Delhi

Delhi (and New Delhi), capital of India. Lord Curzon, the Viceroy who was a great lover of art and architecture, once described Delhi as "the deserted cities of dreary and disconsolate tombs", for here lie the ruins of seven empires - one Hindu and six of Muslim rulers - as well the memories of British rule. Amid the ruins of the old empires, Moghul Emperor Shah Jehan sought to build a "paradise on earth" and thereby emerged the old Walled City of Delhi with the imperial Red Fort, the Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk (street of silver) reputed to be among the richest shopping centres in the world. The British moved in on the ruins of Moghul imperialism and built their civil lines, a pedestrian set of office blocks and houses, and then, perhaps inspired by the magnificent monuments around, designed the city of New Delhi to be the most spacious capital in the world and a circular city in which the roads radiate from the centre. Time and people have always foiled the planners wish to make Delhi a showpice. Among the ruins such plans rises the Kutub Minar, started in 1206, which sky-scrapers 78 metres from a base of 12 metres diameter, tapering to 3 metres at the top. It is considered to be the most beautiful example of a perfect tower in any part of the world. The tombs are many to engage the visitors into rest, like the Lodi dynasty's and Humayun's, and the modern memorials to Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Rashtrapati Bhavan, the 100-room palace built for the British Viceroys, is the home of the Indian President: It is among the biggest palaces in the world, grandly conceived and beautifully laid out in a garden. Driving along Rajpath, the tourist gets the best overall view of Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Secretariat buildings rising on both sides of it and the circular Houses or Parliament. From the ruins of the past to today and tomorrow are a few minuites by car, to the National Physical Laboratory and the Gamma Garden at the Agricultural Institute, Within five minuites walk of the fashionable shopping centre of Connaught Place is Janter Mantar, an observatory built by Hindu astromers more than two centuries ago. Around Purana Kila, the ruins of the last Hindu empire to flourish in Delhi nine centuries ago, a modern zoo has been laid out. Chandni Chowk, which Shah Jehan laid out close to his palace, still holds its place as a shopping centre despite the creation of Connaught Place and the emergence of a host of other centres round the twin cities.

For Centuries, Chandni Chowk has housed shops dealing in precious stones and jewellery and expensive carvings and inlay work, moulded exclusively by craftsmen whose dexterity has been famous throughout the world. Branching off from Chandni Chowk is a lane, Dariba Kalan, where one can find a wide array of costume jewellery gold and silver antique and modern. Here you will find many jewellers who refuse to handle anything but precious metal. Jewellery shops number around eight hundred in Delhi spread over the old and new cities. From Chandni Chowk it is a few minutes walk to the majestic Red Fort, the fortress palace of the Moghul Emperors which Shah Jehan started building in 1638. It is a structure of almost bewildeing dimensions, 488 metres east-west and more than 914 metres north-south. The huge walls and the palaces inside are well preserved. When on enters the Red Fort through the Lahori Gate you come to a vaulted hall 114 metres long, which contained the private bazar of the Moghul emperors. Today, this magnificent hall houses small shops. Next to the hall is the Naubat Khana, the music chamber where the royal band played five times a day. The Diwan-i-Am was the Moghuls hall of public audience where the emperor listened to petitioners; the poorest among the people had access to the emperor her. Today, this hall is usedby the Delhi Municipal Corporation for civic receptions to visiting dignitaries.