Delhi gate

The Delhi Gate links Old Delhi with New Delhi.

It sits in the center of a busy road. 
On one side are the old tightly-squeezed, winding roads of Shahjahanabad, the last Mughal city.
On the other are the medical college and cricket stadium of modern Delhi.

Instead of passing through the gate as traffic used to, it makes it's way around this four hundred year old piece of history--never imagining that it might be in the way. 

The way old and new exist right next door to each other is one of India's greatest characteristics.

Khooni Darwaza

The Khooni Darwaza looks deceivingly pleasant.  But it's not really so friendly a spot and it's history is as disturbing as it's name:  Bloody Gate.

There are violent tales of the monument's bloodstained past.  Which are true and which stories belong to other gates is lost to history.

Maybe this is where Mughal emperors Jehangir and Aurangzeb executed rivals.

Maybe this is where refugees were murdered during the 1947 riots.

Maybe this is a gate where criminals were executed and displayed.

Two incidents associated with the archway are accurate:
The 1857 murder of the last three princes and heirs to the Mughal dynasty,
and the 2002 rape of a medical student.

I like gates, I like history, and I like a well-told story. 
But here the echoes of brutality from days gone by are a little too easy to hear, especially in a city nicknamed "the rape capital".
Perhaps when the dynasty of violence toward women is finally ended and they can feel safe on their own streets, this gate's bloody history can fade away

"You can't come in"

"Go away," said the guard when I stepped inside the gate.
"I am waiting for my friend," I replied.
"Okay, then go away."
"But when she comes, we want to see inside."

"You can't.  It's prayer time."
"Oh." Set back but not giving up, I said, "Then we won't go see inside the masjid, we will only go in the park."
"You can't."
"Why not?"
"It's closed."
"But why?"

"The wall has a crack in it and the park has been closed to the public."
"Is the other gate open?" Persevering on...
"No gate is open."
"Can you unlock it?"
"It is not possible."
"Can you open it after prayer time?"
"No, this is not possible."

Bummer.
I tried.  I tried really hard to see Sher Shahi and the Lal Darwaza, but I did not succeed.

Talaqi Darwaza

This is the Talaqi Darwaza, "forbidden gate".  It's the northern gate of the Purana Qila

It's been unopened for a long time.  And there's a story that goes along with why the gate is kept closed.

They say that the king went out to battle through this gate and said to his subjects not to re-open it until he returned victorious.
Sadly he never returned alive and so the gate was kept closed to mourn his death. 

Good story.

The problem is that it's historically implausible.

The only kings ruling from this fort were Sher Shah and his son.  Neither of them went out to battle and died.
And Humayan, well, his death was a different story all together.

Mihr Banu's market and gate

At one time--amazingly--the area of Humayan's tomb was undeveloped forest, well outside the gates of Delhi's sultanate.  You'd never imagine that now, with the bustling Nizammudin neighborhood and the railway around it.

But yes, once upon a time there was nothing there.

Yet, it was on the route between two important places, Agra and Afghanistan.
And someone decided that it was a good place for a way station.
And thus the Arab Serai was built up and extended into Mihr Banu's market place.

A place for travelers to rest.  A market place to resupply.  A water source to refresh.  It would have been a busy place, full of people of all kinds.

Today the impressive gateway to Mihr Banu's market is at the far southern end of the complex of Humayan's tomb.
And it's empty.  Few remember or visit. Travelers have other places to stay, and not many are on their way to Afghanistan.

Because it was near the holy place of Nizamuddin's dargah, Akbar and Hamida Begum decided to put the tomb of Humayan here.  So the market area is where the hundreds of workmen would have lived for eight years during the construction of the building.
It wasn't until about 45 years after the tomb was completed that a person named Mihr Banu built the gate and enclosed the market place.

It makes me wonder:  where did the market go?  In the history of Delhi and Nizamuddin village, 1612 isn't all that long ago.  Why did it move away?  There are still thousands of people in this area.  When did their market place disappear to spread out in other places of the neighborhood?
Sometimes it's just as fascinating to me which things of history disappear as which things are still remaining.

Rashtrapati Bhavan

Rashtrapati Bhavan is fun to say.
And fun to see.

It has a beautiful gate, which stops you from getting any closer to the presidential residence, but you can stand there and admire it for as long as you like.

Standing here beside the gate, you can also see the Jaipur column, which was a gift from the Maharajah of Jaipur to the British when they were constructing Luyten's Delhi. It has an inscription on it which reads:

In thought faith,
In word wisdom,
In deed courage,
In life service,
So may India be great.

Rashtrapati Bhavan stands at one end of Rajpath and can be seen from India Gate.

I wouldn't recommend walking that distance, though.
Or walking from the back side, where the entrance to the Mughal Gardens is.
Both are farther than you imagine. Especially when it's hot and there are not enough ice cream sellers around.
When those auto drivers go past asking whether you want a ride, don't shoo them away. This is good advice--I know because I ignored it twice.

This last picture shows what is known as Lutyen's Waterloo.
Sir Edwin Lutyen, in his design, wanted there to be a perfect eye line from India Gate to the residence on Raisina Hill. The original site of the building was pushed back by several hundred meters, which meant that the hill blocked the view and made the building look small.
Lutyen fought to have the road leveled to a long, inclined grade so the view would be unobscured. He was convinced the overall architectural design would be ruined.
He never won this battle, though, and his defeat was compared to Napoleon's at Waterloo. It would cost too much money at a time when the British were not looking to invest in building projects in India.

I have to agree with him. It's a shame that you can't see the full extent of what an imposing and immense structure lies at the end of Rajpath. It would be a sight worth seeing.

Alai Darwaza

The Mughal ruler Alauddin Khalji built up several things around the Qutab Minar in hopes to make it even grander than before--as if it wasn't grand enough to begin with.
One of the things he built is the Alai Darwaza--a main entrance for the mosque.

It's a perfect color contrast of red sandstone and white marble, and an excellent example of Islamic architecture from that time period.

It was meant to be a magnificent entrance to the mosque he enlarged, but most of his construction projects were not completed before he died.
Kinda sad that we don't use that entrance even now.