LAL QUILA
I had promised myself that in my next visit to Delhi I will not only visit Lal Quila but other historical places as well which in the past I had admired from distance. So on the International Labours’ day I was out at 0730 am . First stop was at the Tomb of Safdarjang where the colour of spring was in the air with the approaching summer , birds ,leaves and flowers were all very expressive. It was calm around the tomb the only other visitor was quickly clicking photographs probably to complete a pending schedule . Built with red sandstone and marble it is known to be one of the last architecture piece of the Mughal era. And indeed it is last as it reflects the Empire in wane , the class seems to be on decline and it represents dying efforts of a slain warrior.
The next was the visit to the Tomb of Humayun which his widow had built as a tribute. It is part of the World Heritage site. Some experts rate it as one of the finest Tombs; a precursor to Taj ! Built in the 16th century with marble and sandstone it has many graves and is known as the dormitory of the mughals . More than the beauty the aesthetic of geometry is catching. Well spread structures with large spaces left on each side depicts that it was well thought and executed first on paper and then on ground.
My next visit was to the Mazar of Nizamuddin Aulia and Amir Khusrow at Nizamuddin. It was a sad picture of neglect and decay as the narrow lanes with Butchers busy mincing and slicing the sanctity and spirituality of the place. I did have my darshan but the pressure of the host of mediators seeking alms was an irritant. In India both Hindus and Muslim religious centres suffer from such deficiencies. There is ‘Mazar of Ghalib’ which was under beautification by the Ghalib Academy and therefore put under lock and key. I wondered what the ‘Greats’ resting in honour and peace ! would have felt and said on the pitiable state of humanity surrounding their remains.
There was a long queue at Lal Quila as I lined up to purchase the entry ticket. It is surprisingly sensible of the tourism department to open all Historical places of intertest in capital from sunrise to sunset. The ‘May Day’ heat was strong and I was protecting my head with a wet handkerchief and there I met an old man wearing a bright pink turban he had come from Aurangabad ( Maharashtra ) in the summer heat to visit the capital . There was also a long line of probably Gujrati women being led by a vocal lady passing instructions. I asked the sentry near the ticket window if the visitors strength is the same round the year, he said that ‘ Lal Quila ‘ attracts visitors throughout the year but the months of may-jun and oct have more visitors than the other months. Vacation in schools and preference of visitors for summer than winters could be the reason.
I wondered if the queue at ‘Lal quila’ remains the same the Indian democracy and faith in secularism will be retained. It is not in temples, churches and mosques that the strength of Indian people resides but it dwells in the secular structures of our past and present which inspires Indians of all castes, class and religion to ‘queue’ and register their solidarity with modern democracy.
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