The Red Fort of Delhi- Mark of Power in India.

The Red Fort Complex was built as the palace fort of Shahjahanabad – the new capital of the fifth Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan. Named for its massive enclosing walls of red sandstone, it is adjacent to an older fort, the Salimgarh, built by Islam Shah Suri in 1546, with which it forms the Red Fort Complex. The private apartments consist of a row of pavilions connected by a continuous water channel, known as the Nahr-i-Bahisht (Stream of Paradise). The Red Fort is considered to represent the zenith of Mughal creativity which, under Shah Jahan, was brought to a new level of refinement. The planning of the palace is based on Islamic prototypes, but each pavilion reveals architectural elements typical of Mughal building, reflecting a fusion of Persian, Timurid, and Hindu traditions The Red Fort’s innovative planning and architectural style, including the garden design, strongly influenced later buildings and gardens in Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra, and further areas.

Unique  Universal Value

The planning and design of the Red Fort represents a culmination of architectural development initiated in 1526 AD by the first Mughal Emperor and brought to a splendid refinement by Shah Jahan with a fusion of traditions: Islamic, Persian, Timurid, and Hindu. The innovative planning arrangements and architectural style

 of building components as well as the garden design developed in the Red Fort strongly influenced later buildings and gardens in Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra, and further afield. The Red Fort has been the setting for events that have had a critical impact on its geo-cultural region.

Criterion (ii): The final flourishing of Mughal architecture was built upon local traditions but enlivened them with imported ideas, techniques, craftsmanship, 

and designs to provide a fusion of Islamic, Persian, Timurid, and Hindu traditions. The Red Fort demonstrates the outstanding results this achieved in planning and architecture.

Criterion (iii): The innovative planning arrangements and architectural style of building components and garden design developed in the Red Fort strongly influenced later buildings and gardens in Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra, and further afield. The Red Fort Complex also reflects the phase of British military occupation, introducing new buildings and functions over the earlier Mughal structures.

Criterion (vi): The Red Fort has been a symbol of power since the reign of Shah Jahan, has witnessed the change in Indian history to British rule, and was the place where Indian independence was first celebrated and is still celebrated today. The Red Fort Complex has thus been the setting of events critical to the shaping of regional identity, and which have had a wide impact on the geo-cultural region.

The Red Fort Complex is a layered expression of both Mughal architecture and planning and the later British military use of the forts. The most dramatic impacts on the integrity of the Red Fort Complex come from the change of the river into a major road, which alters the relationship of the property to its intended setting; and from the division of the Salimgarh Fort by a railway. Nevertheless, the Salimgarh Fort is inextricably linked to the Red Fort in use and later history. The integrity of the Salimgarh Fort can only be seen in terms of its value as part of the overall Red Fort Complex. The authenticity of the Mughal and British buildings in the Red Fort Complex is established, although more work is needed to establish the veracity of the current garden layout. In the specific case of the Salimgarh Fort, the authenticity of the Mughal period is related to knowledge of its use and associations, and of the built structures dating from the British period.

The nominated property has been declared a monument of national importance under the Ancient Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, of 1959. A buffer zone has been established. Although the state of conservation of the property has improved over the past ten years, much more work is needed to put the overall state of the property into a stable condition and to ensure visitors do not contribute to its decay. The Red Fort Complex is managed directly by the Archaeological Survey of India, which is also responsible for the protection of all national-level heritage sites in India and Indian cultural properties included in the World Heritage List.

Article source- UNESCO.

for a guided tour of this beautiful fort as well as city tour and India tours just connect me at +918290829029

The TAJMAHAL.........One and only Unique , unmatchable , only one on whole earth.....

The 'Taj Mahal represents the finest and most sophisticated example of Mughal architecture. Its origins lie in the moving circumstances of its commission and the culture and history of an Islamic Mughal empire's rule of large parts of India. The distraught Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the mausoleum upon the death of his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal.

Today it is one of the most famous and recognizable buildings in the world and while the tarnish-colored enormous building in sight, the domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj Mahal is an extensive complex of buildings and gardens that extends over 22.44 hectares (55.5 acres) and includes subsidiary tombs, waterworks infrastructure, the small town of 'Taj Ganji' to the south and a 'moonlight garden' to the north of the river. Construction began in 1632 AD, (1041 AH), on the south bank of the River Yamuna in Agra, and was substantially complete by 1648 AD (1058 AH). The design was conceived as both an earthly replica of the house of Mumtaz in paradise and an instrument of propaganda for the emperor.

The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". Described by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as "the tear-drop on the cheek of time", it is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India's rich history. The Taj Mahal attracts 7–8 million visitors a year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World (2000–2007) initiative.

Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion rupees (US$827 million). The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the court architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.

Under the reign of Shah Jahan, the symbolic content of Mughal architecture reached a peak. The Taj Mahal complex was conceived as a replica on earth of the house of the departed in paradise (inspired by a verse by the imperial goldsmith and poet Bibadal Khan. This theme, common in most Mughal funerary architecture, permeates the entire complex and informs the detailed design of all the elements. Several secondary principles also inform the design, of which hierarchy is the most dominant. A deliberate interplay is established between the building's elements, its surface decoration, materials, geometric planning, and its acoustics. This interplay extends from what can be experienced directly with the senses, into religious, intellectual, mathematical, and poetic ideas.[24] The constantly changing sunlight reflected from the Taj's translucent marble is not a happy accident, it had a deliberate metaphoric role associated with the presence of god as light.

The popular view of the Taj Mahal as one of the world's monuments to a great "love story" is borne out by contemporary accounts and most scholars accept this has a strong basis in fact. The building was also used to assert Jahani propaganda concerning the 'perfection' of the Mughal leadership. The extent to which the Taj uses propaganda is the subject of some debate amongst contemporary scholars. This period of Mughal architecture best exemplifies the maturity of a style that had synthesized Islamic architecture with its indigenous counterparts. By the time the Mughals built the Taj, though proud of their Persian and Timurid roots, they had come to see themselves as Indian. Copplestone writes "Although it is certainly a native Indian production, its architectural success rests on its fundamentally Persian sense of intelligible and undisturbed proportions, applied to clean uncomplicated surfaces."

You are most welcome for a solo tour, family tour, and group tour. 

contact me on my WhatsApp at +918290829029

                      Food and CuisiNE of Rajasthan.

Food in Jaipur is all about tradition. With the rich and unique heritage of the Rajputana, the cuisine here is spicy and fragrant.

Kachori

Kachoris are stuffed and fried flatbreads. They are stuffed with a spicy, sweet, and savoury stuffing of potatoes, onions, and spices. Jaipur is very famous for onion and potato kachoris and has several iconic shops selling them.

Gajak

Gajak is a simple yet delicious sweet dish. A thin and flaky bite-sized sweet, it is made with nutritious sesame seeds, groundnuts, and jaggery, and resembles the popular chikki. This crunchy treat gives a great start to the morning and keeps one warm during the winter months. Legend has it that gajak originated in Morena in Madhya Pradesh. To make it, the dough is hammered until sesame seeds break down and release the oil. Many believe that gajak came into being during the Mughal era. Since the Mughals ate meat, their protein requirements could be met easily. However, the Hindu kings had to resort to vegetarian sources of protein. Thus, chana (chickpea), jaggery, peanuts and sesame seeds were mixed to provide the required energy.

Lal Maas

Lal maas is one of the most popular and fiery dishes of Rajasthan. It is prepared with mutton and red chilli. It looks bright red and is garnished with a good amount of ghee (clarified butter) and coriander leaves. Slow-cooked for hours, the succulent meat dish is usually enjoyed with bajra rotis (Indian flatbread made of pearl millet).

Dal Bati Churma

Often called Jaipur's culinary icon, dal bati churma is a mix of dal (boiled lentils with spices), bati (wheat rolled into dough, either fried or baked) and churma (crushed wheat with ghee and sugar). There are a variety of ways of eating this dish but the most preferred is by dipping the bati into the dal, pouring ghee on it and then putting it into the churma. The churma can also be had at the end of the meal, like a dessert. 

For any food tour or any other tour of India, connect me at mansur29029@gmail.com

My WhatsApp- +919928911977

Do comment and share this post.

Thanks.