lines in Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi and Mathura. According to
historical records, the Maharaja found the then existing
astronomical instruments to record totally accurate observations and
so he decided that such bigger structures should be constructed.
According to the rays of the Sun falling on it, it helped the people
calculate to some extent the time of the.
Birla
Mandir
The Laxmi Narayan Mandir (temple) built by B.D. Birla
is a modern Hindu temple dedicated to Laxmi (goddess of wealth) and
Narayana (the preserver). It was inaugurated by Gandhi with the
stipulation that it should be open to all castes (including the
untouchables) and all faiths.- India Gate
At the center of New Delhi stands the 42m
high India Gate, an "Arc-de-Triomphe" like Archway in the
middle of a crossroad. Almost similar to its French counterpart war
memorial. It commemorates the 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their
lives fighting for the British Army during the First World War and
bears the names of more than 13,516 British and Indian soldiers
killed in the Northwestern Frontier in the Afghan war of 1919. The
foundation stone was laid by His Royal Highness, the Duke of
Connaught in 1921 and was designed by Edwin Lutyens.
- Red Fort
The Red Fort with red sandstone walls,
popularly known as the Lal Quila extends for two kms and varies in
height from 18 metres on the river side to 33 metres on the city
side. Shah Jahan started construction of the massive fort in 1638
and it was completed in 1648. He was deposed and imprisoned in Agra
Fort by his son Aurangzeb, before he could move his capital from
Agra to Shahjahanabad in Delhi. Entry to the fort is Rs 0.50; free
on Friday.
