Safdarjung Tomb

At the end of one of the posh-est roads of Delhi lies the final resting place of one of the strongest General's of the late Mughal era, Safdarjung. I happened to visit it early on the morning of 14th, alone, and was simply awestruck by it. As one enters the main archway and stares at the magnificent structure, the cacophonous sound of Delhi seem to leave you. Built by Safdarjung' son, it is a monument of love, albeit of a different kind. However, early in the morning on a day dedicated globally to those in love, it stood desolate and empty.

The central chamber of the tomb, 3 stories high, is intimidating to say the least. Not a sound is to be heard even though one stands just a few metres away from Delhi's ever jammed roads.

There was a lot of renovation work going on, which, although a good initiative, seemed to lack in execution. Haphazard signs and repair work seemed to take as much away from the beauty of the place as they sought to restore.

It was a place which seemed to know its time had come, yet it stood resolute, braving all and sundry and still commanding a unique position in Delhi's map.

As enamored as I was with the place, I refrained from taking the usual photographs and tried to click some unusual subjects.

Suraj Kund Mela

Instead of the early morning sojourn to some monument, we decided to soak in the sights and sounds of SurajKund Crafts Mela this week. It is not easy to describe the atmosphere as one finds it there. People dressed in costumes, candy floss makers, chat stalls, tight-rope walkers, kaliedescopes, stalls from all across the country and even abroad, it is a colorful, cheerful affair. Oh and the crowd.. 50000 people reportedly went to the mela on Saturday, so i'm guessing it would've been more on Sunday.

Enough said.. I'm not good with words, nor with people photography. All images have been shot by Abhinav :)

Purana Quila

After another week's hiatus, actually it was a fanta-fabulous GOA trip, the pictures of which are unfortunately out of purview of this blog, visited Purana Quila, the inner citadel of the city of Din-a-panah, this sunday. Built by Humayun and then Sher-Shah Suri on the alleged remains of Indraprastha, this also houses the Delhi zoo. As such, a major part of it cannot by explored.

The pics are essentially straight-out-of-camera with a little adjusment to levels and cropping. A couple of photos have been clicked by my cousin, Abhinav Bhagat, and i havent "copyrighted" them, as such.

The lal darwaza, or bada darwaza ( i forget which ) is the main entrance to this magnificient structure.


Sher Mandal, an octagonal structure used by Sher shah as his library and a masjid in the background.


Sher Mandal, through a bush ( Abhinav ). This is where Humayun fell to his untimely death as tried to sight Venus. Thus fortifying the age old theory that women are dangerous. She did not even require her human form to bring about India's Emperor's demise.


The qila-i-kuhna mosque. we were tooo lazy to go nearer.


The Humayun darwaza, one of the entrances to the fort, from an angle. Loved the play o light in this.


The dome of the humayun gate ( Abhinav ). brilliant timing to get the bird's silhouette bang in the middle.


Humayun Darwaza from yet another angle. Climbed illegally to the top through some haphazard barricading. All blames should go to Yash, who found it.


The mughals sure knew how to maintain their lawns. And Delhi police sure knows to place their barricades at the most inappropriate places. made for an interesting photograph, so i'm not complaining.


The "lake" outside the fort.


The following are two panaromas which are best viewed in large size in flickr ( click on the photo )