THE CAPITAL CITY OF INDIA

THE CITY OF DESTINY
How does one describe Delhi The capital city of India The capital of the world’s largest democracy Actually, Delhi is India in miniature. Delhi is 32,87,263 sq km of India’s fantastic variety compressed into 1483 sq km. Over the millennia, it has wooed rulers, attracted plunderers, and tried historians with so many details. Today, even as it preserves an enviable heritage, Delhi is a true cosmopolitan city always on the move.
GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Location
Situated in the northern part of the country, Delhi extends latitude 28.38°N and longitude 77.12°E. It is encircled by the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the east and by Haryana in the other three sides. Delhi is an ideal gateway to visit the north Indian states of Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana. Delhi is connected to all the major cities in the world by regular flights.
Climate
Delhi is hot and humid in the summers, and cold in the winters. The average temperature ranges from 25°C to 46°C during summer and 2°C to 5°C during winter. The cold wave from the Himalayan region makes winters very chilly. In summers, the heat wave is immense and adequate precaution has to be taken before going out in the afternoons. The best season to visit Delhi is during the spring seasons of February to April and August to November. It wears a festive look between February and April, the blooming season.
HISTORY
To go right back into an era where mythology and history are too closely intertwined, it is believed that Delhi, then known as Indraprashtha, was the scene of action of India’s great epic, the Mahabharata. Periodic archeological excavations bring in more and more evidence to support this contention.
Thereafter, historians say there have been seven cities of Delhi. If you count the smaller settlements and forts, the number may touch fifteen. Each city has left behind so much story and material for rumination that it requires many a lifetime to know them all completely.
Recorded history exists from the 11th century when Dillika, as this little town was known, found its focal point south of where it is now. This kingdom was known as Lal Kot. The famous ruler of this line of Tomars was called Prithvi Raj Chauhan. He is said to have built many temples and a huge fort called Qila Rai Pithora.
However, their 200-year-old rule culminated with the arrival of the first set of invaders—the Slave Dynasty. One of the rulers of this dynasty, Qutub-ud-din Aibak, built the tall Qutab Minar. The Qutab Minar has five floors. It is 72.55-m high with a base diameter of 14.40 tapering to 2.4 m at the top.
Time moved on and by the end of the 13th century, the Khilji Dynasty was looking around for the best piece of land on which to build their seat of empire. Today where Delhi’s best auditorium stands, the Siri Fort as it is called, was the site the Khiljis had chosen; it is closer to central Delhi than Aibak’s kingdom.
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq succeeded Alauddin Khilji and, as vanity demanded, built a magnificent fort at Tughlaqabad. It is perhaps the most beautiful ruin in the country. Standing very tall, its massive structure quite contrasting with the delicate ornate style is still charming. The famous traveler Ibn Batuta recorded that it used to shine bright against the sun like a fort made of gold. There were huge silos at the entry points and this fort had umpteen gates. The story goes that a saint called Nizammuddin Aulia cursed Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq that his city would never flourish.
Perhaps, destiny willed it that way too. In those days of treason, Ghiyasuddin fell prey to his son Mohammad Bin Tughlaq’s ambition. Mohammad built his own city, Adilabad, a few yards away from Tughlaqabad. He enclosed a large area within a wall, creating within it the Jahanpanah forest. Then came the foolish attempt to move the capital away from Delhi. However, he had to shift his capital back to this city within a few months.
His nephew was Ferozshah Tughlaq. The fort built by Ferozshah—Ferozshah Kotla, as it is known—has stood as an inspiring backdrop to many famous bowlers and batsmen. The rest of the structures are, however, not intact. This fifth city, like the sixth city of the Lodi Dynasty, has few of its monuments left. Once again, Delhi saw a shift of capital to Agra.
However, it did not last long. This time the famous battle of Panipat, which brought the fulcrum back to Delhi eventually, saw Sher Shah Suri as the ruler. Sher Shah laid the foundation for the Grand Trunk Road and built the Old Fort. Today the fort complex houses the zoo in addition to preserving some of the buildings inside the fort.
The living legacy of Delhi is Shahjahanabad. Created by the builder of Taj Mahal, this city, with the Red Fort as the focal point and Jama Masjid as the praying center, has a fascinating market planned to shine under the light of the moon, called Chandni Chowk. Shahjahan planned Chandni Chowk so that his daughter could shop for all that she wanted. It was divided by canals filled with water, which glistened like silver in moonlight. The canals are now closed, but Chandni Chowk remains Asia’s largest wholesale market. Crafts, once patronized by the Mughals continue to flourish in the small lanes of the city, once known as Shahjahanabad. Tradition and modernity meet at unexpected places in Shahjahanabad. If you see a man pulling a rickshaw or feeding pigeons, you will see just as many talking over the cello or assembling a computer! An experience of timelessness awaits you at Shahjahanabad.
Modern Delhi, or New Delhi as it is called, centers around Rashtrapati Bhawan. It is architecturally a very impressive building standing at a height, flowing down as it were to India Gate. This stretch called the Rajpath is where the Republic Day parade is held. The imposing plan of this area conceived by Lutyens does not fade in its charm with the numerous summers or winters that go past.
Delhi remains the center of power. Once it was a city of royal power. Then it became the seat of colonial power. Later it was the seat of bureaucratic power. The seat of political power it has always been. Today it is emerging as an important center for corporate power too.
The most fascinating aspect of this city is its cosmopolitan nature. You can find the whole of India in its little colonies and structures. Contemporary times will be far more difficult to record for tomorrow’s history.
PEOPLE
Delhi is not a place in seclusion; it is by nature a homogenous city, which is ready to assimilate all incoming influences—whether they are people, culture, or the languages. The recorded history of Delhi started only after coming of Aryans from the Central Asia. These people, with their large forehead, wheatish complexion, and tall physique were the one whose descendants are even now in majority. Over the ages, the city attracted a large number of races because of its central position and wealth. Even now, the city is attracting people from all over the country who come in search of better life and opportunity. This character of assimilation has given a new dimension and dynamism to the city.
ECONOMY
With a per capita income of 11,650, Delhi is India’s most prosperous state. People here are enterprising with great business acumen. The state boasts of best infrastructural facilities available in the country. Major industries are manufacture of Razor Blades, Sports Goods, Radio & TV Parts, Plastic & PVC Goods, Textiles, Chemicals, Fertilizers, Soft Drinks, Hand & Machine tools, Leather Goods, Galvanizing & Electroplating, Printing, and Ware Housing.
CULTURE

Art
Cruising through the different art exhibitions and galleries of Delhi, one transcends to a different world altogether. Delhi can boast of having one of the most prestigious art galleries—The National Gallery of Modern Art, an institution by itself. In 1976, The Lalit Kala Academy, with the help of Delhi Development Authority, set up studios known as Garhi, the artists’ haven. Inspired by the city of art in Paris, where artists, are provided with studios and lodgings, Garhi was built on these lines. Only qualified professional artists can work here. Their work is evaluated and those with talent and great promise are taken in. The artists are given a free rein to explore and discover their creativity. Though situated in the center of South Delhi, it is cut off from the hustle and bustle of busy city life providing an opportunity to the artists to pursue their interest in a tranquil atmosphere.
At Anandgram in Qutab–Mehrauli is the Sanskriti Kendra, a serene sprawling sanctuary for artists, craftsperson, as well as visitors. Set amidst eight acres of land dotted with two thousand trees, the Sanskriti Kendra was the brainchild of Mr. O. P. Jain, a distinguished art collector. It was conceptualized as a place where creative minds could pursue and interact with others on an area of study of their choice with an aim that from such an interaction would emerge a new sensibility that in turn would enrich and strengthen the bond of our shared culture. Here craftspersons live in mud huts reminiscent of their village homes while, scholars are provided complete studio, workshop, library, and residential facilities. The Kendra has an art gallery for exhibition of work of artists, an auditorium, and an open-air amphitheatre.
Other important art galleries in Delhi include AIFACS Gallery, Art Heritage, Art Today, Azad Bhawan Gallery, Center for Contemporary Art, Delhi Art Gallery, Dhoomimal Art Center, National Gallery of Modern Art, Triveni Kala Sangam, Wadhera Art Gallery, Sahitya Kala Parishad, and many more.
Craft
A city that boasts of a minimum of seven incarnations will have more to talk about than just old monuments in different stages of ruination. Not surprisingly, Delhi has a rich legacy of crafts patronized by the emperors of yore.
Shahjahanabad, Old Delhi as it is called today, is the richest of the legacies. Not only because it is the closest to us chronologically, but also because the Mughals were great patrons of arts and crafts. Go to Matia Mahal’s Pahadi Bhojla and you will find umpteen shops of jewelers who fashion beautiful bangles and necklaces out of bone. Their predecessors were ivory craftsmen. However, with the ban on ivory, they were compelled to change their raw material and switch over to bones of buffaloes and camels instead.
Creating magic with golden thread embroidery or euphoria with semi-precious stones, there are the zardozis in the neighborhood. Zardozi is the art of embroidery with gold thread. These craftsmen work intricate designs on silk, velvet, and even tissue materials. Insignias, pulpit covers, embroidery on the robes of bishops and even the Pope are all created here.
The medicinal value of silver paper (varak) is well known. Thin sheets of silver paper are still wrapped around sweets and even betel leaves. If you are looking for the authentic one, go to Matia Mahal again. A few of the craftsmen who beat silver into thin sheets, by hand, still live here. Once upon a time, there were so many of them that you could just follow the sound of the hammer and reach them. Today you have to do a little asking around to reach some small workshops.
The famed meenakari work, where paint is embossed on silver or gold to give it the look of a precious stone, was once a thriving business of Shahjahanabad. Turbulence of Delhi, ever since Nadir Shah and later the colonial rule, pushed the artisans away to peaceful climes. This group moved partly to Rajasthan, while those who make bangles from lac moved to Hyderabad in the Deccan.
Lacquer work bangles are one of the old art forms still living in Shahjahanabad. Bright shades of yellow, red, and blue are perked up with tiny pieces of mirrors and gold-colored borders with beads to add that extra touch.
Common to many parts of Delhi are the potters. Not only do they fashion pots for the hot summer, which, in spite of refrigerators, are still greatly in demand, they also fashion beautiful clay and papier-mâché dolls. These clay dolls, some as toys and some as decorations and some even as clay idols during festivities, have a diminishing demand from the rural-urban migrators.
Then there are more. Making of incense sticks, of attars (perfumes), brass molding, and so on. Shahjahan’s gift to the country did not stop with Taj Mahal….
Dance
If it’s dance and music you are interested in, then you can choose which kind you prefer watching and concentrate your energies in that direction. If it’s the classical dance form you want to view, go to the Kamani Auditorium or Siri Fort. Triveni Kala Sangam has an auditorium too. Then there’s India International Center on Lodhi Road that offers very good programs. In the cooler months, many dance and music festivals are organized and every corner of the city is alive with various interpretations of movement and sound.
However, if it’s optimistic gyration that you prefer, then put on your dancing shoes and be prepared to rock the night at one of Delhi’s many exclusive dance clubs. These clubs are located within Delhi’s five-star hotels such as Maurya Sheraton (Ghunghroos), Le Meridien (C.J.’s), The Hilton (Annabelle’s), Hyatt Regency (Oasis), Taj Palace (My Kind of Place), and Park Hotel (Someplace Else). Houseguests and members can enter scot-free and the rest of Delhi (couples only) has to pay for some fun. Each place is distinct from the other in its décor, music, lights, and crowd. Ghunghroos, most popular with the younger generation, is perpetually packed in spite of the limited floor space. Annabelle’s and My Kind of Place have comparatively better seating arrangements and an older crowd. Oasis boasts of the best décor. Most of the places have laser lights, which is interesting for watchers as it penetrates the dancers to form myriad shapes and figures on the facing wall. Some places even have a couple of TVs and of course, all discotheques have bars for the ones who need a little spirit to raise their spirits.
For those Delhiites who are willing to go beyond their limits for fun, The 32nd Milestone (32 km from Delhi on the highway to Jaipur) has the answer—Fireball. The place has a futuristic look with the décor resembling the interiors of a spaceship. The dance floor is so large that you can actually move your legs along with your body unlike in the compact discos of Delhi.
Music
Music connoisseurs have a variety of sounds to choose from. The auditoria where these concerts are held are the same as the dance programs. Whether Indian classical, Hindustani or Carnatic, or the lighter ghazals, there is no dearth of choice. When a particularly well-known singer comes to town, it is usually well covered by the press. The papers also reserve a column in their daily editions to display a list of programs for the day. These programs include not only the visual arts but also lectures on a wide variety of topics by scholars or luminaries in that particular field. To see the craftsmen of the city and the country make their wares, you must go to the crafts museum in Pragati Maidan and Dilli Haat. They try to display this form of indigenous talent and let the craftsmen benefit from their skill at the same time.
What’s more, all these places have a café or canteen in the vicinity. So, if you feel like mind-satisfied-is-not-stomach satisfied it can be set right.
Overall, Delhi offers a profusion of cultural activities from light entertainment to scholarly programs.