The Red Fort
Lal-Qila
or Red Fort
We all are interested to learn more about history, but
many of us feel repellent when they have to write one page after another in the
examination hall. After all, we have read about 'Red Fort' in books in our
school and college lives, even nowadays its picture visible on the back of ₹500
note. When we read or hear the word 'Red Fort' or 'Lal Qila' then all at once
the image of Lahori Gate comes in our mind. Red Fort is a historical fort in
the city of Old Delhi in India. Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the chief architect of Taj
Mahal, was also the architect of this fort. Its construction began on 12 May
1639 in the era of fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, and it took nearly nine
years to be completed.
Ramparts And
Gateways
In 1638 Shah Jahan transferred his capital
from Agra to Delhi and laid the foundation of Shahjanabad, the seventh city of
Delhi, which was completed in 1649. Shah Jahan also laid the foundation of his
citadel, Lal-Qila (Lal-Qala) or Red Fort on 16th April in 1639. Red
Forts also known by names in contemporary accounts. It was completed after nine
years on the 16th April 1648. The entire fort is said to have cost
about one crore of rupees, half of it on the palaces.
The Red Fort, so called because the red
colour of the stone largely used in it, is octagonal on plan with two longer
sides on the east and west. On the north the fort is connected by a bridge with
Salimgarh. It measures about 900 m by 550m, with its ramparts walls covering a
perimeter of 2.41 km and rising to a height of 33.5 m on the town side and 18 m
along the river. Outside the ramparts runs a moat, originally connected with
the river.
The places lie along the eastern side of the
fort, while two imposing three-storeyed main gateways flanked by semi-octagonal
towers and consisting of several apartments are located in the centre of the western
and southern sides and are known as the Lahori and Delhi Gates respectively. On
the outside, the Delhi gate is flanked by the statues of two elephants renewed
in 1903 by Lord Curzon in place of the ones which had been demolished long ago
by Aurangzeb. The main entrance to the fort lies through the Lahori Gate and
the places are reached through a roofed passage, flanked by arcaded apartments
called Chhatta-Chowk and now used as shops. The other portions were originally
occupied by the residences of the courtiers and retinue. Both the gates were
provided later by barbicans by Aurangzeb. There exist three other entrances on
other sides, now largely closed.
The master builders of the Red Fort were
Hamid and Ahmad while the construction was supervised by other officers, who
were amply rewarded by the emperor by appointing them to high positions. Most
of the buildings in the fort were once occupied by the British army and bear
scars of the vandalistic acts inflicted on them. Quite a number of structures
were in bad state and were removed after the Mutiny.
Naubat or Naqqar
Khana
The Naubat or Naqqar Khana (drum
house) stands at the entrance of the palace area, and was used for playing
music five times a day at propitious hours. It was also called Hathipol, as
visitors dismounted from their elephants (hathi) here. Faced with red stone, it
is a large three-storeyed building, rectangular on plan. Carved designs on its
red stone walls appear to have been originally painted with gold, while the
interior was painted in other colours. Several layers of these paintings can be
traced even now in the entrance chamber.
The later Mughal kings Jahandar Shah
(1712-13) and Farrukhsiyar (1713-19) are said to have been murdered in the
Naubat-Khana. The War Memorial Museum is now housed in its upper storey.
Diwan-I-Am
The Diwan-I-Am (hall of public audience)
is the next building reached by the visitor. Originally it had a courtyard on
its front. The hall proper, three-bays in depth, originally ornamented with
gilded stucco work and hung with heavy curtains, is raised on arches springing
from pillars and has impressive façade of nine openings of engrailed arches. At
its back stands a marble canopy or baldachin, covered by its ‘Bengal’ roof,
under which stood the emperor’s throne. The emperor received the general public
here and heard their complaints. A marble dais, inlaid with precious stones,
stands below the throne and was used by the Prime Minister for receiving the
complaints and petitions.
At the back of the canopy the wall is faced
with beautiful panels inlaid with multi-coloured stones, representing flowers
and birds. These panels are said to have been executed by Austin de Bordeaux,
Florentine jeweller. In the central penal on the top is shown the Greek god
Orpheus with his lute. The panels were much damaged and at one time removed to
the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, but were restored in 1903 at the
instance of Lord Curzon.
Mumtaz Mahal
There existed only six main places along the river front,
with the Nahr-i-Bihisht (stream of paradise) flowing through them. One of these
to the north of the Mumtaz-Mahal, called Chhoti Baithak, has disappeared. The
Mumtaz-Mahal is at the southern end of the extant row of places. Built with
marble in its lower half of the walls and pillars, it consists of six
apartments divided by arched piers, and originally painted on the interior. It
formed part of the imperial seraglio. The Delhi Museum of Archaeology,
consisting largely of exhibits of the Mughal period, is now housed inside it.
Rang-Mahal
The Rang-Mahal, resting on a basement, consists of a
large hall, originally painted on the interior, from which it derives its name,
meaning the ‘palace of colour’. Divided into six apartments by engrailed arches
set on piers, the two apartments on its northern and southern ends contain
marble dados. Over the walls and ceilings of these apartments are embedded tiny
pieces of mirror, which reflect the burning match or other light and create
thus a picturesque effect. These apartments are known as Shish-Mahal (house of
mirrors).
The building was a part of the imperial
seraglio. Through its centre along its length flowed the channel known as Nahr-i-Bihisht.
In its centre is a marble basin, which is said to have been provided originally
with an ivory foundation.
Khas-Mahal
The Khas-Mahal (private place) consists of three
parts. The set of three rooms facing the Diwan-i-Khas is called Tasbih-Khana
(chamber for telling beads) and was used for private worship by the emperor.
The three rooms behind it are known as Khwabagh (sleeping chamber). To its
south a long hall with its painted walls and ceiling and a perforated screen on
the west is known either as Tosh-Khana (robe chamber) or Baithak (sitting
room). There exists a beautiful marble screen at the northern end of these
rooms carved with a ‘scale of Justice’ suspended over a crescent surrounded
with stars and clouds.
Below this and other places were
organised animal fights, such as between lion and elephants, which could be
viewed by the emperor and royal ladies from these places.
There is an inscription over the southern
arch of the Khwabgah, from which we learn that the building was begun in 1048
A.H. (1638-39) and completed in 1058 A.H. (1648-49) at a cost of fifty lakhs of
rupees, which probably refers to the expenditure incurred on all the places.
Muthamman-Burj
Adjoining the eastern wall of the
Khwabgah is a semi-octagonal tower, called Muthamman-Burj (Octagonal tower),
where the emperor appeared every morning before his subjects, the ceremony
being known as darshan. A balcony projecting from the central side of
the Muthamman-Burj was constructed in 1223. A.H. (1808-09) by Akbar II
(1806-37), as stated by him in an inscription over its arches. It was from this
balcony that King George V and Queen Mary appeared before the public in 1911.
Diwan-I-Khas
The Diwan-I-Khas (hall of private
audience) with openings of engrailed arches on its sides consists of a
rectangular central chamber surrounded by aisles of arches rising from piers.
The lower parts of the piers are inlaid with floral designs, while the upper
portions are gilded and painted. The present wooden ceiling of the hall was
painted in 1911. The four corners of its roof are surrounded by pillared chhatris.
Over the marble pedestal in its centre
stood the famous Peacock Throne which was removed in 1739 by Nadir Shah.
Through the centre of the hall flowed the Nahr-i-Bihisht. Over the corner-arches
of the northern and southern walls below the cornice is inscribed the famous
verse of Amir Khusraw exclaiming ‘If there be a paradise on the earth, it is
this, it is this, it is this’.
The hall was used by the emperor for
giving private audience to the selected countries and visitors. Originally
there existed on the west of the Diwan-i-Khas two enclosures, one for the
nobles and the other for those who were not of a very high rank. These
enclosures were removed after the Mutiny. During the Mutiny Bahadur Shah ii
held court in the Diwan-i-Khas.
Hammam
On
the north of the Diwan-I-Khas lies the bathroom set or Hammam, consisting of
three apartments separated by corridors. The floors and dados of these
apartments are built with marble, inlaid with floral patterns of multi-coloured
stones. The two rooms on either side of the present entrance were used, it is
believed, by the royal children for their bath. The eastern apartment, with
three fountain basins, one of which is reputed to have emitted rose-water, was
used mainly as the dressing room. There is a basin in the middle of the central
room. The western apartment was used for hot or vapour bath, the heating
arrangement being fixed in its western wall.
Moti-Masjid
To the west of the Hammam lies the small
mosque, called the Moti-Masjid (pearl mosque), and built by Aurangazeb for his
personal use. The prayer –hall of the mosque is inlaid with outlines of musallas
(small carpets for prayers) in black marble, and it stands at a higher
level than the courtyard. The hall is surmounted by three bulbous domes,
originally copper-plated, which appear to be too constricted at the neck. The
eastern door is provided with copper plated leaves. The mosque was also used by
the ladies of the seraglio.
Hayat-Bakhsh
Garden And Pavilions
The north area of the Moti-Masjid is
occupied by a garden, called the Hayat-Bakhsh-Bagh (life-bestowing garden),
divided into squares on the pattern of Mughal gardens with causeways and
channels between them. It finds mention in the contemporary accounts, although
its present layout is new.
Two other marble pavilions in the centre
of the northern and southern sides of the garden are known as Sawan and Bhadon,
two principal months of the rainy season, either because they represent those
months or were used during those month/
-98654321` s, but which is
Sawan and which is Bhadon is not exactly certain. The northern one is provided
with a tank with niches for candles in its sides, so that the water cascading
over them would create a picturesque effect.
On
the elevated strip of land along the eastern wall stood two small marble
pavilions, built by Bahadur Shah II, the northern one known as Moti-Masjid and
the southern one as Hira-Mahal. The former was removed after the Mutiny; the
latter still stands. In the centre of the garden is a large tank with a red
stone pavilion in its middle, originally connected by a causeway with the
garden. It is known as Zafar-Mahal, after the nom de plume of Bahadur
Shah ii, by whom it was built, in about 1842.
Nowadays it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Every year on 15th August the Prime Minister of India hoists the Indian tricolour flag at the main gate and delivers speech. Although the colour of the wall has become a little bit fade, but still today it has importance, and undoubtedly it's a part of India's pride.
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