Kos Minar, Mathura Road

Delhi Heritage Trail : 9

       Kos Minar

      Mile Pillar situated within the  premises of Delhi Zoological Park, on Mathura  Road.  These were Mile Pillars which were erected during the rule of mediavel  Afghan ruler of  Delhi Sher Shah Suri(1540-45) and later  by Mughul rulers.  They were erected  on the  main highways marking the distance. One Kos is equivalent to 3kms.

      They were solid round pillars around 30 feet in height  that stands on a masonry  platform built with bricks and plastered with lime. They were important tools of communication and travel in Mughul empire.

      Many such Kos Minars were constructed in the  highways from Agra to Ajmer via Jaipur,  Agra to Lahore/Peshawar via Delhi,  Agra to Mandu in the South and Delhi to Bengal via Kanauj in the East. Modern Indian highways have come up in  the same route marked by these Minars.

       This one of the few surviving Kos Minar is situated on Mathura Road and is well preserved.

Kutub Minar

Delhi Heritage Trail : 8

      Qutub Minar

     Qutub Minar the tallest stone tower in the  Indian subcontinent.  It is situated on the  southern suburb of  Delhi near  Mehrauli.  The  construction of the tower was started in the year 1192 by Qutbuddin  Aibak the founder  of  Slave dynasty near Quwwat ul Islam Mosque.  During his lifetime only the  first storey of the  tower was completed made of red sandstone.

       The  second,  third and fourth storey were constructed by his successor Iltumish(1211-36). It was struck by a major lightening in the  year 1368 during the period of Firuz Shah Tughlaq and the  fourth storey was damaged . It was replaced by him along with an additional  fifth  storey. Later in 1503 Sikandar Lodhi  of the  Lodhi  dynasty renovated the top stories  with  marble stones.

        The  total height of the Minar is 238 feet and there are 329 revolving steps  inside it to go to the top.  The  angular  and circular fluttings on the  lower storeys, projecting balconies and decorative inscriptions on the  walls add to its beauty.  It is said artisans  from  Samarkand and Bukhara in the  middle east Asia were brought to do the decorations.

       Another major  earthquake struck the Minar in 1803 and the  top Cupola was damaged.  The  East India  Company  Governor General  authorised Major  Robert  Smith  Garrison  Engineer stationed at Delhi to do the repair.  He replaced the top with  a Hindu style Cupola and work was completed by 1828. But it was  not  in tune with the Islamic  architecture of the Minar  and ultimately  in 1848 Lord Hardinge ordered the  removal of it and it now lies in the corner of the ground.  It used to be called Smiths folly.

      Our people are enamoured by the modern day  skyscrapers of the western hemisphere without appreciating the one in our backyard constructed 800 years back.

Mirza Ghalib

Delhi Heritage Trail : 7

        The Tomb of Mirza Ghalib at Nizammuddin.

     Mirza Ghalib  (1797-1869)  was a great poet of Persian and Urdu languages who lived in the  final era of Moghul rule in Delhi. He was born  in Agra  as Mirza Asadulla Baig Khan and started writing poetry from the age of 11. He migrated to Delhi and had his haveli at Ballimaran in Chandni  Chowk. He was a court poet of Moghul rulers.

       Ghalib married at a young  age of 13 and none of his seven children survived infancy stage.  This tinge of sadness in personal life was reflected in his poetries.  He was popular in the  Indian  subcontinent. His theme that life is  one of continuous struggle was reflected in his verses.

       He was a gifted  letter  writer and in one of his letters mentions marriage as second imprisonment after the initial confinement of life itself.  His letters paved the way for simpler usage of Urdu which was ornamental earlier.

       He took the concept of Ghazals and changed  them from expression of anguish in love  to philosophies of life. His haveli in Chandni Chowk has been converted into a  memorial.  He was given the title  Dabir-ul-Mulk by Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1850. He died in 1869.