At times many monuments are such spellbinders that they justify obsessional ambitions and Qutub Minar is one of them. I will tell you later that how this red brick beauty enchanted Alauddin Khilji at that extent that he gave birth to the remnants of Alai Minar. But, for now, let's laud this majestic minaret with this post and be ready to be blown away by its magnificence. In spite of being my third visit, I was as thrilled as I used to be in my first one. Because, this time I was all ears to understand it's facts, see its charm with all my eyes open and keep my brain open to grasp all knowledge. Like always, I was so impatient to catch a glimpse of this monuments and it was again worth it.
 |
| Kufic Inscriptions on Qutub Minar |
What a curvy 237.8 feet (72.5) tall structure situated in the Mehrauli area of Delhi, India! Those five superposed storeys which are tapering off towards the sky made my day. What a colourful monument which is made up of an amalgamation of red sandstone, rubble masonry and lime mortar bricks. I took a few steps forward to see its detailing and realized how creatively & beautifully it was constructed. Right from the ground floor to the third floor, it is a composition of fluted cylindrical shafts in the interior and triangular columns in the exterior. Each storey is separated by flanged balconies and Kufic inscriptions add a feather to this one of the best monuments' cap. Apart from Kufic, history of Qutub Minar 's construction also unveils that it has varying inscriptions in Parso-Arabic and Nagari characters.
 |
| Moonlight view of Qutub Minar |
 |
| Closed entry gate of Qutubminar's staircases |
379 staircases,14.32-meter diameter of the base and 2.75meter diameter on the top make it tallest brick minaret in the world. Moreover, it has already made it to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1981, almost 47 school children got killed because of failed staircase lightning. Since then, the entry gate of the tower got closed to the general public. I was so adamant to leave Qutb complex in the evening but one guard asked us to stay till 10 pm. Without having a drop of interest, I stayed there and witnessed one of the most beautiful monuments till now (at least for me). Trust me, if you visit Qutub Minar ever and don't stay till the sun goes down your visit is simply a wastage of money and time. Moonlight view of this pale red brick beauty castes a spell on every visitor.
 |
| Tomb of Saint Imam Zamin |
While I was taking a stroll around Qutb complex I realized that this minaret is surrounded by several tombs of famous rulers and one saint. Saint Imam Muhammad Ali had its root in Turkestan and came to India during the reign of Sikander Lodi. If we believe history facts, this saint came to India to discharge some important duties of Quwwat-ul-Islam which was constructed along with Qutub Minar in 1192 by Qutub-ud-din-Aibak. When I was searching for some quiet and uncrowded place in this complex, I just noticed one cenotaph. It was Alauddin Khalji's tomb who was once a notorious ruler with full of all evil ambitions. Besides Rani Padmavati, the main victim of his evil aspiration was ruins of Alai Minar which was started off by him. Hadn't he died in 1316, this minar would have been a minaret of double the size of Qutub Minar. But the irony is that it is now just a ruined structure of red rubble with the only height of 2.5 meters.
 |
| Cenotaph of Alauddin Khalji |
 |
| Alai Minar |
Let's leave such tragic stories behind and focus on some Materials Science's miracles. Due to its high resistance to corrosion, the Iron pillar of Delhi has been the talk of the world since its establishment. It was constructed by a 'King Chandra' might be 'Chandragupta II. This 7.2 meters (23 feet 8 inches) iron made structure is always attracting archaeologists' attention. A blend of numerous inscriptions and graffiti can be seen on it. In addition to this, the Iron pillar has verses in the Sanskrit language which are written in the eastern variety of the Gupta script.
 |
| Iron Pillar of Delhi |
 |
| A blend of various inscriptions on the iron pillar |
The evening was getting darker and night had engulfed this majestic place; however, my trip didn't end yet. I was curious to see that tomb of Shamsuddin Iltutmish that was profusely decorated with marble. It has an elaborative carving of arabesque and geometrical patterns. History lovers or students must know this name; nevertheless, if you are not one of them so let me tell you. He was the effective founder of Delhi Sultanate as he was the first Muslim ruler who has the sovereign power to rule Delhi. He was the son-in-law of Qutub-ud-din-Aibak and finished his father-in-law's incomplete work of constructing Qutub Minar. Consequently, three more storeys had been added to already built the first storey of this monument. Sadly, the top storey was being destroyed by a lightning strike and Firoz Shah Tughlag did the restoration of damaged storey and added one more. My trip was about to end and I had to leave the Qutb complex but I couldn't take my eyes off Qutub Minar. I only wanted to keep that precious night view of it in my mind forever.
 |
| Tomb of Iltutmish |
 |
| Cenotaph of Iltutmish |
How to reach
- Airport - Indira Gandhi International Airport (17 KM away from Qutub Minar)
- Railway - New Delhi Railway Station (15 KM away from Qutub Minar)
- Metro Station - Qutub Minar metro station on Yellow line
Qutub Minar's timings and entry fees
- Timings - 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM (for Alauddin Khalji's tomb) 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM (For Qutub Minar)
- Entry fees - 30 INR/Head (Indian), 500 INR/Head (Foreigners)
Comments
Post a Comment