Vacation Travel India

The circular shopping arcade of Connaught Place (properly Rajiv Chowk) forms the heart of modern Delhi. The colonnaded corridors were built for the British to shop in style. Concentric roads create an inner, middle and outer circle lined with shops, restaurants, street stalls and cinemas. The underground Palika Bazaar on the Outer Circle has tiny shops overflowing with tourist tat and touts. The tourist theme continues to the north, with the backpackers’ ghetto of Paharganj Bazaar, opposite New Delhi Railway Station, which offers cheap food and accommodation, and colourful shops: most of which is best avoided. To the west, Baba Kharak Singh Marg has a row of State Government Emporia where regional handicrafts are sold at regulated prices. Also here is the popular Coffee Home cafe. Opposite is Hanuman Mandir, a temple dedicated to the monkey god Hanuman, much revered by wrestlers. At the end of this road, to the left, rises the golden dome of Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, the city’s principle Sikh Temple. Going southwest along Sansad Marg (Parliament Street) is the red sandstone Jantar Mantar, an open-air observatory built by Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur (open sunrise to sunset), a focal point for political protests. To the south, Janpath is popular for its street stalls, Tibetan market, women from western India peddling embroidered fabrics and the huge Central Cottage Industries Emporium (CCE), which offers a glimpse of the wide range of handicrafts available in India.

Kasturba Gandhi Marg leads southeast to India Gate past the cultural centres of the UK and the US, which have good libraries and reading rooms in addition to cultural programmes. To the southeast, Barakhamba (Twelve Pillar) Road leads to the cultural circle with Rabindra Kala Sangam, Triveni Theatre and cafe, and various auditoria hosting regular performances of dance, music and theatre.

The area around India Gate formed the British administrative centre of Delhi with the local “Champs Elysees” of Rajpath surrounded by lawns and shady trees, water channels and fountains. India Gate, a 42-metre (138-ft) high archway, was built by Lutyens at the eastern end in 1931 to honor Indian soldiers who died during World War I and on the Northwest Frontier.

Rashtrapati Bhavan O the presidential residence (former Viceregal Lodge), can be seen at the western end of Rajpath with the circular Sansad Bhavan (Parliament House) nearby. Flanking the approach to Rashtrapati Bhavan are the North and South Block Secretariats, housing the Ministries of Finance and Home Affairs, and Ministries of Foreign Affairs respectively. At the eastern end of Rajpath (by India Gate) are two magnificent residences, Hyderabad House and Baroda House, built for the two most powerful rulers of the so-called princely states of British India. Beyond India Gate lies the National Stadium.

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The capital of India presents a captivating combination of ancient and modern. As a major cultural centre, Delhi offers a glimpse of the diversity of the country’s many states.

Delhi is the political and administrative centre of the world’s largest democracy. It has a population of more than 13.7 million and covers 1,500 sq km (579 sq miles). Presenting a curious mixture of old and new, this sprawling city has two main parts, Old Delhi (former Shahjahanabad) and New Delhi (the former British capital), consisting of ancient villages and sites that have been engulfed by newer residential areas (colonies). The city struggles to cope with the effects of expansion - pollution, traffic congestion, shortages of water and power, continual construction - and an extreme climate. Recent positive moves include the conversion of all public transport from diesel to compressed natural gas, and the opening of the first stages of a metro system. There are three lines, which are constantly expanding - visit www.delhimetrorail.com to check their progress. Line 1 runs from Shahdara across the Yamuna to Kashmiri Gate before heading north to Rithala. Line 2, of more use to visitors, runs from Vishwa Vidyalaya in the north, crossing line 1 at Kashmiri Gate, before running down to the Central Secretariat via Connaught Place. Line 3 runs from Barakhamba to Dwarka.

Ancient cities of Delhi

Strategically located between the Aravalli hills and the Yamuna river, Delhi has been the site of more than a dozen cities. It is named after an earlier settlement, “Dillika”. The first of the cities was Indraprastha, legendary capital of the Pan-davas, epic heroes of the Mahabharata. Recent excavations at Purana Qila (Old Fort) date the settlement to between the 1st century BC and the 4th century AD.

The next documented city was Lai Kot, founded in the 8th century AD by Tomara Rajputs. It was captured and renamed Qila Rai Pithora by the Chauhan Rajputs in the 12th century. Later it was occupied by the Slave King Qutb-ud-din, who founded the Delhi Sultanate and began construction of the Qutb Minar. The monuments and ruins from this era stand in and around the Qutb Minar complex in South Delhi. The ruins of Siri, a capital established by the Turkish Ala-ud-Din Khilji, can be seen around Hauz Khas colony. In 1320 Ghias-ud-Din Tughlaq moved to his fortress city of Tugh-laqabad, east of Qutb Minar. His tomb, overrun by monkeys, stands across the road from the ruins.

Ferozabad, once the richest city in the world, was founded in 1351 by his successor, Feroz Shah Tughlaq, on the banks of the River Yamuna. The ruins of his palace and other monuments are situated in Feroz Shah Kotla, south of the memorials on the Ring Road.

They were followed by the Sayyids and the Lodis, whose tombs stand in Lodi Gardens, south of India Gate. Their defeat by the Central Asian invader Babur, in the 16th century, marked the end of the Delhi Sultanate and the dawn of the Mughal Empire. Din-Panah fort (Purana Qila) was built above the Yamuna River by Babur’s son, the studious Humayun, who was forced to flee by Sher Shah, an Afghan invader. Sher Shah began constructing his new capital of Shergarh, but Humayun won back Delhi in 1555 only to die a few months later when he fell down his library stairs. Akbar, Humayun’s son, moved his capital to Agra. His grandson, Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, returned to Delhi in 1638 to build the glorious Shahjahanabad. This walled capital, bound by 14 gates, included most of Old Delhi, Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque), the bazaars around Chandni Chowk and Lai Qila (Red Fort) from where he ruled his empire. Successive invasions from Persia reduced the power of the Mughals until the British took over Delhi in the 19th century.

In 1911, during the visit of King George V, Delhi was declared the capital of the British Empire in India. The present city of New Delhi, designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, was completed by 1931.

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On the banks of the Yamuna

Eastward, behind the Red Fort, the Ring Road along the River Yamuna is connected by three bridges to the Trans-Yamuna residential areas. On the river bank from Red Fort south to ITO Bridge are the cremation grounds, now memorial parks dedicated to national leaders such as Nehru, Lai Bahadur Shastri, Indira and Rajiv Gandhi. The biggest complex here is Rajghat where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated, and there are two museums dedicated to him here. Gandhi Darshan (open Tues-Sun 10am-5pm; free) has a good collection of paintings and photos, and charts the history of the Satyagraha (non-violence) movement. Close by is Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya (open Fri-Wed 9.30am-5.30pm; free), which houses a display of Gandhi’s personal belongings and has a library of recordings of his speeches.

Further south is Pragati Maidan - a huge exhibition complex - site of the Appu Ghar entertainment park. The adjoining Crafts Museum (open Tues-Sun 10am-5pm; entrance fee) has demonstrations by regional craftsmen, huts built in regional styles and a good crafts shop. The fascinating exhibition galleries have displays of Adivasi art, woodcarving and textiles. There are bhuta figures from Karnataka, brightly decorated Naga objects from the northeast and some wonderful bronzes from Orissa. The textile galleries are superb - the collections run to over 22,000 objects - as well as some astounding, especially the Kashmiri, examples of embroidery. There are also weaving demonstrations.

Facing its entrance stand the ramparts of the Purana Qila (open sunrise to sunset; entrance fee; daily “Light and Sound Show”), with panoramic views of the city. The fort was built by Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri (1540-45) and was taken over by Mughal Emperor Humayun when he regained the throne in 1555-56. Its Qila-e-Kunha-Masjid is the best preserved Lodi mosque in Delhi. The Sher Mandal pavilion, library and a lake (once part of the moat) surround the fort.

Delhi Zoo is next door. Indian zoos are particularly depressing, resembling concentration and torture camps rather than, at best, places to breed endangered species. The zoo shares a border with the wealthy Sunder Nagar colony, with a market famous for antique/reproduction shops and sweet stalls.

Mathura Road leads to Humayun’s Tomb (open sunrise to sunset; entrance fee). Set in beautiful gardens, the red sandstone monument is the finest Mughal building in Delhi and the prototype for the Taj Mahal. It was commissioned by Humayun’s senior widow, Bega Begum, and completed in 1565. Also in the grounds are the remains of the octagonal tomb of Isa Khan. To the north, easily visible from the gardens, is the modern Damdama Sahib Gurudwara.

Close by is the shrine, or dargah, of the Sufi saint of the Chisti order, Sheikh Nizamuddin Aulia (1236-1325), after whom the surrounding colonies are named. The dargah is a haven of peace in this busy Muslim area; the tomb of the saint is in a pavilion with beautiful marble screens (note: women are not allowed in the tomb itself). Also buried here are the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah (1719-48) and the saint’s disciple and poet Amir Khusrau.

South of Nizamuddin, the modern white marble, lotus-shaped Baha’i Lotus Temple (open Apr-Sept Tues-Sun 9am-7pm, Oct-Mar Tues-Sun 9.30am- 5.30pm; free) stands on Kalkaji Hill. This was completed in 1986 as a pilgrimage site for the Baha’i sect. Visitors must walk barefoot. Nearby, the colony markets (M & N Block) of Greater Kailash offer good shopping and restaurants.

South, on the Mehrauli-Badarpur road, the 14th-century ruins of Tughlaqabad Fort (open sunrise to sunset) and Adilabad, Delhi’s third city, dominate the landscape. Remains of ramparts, water-storage tanks and subterranean passages can be explored, but this area can be dangerous to visit alone.

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