Known simply as Purana Qila or Qila-e-Kohna (both meaning `old fort’), this fortress was built in the 1530’s. The site however does have a history that makes it truly old, and also historically and culturally of great significance. It is believed to be the site of one of the oldest settlements in...Read more
The Red Fort is the modern name for the Qila e Moalla (the ‘Exalted Fort’) built as a focal point of the new capital city of Shahjahanabad, established by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in the mid-17th century. The fort was designed by the architect Ustad Ahmed; construction began in 1639 and ended...Read more
The imperial city of Shahjahanabad was established in the mid-seventeenth centruy by the emperor Shahjahan as his capital. Over the last more than three and a half centuries it has seen many changes - new buildings have of course replaced many of the older ones, but also new roads have been built,...Read more
According to traditional belief, the tomb of a saint confers sanctity on the surrounding areas, and therefore many have opted to be buried in the vicinity of a saint’s tomb. The shrines or dargahs of men like Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (in Mehrauli) and Nasiruddin Mahmud `Roshan Chiragh-e-Dehli’ (in...Read more
The name Firoz Shah Kotla to most people today suggests an extremely popular cricket stadium of the city. In fact the stadium overlooks a 14th century citadel, from which it gets its name, Firoz Shah Kotla. Among its ruins stand a pillar from the 3rd century B.C., and a functioning mosque. A little...Read more
Sandwiched between two of modern Delhi’s most prominent landmarks – Pragati Maidan and the National Zoological Park – the Purana Qila (‘old fort’) is appropriately named. It is old, of course; the citadel here dates back to the 1530’s – but there are many older monuments in Delhi. What makes Purana...Read more
For many today Shahjahanabad is synonymous with old Delhi, the heart of the city, a fascinating melange of the different eras of Delhi’s history, but with a throbbing life in the present. It is a lively commercial hub, and this is where the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is still centred. Shahjahan...Read more
Jaisalmer Fort, located approximately 300 kilometers west of Jodhpur in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, India, dates back to 1200 a.d. Built by Maharawal Jaisal Singh at a strategic location along ancient trade routes, it has suffered not just the ravages of time, but also the inexorable...Read more
A s one of the world’s oldest civilizations, India has been influenced over the centuries by cultures from around the globe. From the Roman remains in Arikameddu to the Mughal architecture of the sixteenth-century Emperor Akbar and the distinctive urbanism of French, British, and Portuguese...Read more
The soft glow of butter lamps illuminates Lama Tsering as he blesses a bundle of prayer flags, aspersing them with rose water and grains of white rice. Clad in a saffron robe and enveloped in a cloud of juniper incense, he prays for the success of our mission, his rhythmic chant punctuated by the...Read more