Tales of Historic Delhi A walk through its many cities Ne and illustrated by Te — iTales of Historic Delhi Written and illustrated by Premola Ghose Edited by Rohini PurangAMBER BOOKS, ba, Yong Zeban of Phan ue Nev ei ws | New bent? 18 fooy 10040 "Ww.2ubaan books com i mS Fis public by Reprned, 2012, Amber Books in asecation with Young Zubsan, 2011 M15, 2018 sett nal med Np Par of this Pblcation may be reproduced, malin ec gene odin ay frm or by 29 oP clectronic, tetas pha "Sorting or there with rior permission of This Bete the coninn tha i sha rer en rge Out, oro aati Pus 204 by way of trade or terwise circulated wih wm of ding mith bre PF cover other t te cong Purchaser tthe publishers han that in which ih ‘sling this contin, beg ‘imposed The geen i ‘Stepan! Poke thse ofthe, bie par 3 NOt necessarily those mss Pai ee “Spal forthe annonce in tt NEW DekiContents 1. Delhi Chalo! 2 Qutb Minar 3. Siti Fort 4, Nizamuddin 5. Tughlagabad 6. Hauz Khas 7. Lodi Gardens 8. Humayun's Tomb 9. Lal Qila 10, Chandni Chowk 11, Safdarjung’s Tomb 12. New Delhi 13. Timeline of DelhiChapter 1And there’sa huge tower thingy:” add cer thingy.” added Bula, “that ki hat kind of looks ‘You mean the Mutub Kitt,” said Mayurdas the peacock, 1 Feandle. ‘Mutub...? Oh, 1 think you mean the Qutb Minar” you're thinking ofthe Lots Temple said Dr mint fps oa gn AHA rrdon me," came a voice. Tota the parrot came eee aoa Herufld his bright green feathers. “I ana been es 20¥N ane on cher hana hundred confused. though that past O° 8 Dr Kamal sled. “Vou a eet as mac eh are righ, Toa.” she said. “I was only tal Puch is hundreds and andy ati" abo ds and hundreds of oot New De even ome city, ae joe 288 oe pl a tne i: iS 1088 oF liter not '©P of the other go ti bulk Some believe th, in ab. at in the ant’ Pepe ep. when King’ Sone ePtca tine the angels answered: ‘is Fr, esting lace of Gods “Itsounds wonderfull” animals chorused. ce i, Te heard that now Det forests no animate 8° bit ” smiled Dr Kamala, “there are cr things — car, hotses ops the ‘civilised world ag andar the monkey burst into hysterical laughter, “Givilsation!? Whaat Everything that you are not" said ‘Tanna, importantly, "Ma'am tell uy more <1 happily tell you,” replied Dr Kamala. "But wouldnt you rather go se them yourselves? -yESM" chorused the animals. -They packed up their bags and hopped (and lumbered, and flew) onto the tain heading foe Deak When they got off at New Delhi Railway Station, they could not believe their eyes: Such a pe yndl bustle! Such noise and honking? Cars and yellow-green auto rickshaws, bicycles and aaaee Qrerbridiges and underpasses, Metro stations, bus stops. and .. o many people: rabbit. “This is my kind of town!” He hopped on to Zero the giraffe's rowed a scooter and went zooming off into the idling to get a good look around. Wow” breathed Lucky the pack, andl they ambled off to explore, TT borr efi, and Mayurdas and Tota flew up to the top of a big bu reaceful jungle — and a bit overwhelming. Dr Kamala Ie was all so very different from their p this was the signal forall the animal to follow her to & waved her rainbow umbrella in the air — quiet spot near the Purana Qila *tsivealledpurana’hecause it’s the oldest thingin Delhi?” mused Luck. gazing up at the fortress walls 5 — and itis pretty old. It was builtin the 16th “No,” said Dr Kamala, “But that’s a good gues ‘on the site of an ancient city called century by Sher Shah Suri, Some people chink that it was built Tndraprastha — that dates back to 2500 BC. According tothe Mahabh th gardens and palaces and mansions whose gateways ata, the Pandava brothers built a spectacular city right here — wit Jooked like the clouds and reached as high as the mountains. Oh, I would love 1o have seen that.” sighed Zero the giraffe. "It sounds really grand. wwe do know is that in the “We're not really sure what it looked like then. But what ‘nang Pal Tomar. He built sth century AD, the modern city of Delhi was established by the beautiful tank of Suraj Kund which we can go visit later if you like And so they did.Pi) | rama wandered ovr tjoin them. "Se thi iron pillar” she ask he asked. “Ir, 1 pundagupta I. The shake Vasuki was pinned und inderground by this pin Y this pillar yy Te omara was king of Deli, he pulled out th atthe pillar and set Wht aa eee le a veer We hve enw man ean Chouhans Slave kings. Khali, Tughlags, Sa een $0 many dyna’ Wt cating encouraged. Ds Chan Sn i ais Tal Snyis Loi So Afghan Meenas wt rein enn gd Kamal nin The ya at his pil You ow fave democracy, 80 no one rules Forever € s) Mughal oy rece your back toi ane ry so mst your hand i pila. Yubare > a ter anean nt Toman md eet behind you yet marae 1 lapped, cy watched ava olin ed and wi ia hs hands mb cou ie mas They parked the dombey aye and Dr Kamala ce “Fale —— {Quy anc was parachring gent ra decided to get a binds eye view of the Novel busts! ikea bundle of well cut sticks with acy balconies, Quite the people that caved sis any Years A zero the girale bi flown. “I-really Took ike the pants with verses from the Koran ‘eeally wonderful artist!” searing to ish his enue. "Anyways La SAT urbwein Aba trutash,Resya — Delhi's on woman wy fallin Khali Jaald’s Dei. They say his hearts busied do bul minaret higher ha perched on the iron pill, Mayurdss (ila Rai Pthora had several Sultans Ser — and Balban. These Slave ‘pephew, Alauddin, was one ofthe mer re madras that lesa the back ofthe mos ts but he sump near he gate alle could maak a" aid Dr Kamala, let's goand see Aud to my nears and deats a8 ings were overthrow most powerful Sultans of re, He wanted ihe “Before we B0 ins gateway, Ala Dare they saw an elephant, “known nanukhi” He ead ave) a buch of aan at them ‘when they got theres vested comfortably in the gateway He beamed vrata the ear bounded. ver: “Are yu also fom te JUNE! NaN mise all of Mayordass he peacock, “You may bea we vata, heard enough” replied ihe elephant adress Ta puta you tell te friends dat sis Minas was nok caer iba Aiba, bt ale verre Su saint Qubuddin Bakbtiar Kak?” cou barana luton set 1 started Mayers, ring bis feather" oyou livne, Yun Soin” sad Ehrigranl"andiesetinanas simp Tama devotee of thChapter 3 4 Siti Fort C KA sng. a busy asked Lucky .and scholars, men of the arts Jestroyed , st Asia was P rhe Sejuh Empire in ai ourt seeking DS iin pve brought in many foreign into India. T do hoy sai Lucky "that ms Won to per about giving them visas a mula the beat “They must have brought all their tastee Ugh commen refer ny favourite fruits ~ ber and chiku — to, fa ith hea. Fue ebabs of Asa “a 4 hese comments and continued. “Alauddin Khalji conquered secur Raathanbhore. One ca sill ee the village of Ea a ae wheve Audi's atmay had lai lege. He fll he ten Queen Pain’ of Chitior. He wanted to rr sar ano btalthough he conquered the fot he di get the Queen. ‘Malik Kafur, Alaudldin’s great general, conquered the Deccan. Wealth, including the Kohinoor diamond, flowed into the Sultans coffers. By the way, Alauddin built the second city of ted the Mongols. Which is,” hhey had arrived at Siri Fort auditorium and could see the ruined walls of ancient Siri that Delhi at Siri, where he had def she looked around, "right het led imo the village of Shahpur Jat. The animals headed into Siri Forest Park just as the sun was beginning to set. ' strange time to vista park," said Lucky in a frightened voice. ned, as they cimbed up to the entrance, a mist descended and even the crows fell silent. Suddenly they heard a he “I'm getting peckish sid “Let's goto Haws Rs village and see if we co fi something to eat.”6 ChaptertC Ne alot forthe restoration of the old Sultanate buildings and alw Maclrasa?” suid Bandar, looking around and scratching his head “What madras? ‘you're standing init, you silly bandas!” hooted Pant Ooo Lala, and al the animals laughed. Bandar’ face turned red. This madrasa was built by Feroze Shab. He built loads of suff! When the poet Mutabar Kara first saw it, he exclaimed: sow a space as wide as the plain ofthe world. The courtyard was so animating and its expanse was Iie giving.” Scholats from allover the Muslim world athered here to teach the Koran, la, astronomy, philosophy, and medicine.” In 1987, Hauz Khas village opened is doors to shopkeepers and instead ofthe sound of music or the chatter of studer now all you can hear are the cies of shoppers, reveying motor engines, land the mooing of cows. Since water was re-introduced into the tank again a few years ago, you tan also make out the sounds of ducks and other waterbirds around the lake The animals sitting up atthe madrasa heard a much more familiar voice Stop! Thiet” Ik was Zero! He came galloping up the road chasing a small boy who was clutching Zero's bag gleeflly. The animals started to run towards him, but they were too far away. The hile thief was getting away! Suddenly, Bandar had a brilliant idea, “Hey you!” he yelled atthe top of his voice. ‘Drop those peanuts!” The boy looked down atthe bag he was clutching and, thinking that it contained not money but peanuts, dropped itand ran away tl the park Tota swooped down and picked up the purse, Zero could pay for his necklaces — and Bandar became the Hero of Hauz Khas!Chapter 7 Lodi GardensMeanwhile, Zero had raucrat and a se _are you a foreign diplomat?” asked the retired burea have: sell, nota diplomat. But, in a manner of speaking, 1am a foreigner replied Zev Lucky began to giggle uncontrollably, "He's from Africa” qrhe serving bureaucrat looked Zero up and down, “Ive been to Africa with a delegation of samana planters, but I've never met an African with spots! “Neither have I” giggled Lucky The retired bureaverat commented, “In my time, an African with a Jong neck anel spots was ‘called a Giralfe, but things keep changing..." ze Zen monks from across the wall decided to enter Lodi Gardens and take di for walking meditation — walking together like acentipede’ So there were these wilifnonks, sporting cane hats and fanning themselves with pallet fans dosed eyes moved slowly and deliberately like Bugakss dancers. They were rmingggli— i oa “Surely, ifthey keep thei eyes shut they wont ~~, B sceall te ice lowers and lovely monuments? 1 Migjeigricd a furry dog, who happened wo be pasing by Yes indeed Ue mindful medkators missed the riotous colours tha B eamed from the howerbeds, the in tombs ofthe Sultans of Delhi, deme But They also missed the Black Cat scuriy and the terrorists! most wanted politician!Chapter 8 ’ uns Tomb Humaysh Thm 0 mee Salon MD, der Lo carches of Humayun'sy peer ander thea mb yp gal he aetna die ng, cr itl He win rough 8 a ores To ease Woe arn ' Lea e ST } J ae eS s Mughal hos riding asin road ayy Hai Ram” exci «falcon on his hand x Ghost One Bad hunting” mute hyn Two “The vver'sfthyand bird fe is getting scarce,” + bc elie Ghost Two. “The pollution. Last evening, the dust ang He Stahensha i dong about pol ie sand nw home commented Ghost One 8 any the sree,” responded Ghost Two, ‘ache akon ning their conversation, “it's getting warmer, too, Bandar chortled with delight. “Prt, never change! Pollation and gesg warming! We should ask the envrornes Ininister to invite these Mughal hos iy his next conference!” Nearby, more tourists disgorged fan buses andl auto-ickshaws. Mate pepe A flowerpot seller and to Sikh mechan converged on Humayun’s tom and an WR all the chatter and honking was a lone Sui, swing and twirling and singing loos ‘Hare Rama, Hare Kreesh-na.” Teta took off into the skies screeching “India is Great fai Hind! This is composi. culture for you!”i Chapter 9 Lal Qilai Chandni a Chowk g pl gal Lt 2 let r Aaa, g A g Ashore oy i Dar chy sol rede wie Be go We on-specific zones in the kattas, which were the wy ed bch 2 a famous for its Mughal cuisine,” sen of hispart. “St-Madar!” he sid, address seas wasaresident er i Renan mere thelr TT sae and eds weresodto rasan horsemen who rode up and down the gt gal nen yee at the eps of ams Masi and od Faas tales OF Amir Haan id. "Ab wel sighed Pinky, “now all hiss one large shu!” ‘Wher’ Zvo got ud Lahorial ooking around from his rickshaw He hadnt sen he for quite a whl hsbc Theres!" ied, pointing up with one bright geen wing. Tt was quite aig * Zr! Whe watching thesyvard leap of kites his ong neck got entangled with the neg st And he was having such a god time tat he had not yet thought of disentangling him Sow? hc excimed (0 the lanp post “That mast be TT: She looks most stylish with her nd was beginning to worry. Suddenly Tota swooped down and land TT, lounging in a rickshaw, was an incredible si mi ight — all the passers-by goggled at a sorgcoustgcress wearing goggles : — Hai Bhagwan” sid Pinky, Fiscthere’sa 7 ha’ happening here? le wrapped around lamp post an ‘Never mind globalisation” sai "pon atime this : nett Bt kta ie 1 caiman ht one Persia and Abas ngnicent haves, 1's all been ou mean the h he Uprising? chipped in Luly Alas! Wer ths all The fag, 1857. When Chal A The fai Kb wrote, nica +A ocean of blood churns around Temas for met ee 6Chapter 11i 1 route to Mehrauli A Persian by bi sumed Shab Rangeela, anothey vy of Safdar JUNE th, Sat ist Jung ican ughal emperor, Muh Mi spent losing chy ope and served two Mug » Muhamed Shah ant ane ci i publi Pen esing hi rie ge rad a ung Tomb is the ast reat Mughal 2 8H Sak he Ay fon ne 1718 A a in 1789. Although Nadir she an 55 ane Safa hb Fecha my other thinga Sah in 1798 the Pariah Dog. "Every historian th 7 paar wh me def among 8 PS) and qitha ed caking to Moti t “he pean id “w sole the eaeck Thre Shahan Nay get Muga ayurs comb oF the poet ofthe Tj Mabal a Stat All esroved the CH ru nd 04 POC. Brake oy “es fi sam a eave) : tage 5 siete Gal” Te ees se ole about this “And,” thought Baa, Toa pipe i Te a oe At en hale Did you, So less 10 509 M shrough the charbagh one sees hox gracfl he Ton aa re man ot ee nage ens wh Ma Gal, Di yy fecuse hen one ering and laughing. And did ou ne he ow se a a Atami i D8 mene Migs an animals re lnes andthe old derk who dedded wh ; 1 yal: i ou ao Row hat Ce ml Form yy a a ee pit perched on on ofthe fant? a i te ones Range POG? Andy thera er perfected and tht gu De Ramlila, whic the Emperor loved watching ee ‘pula and Lucky, I don't suppose you dffers rat any my 1d its impecunious ways ended in 1808, when Lord Lake : ‘ofthe Mughal Empire and the era ofthe nce an impec ted he Morte was sere The defeat Bish dat bal aopaoe do very well today. Ev lnc! Butt suppose you can do al I ghs with a baradari (summer hy i valores Rovers, Bids anf. Day were filed with sighs and nights wi longing. ery god or poetry "sigh TT, “one colt in a male pavilion ad eat the most exquisite bisa oul ase bee Mahamied Shas Quen, who but the Qudsia gardens on Too many mosquitoes,” sid Zero, “and it would have been the days before Flit and Hic Bevond Stahjshanabad ly esas of great nobles, ke Jasinghpura, the estate ofthe Sahara of Jun He buit one o his many Jantar Mancrs in what is now Patige coe Set ash in and Isamicasronomka ystems were used and they surprisngle nee “cate! Isa fn plat bein as heteare so many shapes and odd spots enere, ‘Newb theres the Hanuman Manic where Tannu decided to buy bangles. _ eins By the way the Tuesday fis ery oe Brot inthe eigen century soa temple aes bck othe tine othe Neh, They ay Tulsidas, author ofthe Rema charia-manaua rote the Honunan Clase here. The geet topped with an Islamic cresc eee Wow Tha realy quit somean es ther meting and startedChapter 12 New Delhi mae Vibe ies werrt ae ‘ a fi, EFgros cs called ‘Luryen-Dei's eapital hour on Au hhowk to Lal “inorial to all the Indian sag Sounds rather sac Not at all” piped uy In the ey ~ tne ea ice-cream and play, Sure! eve ed an Y chorused, and they headed oft India Ge It as like a smallseate businessmen’ entre nlT® SVEry creature was entrepreneus Zero Thad started selling cold dink nth extra-long straws, Imagine sitting borne 24 sipping Coke fron bottle ving on the grave Wow! What Ekmukhi had restyled himsei dumbo from Janbudwip. with Bandar as his mahout, Fes tourists it was a royal ride down Rajpath and the ww had made oodles of cash, Inspired by theis success, Tota had brought her siblings SHi there! they chorused, We are Parrotinterprets Inc — English, Spanish, German, Japanese...pleased to help You... welcome!” for about 17 years. The Union gust 15th 1947 joke 1 life and Feedom. Well, here we are 4 beat. can speak!” chipped in Bulla wo joined them on itd every year there's a huge parade of Republic by {Gilt Ache end of Rapa is Ine iets who died in World Way 1 tad finished emailing and had "ening, it's great fun to go hall We go there now? } own ay rattcred, “Well, what ean 1 do? 1 a amp posts on the gered, outdated bird a oa aly Pere ok ash aaa alo ess I'm just ay i Onl 1 iM Foods ral ice-cold Coke, eee eae eer i wen i ren he note Hires” ne eon, “exces ie sed Bla Je ats stall any pa ye sl homemad a nota sing my seller ty 1h! 4 the shoeshine boy and the balloon sell rst a eer DUNE “So glad the shoe Pen so : cl se PE a ee apy i ngs ae adiing 10 the din and chaos and lia Gate, ays to Noida si arama tor Rag neemnee ed a whizzed a wi caning Da ned to be zooming ahead ah ins, Delhi really seemed. I the metro tra oo the flyovers and onea3, $, a’ at OPA ACY esnda that thie othe site of inde sndavas of the Mata iCeor ie (Disputed dates 3000 BEE oa le 1160-1192 Chauhan as N80 Lalor eal know as Dhilika or Pure by Chauhans and renamed Qia Ra Py of the by thi Sultana Mey Includes the Mamluk Save), Khai, Tghlag, Thana Aiba becomes the first Sutan of Deh St Mehra SHIA Qutbuddin Babar Kai the Chis onde sts up hich Mongol invasions beg Tenants bein i toda and coin a 924, in Udavagn othe Quab con agen! mv Bee rected by Chandagipt Lat atempe Raziva becomes Sultana Nisamuddin Auliva arrives in Deth Balban becomes Sultan Jalaluddin Khalji becomes Sultan, Tyog Hlauddin asassinates his unl, Jalaluddin Khali, and become Sultan [203 Foundations of Siri laid by Alauddin Khalj Chivor til 1306.” Malik Kafur’s invasion of South India begins Death of Alauddin Khali Death of Mubarak Shah. End of Khalji dynasty Ghiyasudlin Tughlag becomes Sultan of Delhi Construction of Tughlagabad begins. Completed in 1924. Muhammed bin Tughlag becomes Sultan of Delhi. Death of Nizamuddin and Amir Khustau Muhammed bin Tughlag shifts his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad, but soon returns to Delhi to establish a new city named Jahanpahah. 1334 Ibn Barutta visits Delhi and lives here till 1341 1351 Death of Muhammed bin Tughlag, Feroze Shah Tughlag, Sultan of Delhi, builds Ferozabad, also called Feroze Shah Kotla 1354 Madrasa of Hau Khas built 1356 Death of Naziruddin Mahmud Chiragh-e-ill 1398 Timur of Samarkand sets out to invade India 14141421 Rate of Sayyid dynany Tot atl Khan odbc lan SOL Sikander Lod shite hitcapta omy Dt oa eee nding the Delhi Sultanate 1526 Ibrahim Lodi dies, 60 a dae lds PNP npero sultan Lodi S a detent fs tna adept im sin the silage oF 1NGP wn x Sul syrana becomes Sul ates the Su yas rank roa tha the Gran and repairs1a eee i on Rd 1658 Aurange sa, daghter of Shab Jaan, 4650 Chain Chowk designed by Jahanara Begum, da aba mes under the protection ofthe ¥ Several weak Mughal Emperors. The Empero Mahara Ji Singh 1 of aipug Muhammed Shah Rangees becomes Enpeet Present Hanuman Mandi built Jamar Mantar bitin Debi by rsa invades nia, Nadi Sha of| 1805 Rapid decline ofthe Mughal Empire or India Mutiny: Bahadur Shah Zafar, ast Mughal Emperor, is defeated by the British, 18581947 British Raj : Firs Delhi Durbar, where the British Queen, Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India, 1908 Dethi Durbar wo commemorate coronation of King Edvard Vil and Queen Alexandra {King ad Queen of Englands Emperor and Eapre of nda. Dell Orta ocomararanomaan ore Yen Oven Wy (ig ad Quen Englands Enero an Empresa nd apa Bs aj mone one cae atin Hi seed seo Buns ten ap design and comrcion oh 1814-1018 World Wir Tndn eles on behalf England 1916 New Delhi Municipal Commitee exablshed sign and construction of New Delhi also called Lutyen’s Delhi 1929, Edwin Lutyens completes de 1931 New Delhi inaugurated. 1947 India becomes an independent county. Ps 187 rou Edwin Lutyens appointed consultane for 1917 independent Inia "968" Aesycxing Lo Gardens nomn at Lady Wl Americans ee 1887 Babel but ro he Lous Tepe 1992 Statue of the Buddha installed at Buddha Jayanti Park, A 4958 Construction of Delhi Metro beging vo 2007 Slt Cy Mal ope , 2010 Commonwealth Games held ‘in Delhi, a ingdon Park) relandscaped by the Porrs ee eset Aad pos. sug have cmp he Hanuman Chalsa atthe ste of Present-day Hanuman Marah, 20 Mira Abdul Qadir Bed, ean poe Tretia MitzaMutamined Ral Saude Pes and du T724 1785 Khaja Mir Dard, Persian and Ure ae Mir, Urdu poet -~1869 Mirza Ghali, Urdu poet 6