Chapter 69: Site seeing New Delhi (Part-2)
"The Presidential Residence, was formerly known as the Viceroy's House and it is the official home of the President of India."
"It is located at the western end of Rajpath."
"The mansion or the main building accommodates the president's official residence, halls, guest rooms and offices. The entire 130 hectare President Estate that includes huge gardens known as the Mughal Gardens, large open spaces, a residence of office staff and bodyguards, stables etc is the major portion of it the mansion."
"The house consists of four floors and 340 rooms which are decorated with modified interior designs."
"About 700 million bricks were used in the construction."
"It has several halls used for different functions and purposes, the main ones are the Durbar Hall and the Ashoka Hall."
"There is a dome in the middle that reflects both Indian and British styles."
"The famous British architect Edwin Landseer Lutyens was given the responsibility for the primary architecture. The design made by Lutyens was grand and classical. It enhanced different colours and details which were inspired by Indian architecture."
"Originally, the Viceroy's House had to be built on the top of Raisina Hill along with the secretariat lower down, but it was decided to build 400 yards back and thus both the buildings had to come on top of the plateau."
"The 200,000-square-foot palace, completed in 1929, is the largest residence of any head of the state in the world."
"On this issue, Lutyens and Baker who was constructing the secretariat had disputes.
"There is a nominal entry fee."
"The various circuits of the Bhavan are:
Rashtrapati Bhavan Main Building and the Central Lawn. The Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum Complex [RBMC] comprising the Clock Tower, the Stables and the Garages.
The Mughal Garden and other gardens."
"Proper documents e.g. An application has to be submitted in advance along with a copy of the passport in respect of foreigners. The passport has to be shown on the day of the visit. In case of Indians, copy of Identity proof is to be submitted in advance."
I don't thing you want to see the inside of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, hence, you can see a bit of the structure through the huge wrought Iron Gate."
"You will also see the main Government of India offices on the left and the right sides as you approach the huge Iron Gate."
"To the left side you will see the gates of Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence. On the right side you will see the gates of Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Finance."
"You can take pictures here but you cannot stay long here as it is not allowed."
After getting out and taking a few pictures, they were back in the Car.
"Good you all came back early, the security guards are looking at all the cars parked and telling people to move away fast."
Soon they were off, they saw the Sansad Bhawan (Parliament House) and the Parliament Annexe but did not venture out as the entire area was made one way many years ago. The enterance was closed.
"Why is the main gate to the Parliament House closed" Tania inquired.
The guide replied,"The gate was open till 13 December 2001."
"The terrorist attack on the Parliament of India at New Delhi, took place on 13 December 2001. All of the terrorists were shot down by the security guards. These security gurads belonged to the Vice President of India and others were those that were on duty at the premises."
"Thereafter, security was tightened and this gate was closed. The rear gate from Rail Bhavan side was opened with a lot of barriers, so that in case of such an eventuality ever occuring again, the terrorists would find it very difficult to enter the premises."
"See the impressive Reserve Bank of India Building on their right and Doordarshan and All India Radio building on their left."
" Further on the left you will see a Police station. Most times this road is closed due to some protests."
"On the opposite side are a few private buildings, further on the left is the State Bank of India's main building and opposite that is a church."
"Still further on the left is the NDMC building and on the right is Jantar Mantar. We will come back to Jantar Mantar after a round of Connaught Place."
Tania was enjoying the site seeing. They did not have to get down to see each and everything as many things were visible while they were on the move."
We are now heading for Connaught Place (now called Rajiv Place), one of the largest financial, commercial and business spots in India which has witnessed the emergence of many shops, markets etc.
"It is in circular format and many roads inside are closed for traffic. Shoppers have to move on foot."
"During the time of erstwhile colonizers, the place was considered to be a place of pride and was counted as one of the top heritage structures in Delhi."
"The place got its name after Prince Arthur, the first Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. Its construction was started in 1929 and finished in 1933."
"Rajiv Chowk metro station was also built under it."
"Some villages existed before the establishment of the Connaught Place but the families were relocated."
"Many structures were demolished but the Hanuman temple, a Jain temple in Jaisinghpura and the Jantar Mantar were and are well preserved till date."
"W.H. Nicholls was the chief architect under whom the plans for building a central business district. It was featured to become a central plaza based on the European Renaissance in the classical style."
"The Georgian architecture found in Connaught Place is inspired or modelled after the Royal Crescent in Bath."
"Connaught Place is a complete circle with two floors made to house commercial establishments on the ground with providing residential space on the first floor. Finally, the circle was designed with two concentric circles including the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, and the Outer Circle."
"There are multiple international as well as Indian brands operating at Connaught Place along with some hotels in the vicinity."
"A large number of tourists gather here as there are plenty of hotels and eating houses here."
"There is an underground market with centralised air conditioning called, Palika Bazaar, which you can visit if you want to. But I would not advice it, it is too crowded.
"There are some shows at the central park which one can see."
They circumnavigated the C.P. area and returned to Janpath road and stopped outside Jantar Mantar.
The guide was giving a detailed description of Jantar Mantar.
"We will stop here for 10 minutes, you can go inside for a quick visit," the tourist guide said.
"But first let me tell you about it."
"This Jantar Mantar is among the five major Jantar Mantar constructed by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur. There are 13 architectural astronomy instruments."
"It was designed to compile the astronomical tables and to predict the movement and timings of the sun, the moon and the planets."
"The Observatory possesses masonry built astronomical instruments for calculation."
"The instruments preserved in the observatory were made of brick rubbles and then plastered with lime."
"As the time progressed, the instruments had undergone several repairs and restoration."
"The Samrat Yantra, the Jai Prakash, Ram Yantra, and Misra Yantra are the principal instruments preserved in the observatory."
"A temple dedicated to Bhairava is also nearby."
" The observatory came into existence in 1724, but by 1867, it had started to decay. Maharaja Jai Singh II had built more observatories in Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi, and Mathura.
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