Jacob's Delhi: Purana Qila

After weeks of visiting the more obscure parts of Delhi, I decided to travel to one of the more well known landmarks of the city. Realizing that it had been 15 years since I last visited the Old Fort, or Purana Qila, I decided that it would make a good choice for the day's excursion. The choice of name is amusing, seeing that it is neither the oldest fort in Delhi nor is it really that much of a military fort. Built as a palace citadel adjacent to the Yamuna flood-plain, it is a popular haunt for Delhiites wanting to take the family boating in the moat surrounding the fort, or as a side-visit for people making a trip to the Delhi Zoo which lies adjacent to the structure.

The significance of the Purana Qila and its surroundings is that the Mughals decided to make this area their first centre of power in Delhi. One of the earliest Mughal structures in Delhi can be seen around here (more on that later). The story of this area begins, historically, with the establishment of his capital, Dinpanah, by Mughal emperor Humayun in 1533 in this area. Later on, in 1540, he lost his empire to Sher Shah Suri, who built a lot of what we see here today, and called his newly refurbished city Shergarh. With Sher Shah's death in 1545, there was a string of quick successions within the Suri dynasty, after which the Mughals under Humayun returned to Delhi. However, Humayun's second reign was to last for less than a year, with him falling to his death down a flight of steps in this citadel's library. A year later, with Humayun's successor Akbar had to contend with a certain Hem Chandra, who was a general under the later Suri kings, wresting control of Delhi, and crowning himself emperor at Purana Qila. A month later, he met a bloody end in a battle with the Mughals. Needless to say, given the extraordinary bad luck that kings have had ruling from here, nobody ever tried to administer Delhi, or the empire, from here again.

There is a story of how the fort is built on the site of the legendary Mahabharata city of Indraprastha. However, I don't believe that there has ever been any archaeological evidence to substantiate this. The association seems to have been made from the fact that there was a village called Indrapat built within the walls of the fort some time after it was abandoned by the Mughals. Archaeological excavations have pointed to the existence of human settlement here from the Iron Age, based on Painted Grey Ware shards, but the evidence is far from conclusive. A small museum inside the fort does show some of what was unearthed.

Purana Qila is situated on the Mathura road, just north of the Zoo, and just south of Pragati Maidan. There is a fair amount of parking space meant for Zoo visitors. However, I chose to take the metro to Khan Market, and walk the 1.7 km from the station, up Subramaniam Bharti Road to Mathura road. Just at the intersection in front of Purana Qila is another set of buildings which I decided to visit on the way back. Walking up the road to the Purana Qila, one sees the lake on the left (with paddle-boats for hire), and the Zoo on the right. Walking straight ahead, there is a ticket booth (charging Rs 5 for Indians and Rs 100 for foreigners). Access to the archaeological museum requires a second ticket that costs Rs 5 as well.

Compared to earlier forts, particularly those built by the Tughlaqs, you can see that they took the trouble to make the fort look beautiful. Tiled domes, use of sandstone and marble, and elaborate carvings can be seen all over the structure. The fort walls are huge and imposing, and the moat around it would have made unauthorized access difficult. The main entrance into the fort nowadays is the western gate, referred to as the Bada Darwaza. Pegged in between two enormous bastions and high walls, it is an imposing structure. Once inside, the archaeological museum is immediately to the right, built into the fort walls. On its own, it is hardly impressive, but you may as well check it out as part of the overall experience, since there aren't too many things to see here.

Bada Darwaza from the outside

Bastion to the side of the Bada Darwaza

Bada Darwaza from the inside

There are nicely landscaped lawns and gardens all over, making it a nice place for a picnic. Walking to the left, along the walls, I arrived at the northern gate, referred to as the Talaqi Darwaza. Legend has it that Sher Shah Suri went out from here for the Battle of Kalinjar in 1545, instructing that the doors be shut until he retured. Since he died in battle, they never reopened the Talaqi Darwaza. Something that is apparent here, more than at the Bada Darwaza, is that the gate were built at two levels. The higher level would be used to exit the fort onto land, while the lower level would open out at water level. There is a well-like set of steps taking one down to what would have been the lower level back in the day. The chatris, or canopies, on top of the gate do indicate a more artistic approach to building than previously.

Talaqi Darwaza

Talaqi Darwaza Chatri

Moving on from there, I made my way to the congregational mosque of the fort, the Qila-e-Kuhna Masjid. This was built by Sher Shah in 1541, and is very highly decorated, with marble and sandstone being used as casing material. I would consider this to be the highlight of the entire location.

Qila-e-Kuhna Masjid

Calligraphy on the main gateway

Intricate marble carving

The sheer quality of the artwork is impressive

From there, I moved southwards to the other major building in the fort, the Sher Mandal. There is some uncertainty regarding who actually built the Sher Mandal, and the official ASI info-box evades the question. It is built on the highest point in the fort and was probably used as both an observatory and library. It is a two-level octagonal structure, which one can no longer climb. Humayun died here in 1556 when he tripped and fell while coming down the stairs while rushing to his prayers. Along the way I passed a narrow stepwell, or Baoli, and a brick structure that is claimed to be the remains of heated baths, or Hammams.

Baoli, with Qila-e-Kuhna Masjid in the background

Hammams

Sher Mandal

Balcony at Sher Mandal

Finally, I continued southwards down the road to arrive at Humayun Darwaza. This is where the two-level gateway mentioned earlier is most apparent. And that was it as far as Purana Qila was concerned. There is a sound and light show held here every evening except on Mondays, describing the story of Delhi's seven cities and how it evolved to the place it is today. The actual start time for the English-language show varies depending on the season, ranging from 7:30 pm to 9 pm and lasting an hour. Tickets cost Rs 80 on weekends and are a little cheaper on other days.

Humayun Darwaza - the two-level entrance is clearly visible

On my way back to the metro station, I decided to visit two buildings across the road. The first is the Khairul Manzil, a buiilding that functioned as both a mosque and a madrasa in the past. This was built by Maham Anga, the 'wet-nurse' of Mughal emperor Akbar and generally wily proxy ruler for a while, in 1561. The name literally translates to 'auspicious house'. It's a bit forlorn today, but there is a kindly old caretaker who is keen to share his knowledge of the place with you. It appears that the mosque is still in use, if sparingly so.

Khairul Manzil Courtyard

Entrance gate and water tank

Intricate paintings on the inside of the mosque

Adjacent to this building is the Lal Darwaza, also known as Sher Shah Gate, once the southern entrance to Sher Shah's capital city of Shergarh. Lining the road to the gate are the remains of what were probably shops. While photographing, a security guard who was snoozing under the gate woke up, embarrassed at having been caught sleeping, and told me that I was not allowed in. I pointed out that I wasn't the only person around, and that the gate was open, with big ASI boards all around. I asked if he had a copy of the order closing the gate to the public, and he walked away mumbling something to himself, allowing me to continue my photography. Checking the Lal Darwaza off the list, I finally made my way back to the metro station, and then home.