Historical places in Delhi

Once again Sunday was really a welcoming day for all of us by a morning rain, we in a team of three people Mr. Shafqat Ali Chaudhary, Mr. Asfandyar Khan and I headed towards Hamyoon tomb in Delhi which is hardly 30 kms away from our Meadow residence in Fareedabad.
We took an auto Rikshah that, one can easily hire with an actual charge in rupees according to a meter fixed inside.



We dropped in by auto nearby to Humuyan’s tomb, the tickets were purchased from archeological and tourism department that enabled us to get inside the area of tomb, the area is quite huge and capacious, in which lawns and parks are developed by Agha Khan Trust in-collaboration with Indian tourism department.
A brief history of Humyan’s tomb is quite fascinating as the building of the Humayun's Tomb was encouraged from the tomb of the Persian Mongol ruler, Oljeytu, at Sultaniyya. It is complex structure but has its own charm and grandeur. Thousands of travellers from all over the world visit the Humayun's Tomb every year and every day.



You can site Humayun's Tomb in Nizamuddin East in Delhi. Located conveniently at the banks of Yamuna, this tomb is major attraction among the tourists. Counted among one of the must visit monuments Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi was built by his beloved wife Hamida Banu Begam. Its construction work started in the year of 1569, which is fourteen years after the death of Humayun. It took about eight long years for the tomb to be completed.



This tomb is one of the most beautiful monuments in Delhi. Humayun's Tomb, Delhi depicts the true Mughal style of architecture, which was inspired from the Persian style of architecture. It was also recognized as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of the brilliant architectural beauty. It involved about 15 lakh rupees for the construction of the Humayun's Tomb in Delhi.
The tomb is surrounded by beautiful lush Mughal garden. The garden is divided into four parts by pathways. This is typical of all Mughal gardens. The various water channels for the fountains make this tomb a true architectural delight.

Inside the Humayun's Tomb, you can find various architectural features, which makes this tomb a truly grand structure. You can find baradari (pavilion) and a hammam (bath chamber) inside the tomb. Built of red sandstone, the dome of the tomb is made up of sparkling white marble. The octagonal chamber within comprise the tomb of Humayun.


After visiting Humyun tomb we moved towards Al Karim Hotel located at Khawaja Nizamudin’s shrine vicinity, this is of one those hotels series which is known by its quality and taste in India.

Following the time constraint in mind we moved towards one of the other historical sites of India by hiring an auto as usual.






A Qutub Minar: The Tallest Monument
The tall and ever attractive monument of Delhi which can be seen from most parts of the city is called the Qutab Minar. Every body has the same question when one sees the structure for the first time. The question that is often being put up is "Why the monument is that big?" or "Was there any specific reason to build such a tall building or it was just a wish of the person who built it?" Well, the exact reason is assumed to have something related to commemorating the victory. Mughals used to build victory towers to proclaim and celebrate victories. Some say the minaret was used to offer prayer but it is so tall that you can hear the person standing on the top. Also, the minaret is not joined on to Qutuddin's mosque and the Iltutmish's mosque.
Qutab Minar is among the tallest and famous towers in the world. When Alauddin returned from the wars in the Deccan, he had this thought in mind that he would build a victory tower. The ruins of this very initiative can be seen adjacent to the Qutbuddin's mosque because Alauddin died at the very start of the construction work and no one carried on to finish the initiative taken by Alauddin.
Qutab Minar is another great masterpiece of Mughal architecture. It has a number of floors or storeys which has beautiful carvings like the one on the tomb of Iltutmish. There are inscriptions all round the tower and these inscriptions reveal that Iltutmish finished the tower. The structure of the wall is made as such that it widens from top to bottom, just to make the minar stronger.
The top of the tower gives an insight to Delhi because you get to see the bird's eye view of the city. To point a few sight seeing from the top, you will find views of the Hauz Khaz on the left and the walls of the Jahanpanah and Siri on the right. It was this very top of Qutab Minar that was used by Khilji and Tughlaq kings to watch the wild Mongol hordes when they threatened Delhi.
The Minar did receive some damage because of earthquakes on more than a couple of occasions but was reinstated and renovated by the respective rulers. During the rule of Firoz Shah, the minar's two top floors got damaged due to earthquake but were repaired by Firoz Shah. In the year 1505, earthquake again struck and it was repaired by Sikandar Lodi. Later on in the year 1794, the minar faced another earthquake and it was Major Smith, an engineer who repaired the affected parts of the minar. Great number of foreigners are coming to visit this site as it is literally amazing and extraordinary work of engineers of that time.



Our visit came to end as the sun was going down to complement visitors to come to visit Minar at evening time. On the way back home we had stop over at some where near to bus stop in Badarpur, a small boy Arjun was selling maze. We bought cooked maze from him and tried to know why he is doing this job in a very small age. On this question, he said that his whole family relies on him to earn bread for them. Again, I tried to know how much he earns daily; he said some times 100 and some time less than this amount. He goes to school in morning and then sales maze at bus stop. In India there, a quite great number of children associated with child labour and struggling very hard to sustain their families for years to come.