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Delhi memorials, crumbled... .saved IN THE DDA conservation complex at Mehrauli now stands an 18th foot-high statue of Prithviraj Chauhan, famous both in history and legend, for his chivalry -- more so as a 12th Century national hero facing the onslaughts of Mohammad Ghori, the Afghan invader. The complex built by the Delhi Development Authority will also have a library and a museum, housing books and artifacts relating to medieval times. But Prithviraj's Quila Rai Pithora is now just a dilapidated boundary wall in a 20-acre conservation park. If you were to stand atop the Qutab you would get a fair idea of Lal Kot, the original Red Fort of Delhi, built by the Tomar ruler Anangpal about 1050 A.D. This was a landmark in the history of Delhi that had been deserted for nearly a thousand years after the exodus of the Pandavas from Indraprastha. During this long period Delhi ceased to be a city of importance, so much so that even Ashoka the Great did not think it necessary to set up one of his famous pillars here. Later Mahmud of Ghazni did not consider it worth looting and his historian Utbi does not make any reference to the city, nor for that matter Alberuni. However, there are some who believe that Lal Kot was initially built by Anangpal I in 731 A.D and that it was rebuilt by Anangpal II in the 11th Century, who transferred the Capital from Kannauj to Delhi, Anangpal II is said to have had a bell hung outside his palace so that any aggrieved person could ring it at any time of the day and night and get justice. The story that he had two stone lions erected to guard the gate cannot be corroborated, and the legend of the crow who sought meat and was satisfied by the king known as the Rai then lacks conviction. The Tomars ruled in Delhi right up to the 12th Century when the Chauhan prince Vighrahanraj IV ousted them. It was his grandson Prithviraj III who extended the old Lal Kot, built ramparts and a moat too. Subsequently, it came to be known as Quila Rai Pithora after the title enjoyed by Prithviraj. Incidentally Rai Pithora is considered the first of the seven cities of Delhi. Lal Kot was an oblong structure with seven gates -- Sohna, Ranjit, Ghazni, Hauz Rani, Barka, Budaun and Maya. The Sohna gate, whose lake still attracts tourists is also supposed to have had a sun temple. The Maya gate was named after Jogmaya whose temple was greatly venerated by Anangpal II. The Hauz Rani, Barka and Budaun gates can still be traced, as also a part of the moat, but the successive Sultans who ruled Delhi after Prithviraj built structures which obliterated many of the palaces and other buildings of Lal Kot. Today the walls of Lal Kot have been pierced by at least three roads leading to the Qutab. The tomb of Adham Khan in the background dwarfs its ruined walls, but still Lal Kot survives in a way to remind us of its claim to be the oldest fort city of Delhi. Like Lal Kot, the crumbling walls of the fortress of Tughlakabad also make the rambler think. They are thick walls and more rugged than the ones built later in Moghul times and one instinctively associates them with a tougher people of an age which was fiercer and less sophisticated. But therein lies the charm that distance in time provides. These walls, like the Pyramids were built with the sweat and blood of thousands of labourers who were more or less bonded to the Emperor and his overseers. Just imagine the vast township of lowly folk that must have sprung up in this wilderness when the fortified city of Ghayasuddin Tughlak was under construction. Only men were employed but the women were there too, whole families like the present-day refugees from Bangladesh, eking out a humble existence, toiling for hours, and the children playing in the rubble. Most of these workers were Hindus who practised their own brand of religion, their gods and goddesses, more of the woods and dales, with a particular tree being venerated or a glade held in awe because of the ethereal beings supposed to dwell in them. Many a Rip Van Winkle of that time perhaps disappeared after a visit there and was later seen as a man possessed who did not understand the urgency of building thick walls, for it had ceased to be a part of his existence. But among these builders of medieval times there were Muslims too who did not see the Id moon from a minaret but from a hillock, and for whom the muezzin's cry came at the close of evening through a clearing in the trees. With them there were not many women and children, for they were a bit higher in the social ladder and maintained little zenanas away from their place of work. With so many people living together there must have been emotional problems too, created by young men and women who held clandestine meetings when the surroundings were enclosed in darkness. They did not like the moonlit nights so much because the chances of discovery were greater. But once caught the punishment was severe and could even mean loss of life for one or both the lovers.
But now all these things are not even part of history, for it records what the kings, princes, princesses and their nobles and ministers did. The common people and their lives are a forgotten chapter in the annals of those who donned the crown. The walls of Tughlakabad are their crumbling memorial and to view them is not only a visual experience but something more than that -- the long sad saga of humdrum life whose pensive melody sometimes strikes a chord deep inside.
Source - http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2002/08/19/stories/200 2081900500200.htm
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
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