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The city you see is a compromise between Sir Edwin's love of
to European Renaissance and others who wanted a more oriental style.
Lord Harding, the Viceroy at the time added his weight to the arguments
of the pro Indian school. It was he who chose the site for the two main
landmarks of New Delhi, the Secretariat and the Viceroy's House now the
Presidential Palace and known as Rashtrapati Bhawan.
New Delhi's perspectives are best taken in from the Central
Vista, now called Rajpath. This impressive avenue runs from Purana
Quila, an early Mughal Fort, to the Presidential Palace. An excellent
view of the entire architectural conception can be had from a ramp
running up between the two blocks of the Secretariat.
This garden city is probably one of the most elegant Capitals
in the world, particularly in spring when the trees lining its avenues
burst into a blaze of flamming gulmohur and yellow labumum. Winter is
also a delightful time of the year and so is autumn, even though it
starts only in mid-October & lasts for a few weeks. Then New Delhi
can be cool or even cold, a welcome change from the oppressive heat of
its summer.
All the Delhi put together, amounts to a city of about six
million and the dividing line between old and new is quite sharp. From
New Delhi to Old Delhi is a transformation from cool, spacious avenues
and the quiet arcades of a shopping centre to a labyrinth of small
streets studded with mosques, temples, monuments and bazaars. 
Delhi began to collect this monument in earnest at the last of
the 12th century when the conquering Muslims made it their capital in
India. After a parade of ruling dynasties, Babar appeared in 1526 as
the first Mughal, but he moved his capital to Agra from where the
Mughals ruled until Shah Jahan returned to Delhi in 1650. Soon
afterwards, he was deposed and imprisoned by his son, the fanatic
Aurangzeb, who brought Delhi to its period of greatest glory. With his
death in the early 18th century, began Delhi's decline. The city was
sacked by Nadir Shah Durrani who made off with the fabulous Peacock
throne and then by an Afghan conqueror Ahmed shah Abdali.
In 1803, Lord Lake captured Delhi for the British who governed
it in fat even though the Mughal monarchy was allowed to survive
nominally. The last of the Delhi emperors, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was the
titular leader of the rebels during the first struggle for
independence, but he died inexile in Burma. With him died the reign of
the Mughals. The city lost its importance, but only temporarily. In
1911, it became the capital of India once more, replacing Calcutta, and
its prestige has grown ever since. The Delhi before your eyes today is
the nerve centre of independent India. |
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