(More pictures from Delhi at surendra.smugmug.com)
I lived in Delhi for over 15 years, I have been away for over 21 years. Delhi to me defies definition. Like Rome, Delhi has history, Like New York – a settlement of nationalities, Delhi is a mini India. Yet, New York has a pulse, Mumbai has a vibe, Calcuttans love Kolkata- Delhi and a Delhiite defies definition. As someone mentioned Delhi belongs to all yet no one belongs to Delhi.
Delhi is about power, raw power, proxy power, palace power, palace intrigues and anyone is just three degrees of freedom to someone who know someone who wields some power.
North Block- Center of Power (surendra.smugmug.com)
Parliament House- Corridors of power
President’s House- ceremonial power (surendra.smugmug.com)
Delhi has been a power center for centuries. Qutab-ud-din Aibak razed some 27 Jain and Hindu temples to construct his tower of glory the imposing Qutab Minar in 1193 AD., leaving it to his successors to complete this monument. Dynasties have always wielded real power in Delhi (to this date). Qutab ud-din Aibak’s son in law Iltutmish took power after Qutab leaving the throne to his daughter Raziya when in a palace coup Rukumuddin Firuz, Raziya’s brother was installed King. Firuz being incompetent his mother Shah Turkhan became the proxy ruler of Delhi. Things have not changed much have they?
Qutab Minar built between 1193-1386 AD (surendra.smugmug.com)
Iron Pillar -Qutab Minar built by Chandragupta Vikramaditya 375-413 AD a 6 tonne piece of wrought iron that has withstood nature, yet shows no sign of rust
Humayun took over the Mughal Empire after his father’s death. Power, though kept him literally intoxicated and opium and wine were his undoing. Not surprisingly palace intrigues with nobles planning and plotting kept him on his toes – most of the time in exile.
Humayun’s Tomb built by his wife Hamida Bano Begum (surendra.smugmug.com)
Chamber Dome – Humayun’s Tomb
Isa Khan Niyazi’s Tomb (surendra.smugmug.com)
Isa Khan’s Mosque (surendra.smugmug.com)
Gurdwara View from Humayun’s Tomb (surendra.smugmug.com)
Yet, there is one place, one place in Delhi that stirs some real emotion- Amar Jawan Jyoti and India Gate. To me that is India, though so not Delhi:
India Gate & Amar Jawan Jyoti (surendra.smugmug.com)
True, Delhi is a mini India with people from all corners of the country and all religions. That by itself brings all together in their day to day existence. Delhi while still a cultural ghetto does have elements of inclusion. Nothing exemplifies this than the magnificent Bahaai Lotus Temple – one of the most inclusive monument that accommodates people from any faith to enjoy that moment with their chosen one.
Bahaai Lotus Temple (surendra.smugmug.com)
This is what I believe Khushwant Singh once stated about Delhi:
Humpty Dumpty, hocus pocus, hurly burly
If there is a paradise on earth, it is Delhi
Full of people, overflowing
Markets onto the road going
Full of fumes, full of gases
Full of ultra modern asses
Full of shining, made-up faces
Full of heart and cancer cases
Car and truck and motorcycle
Full of vehicle on the vehicle
Full of jolting, full of stoking
Full of lanes and bylanes choking
Full of housing haywire going
Full of sewage into Jamuna flowing
Full of callous indifference breeding
Full of pastures fast receding
Full of power, and still power crisis
Full of smoothly rising prices
Full of girth and grime and mirth
Our Delhi is a paradise on earth.
……..and every time I come to Delhi I see a renewal, a Delhi that I can barely recognize, change both good and bad, and the only things that tie me back to the Delhi are the relics of the past. This time I had just one day to wander around Delhi, more when I get more time.
For those from Delhi – your views on Delhi?
More pictures at surendra.smugmug.com
Upnabout Surendra Saxena 
Very nicely written SK. Delhi does bring all mixed emotions – whether you see old tombs, or new buildings. When I look at Qutub Minar, it’s not the awe it inspires that it was built almost a thousand years back & is still standing, but it’s the sadness it evokes on how & why it was built. This is so for almost all monuments in Delhi. You see the grand Commonwealth structures & one just can’t forget the corruption it was mired in. One meets the most artsy, interesting folks in Delhi & yet you can’t escape the rudest & most insulting specimen of human race in the same place.
Anil
Oh but I love Delhi, yes it can be so unpredictable
Great captures!
True – Delhi not changed much over the decades (centuries?). Still a power center.
Been here all my life. The relationship is much love n hate. Am glad to get away when I can ..and happy to get back when I do. At turn of a street, you see history. Turn your head, and you spot a high street. A mix ..heady at times. The uppity ..the crass. A cocktail.
Am sure you would have already, but a walk through the walled city with the camera is an experience again. I think, that’s where much of Dilli’s dil lies.
A mixed bag of emotions – Delhi greets you in the most predictably unpredictable fashion! Yes, I need to walk the walks in the walled city……God willing some day soon!