Story of Red Fort

You get first glimpse of the Red Fort while crossing the traffic signal at the end of Daryaganj Street. Moving little further, Delhi Darwaza, one of the two principal gates of the fort (now closed to public), comes in to view at the right-hand-side. Shahjahan, the Mughal emperor who built the fort, used this gate to go to Jama-Masjid (opposite to Delhi Gate, across the road) for Friday prayers.




Passing by the grand mosque, and then the birds market little further, you approach the junction where to the left is the Chandni-Chowk (Moon-Market) and to right-hand-side lies the great fort. Red Fort or Lal Quila or Quila-e-Maula, with a two-mile girth and 45-foot walls, was the focal point of Delhi or Shahjahanabad (as it was known in those times), between 17th and 19th centuries.

One thing that has not changed much since the Mughal era is the Red Fort's security. At present, one has to go through several security checks to enter in to its periphery. During Shahjahan’s rule, Rajput cheiftans used to encamp along with their troops (to provide first line of defence), in the vast expanse in front of the fort. Mughals had alliance with Rajputs since the reign of Akbar (Shahjahan’s grandfather). In fact, Shahjahan and his father Jahanghir were born to Hindu mothers.

Lahore Gate, presently, the only entry-point to the fort, was not in its initial plan. Shahjahan’s son Aurangjeb added the gate along with the barbican (from where the prime minister unfurls the Indian national flag each year on August 15) later, to bolster the fort’s defences.

After passing through the Lahore gate, visitors confront a huge door (one side of it was blown down by the East India Company troops in 1857). This door was the entry point for ordinary citizen, noblemen and dignitaries, while emperor used a different gate that opened directly beneath his private chambers inside the fort.
The door leads to Chatta-Bazaar (Shaded Market), arguably the first shopping arcade in India. According to historians, Shahjahan was inspired by similar type of market in Isfahaan (in present day Iran) and implemented the idea in the Red Fort. At its prime, Chatta-bazaar had rows of shops lined on both sides of a path, selling a variety of items, ranging from costly jewellery to delicious snacks.

Leaving Chatta-bazaar, visitors approach Naubat-Khana or Naqqar-Khana, a three-story red sandstone building that housed musicians. These musicians announced the arrival of dignitaries or other “men of importance” by playing drums and cymbals. All people, irrespective of their social status, had to disembark from their conveyance (horse or elephant) at Naqqar-Khana.

As you cross Naqqar-Khana through a short passage, the magnificence of the Mughal architecture starts revealing itself. While the passage itself is adorned with colourful frescos, the other side of Naqqar-Khana has beautifully carved flowers on its wall. These floral designs can be seen across all Mughal-era buildings within the Red Fort, though in different media (red sandstone, white marble, and in-laid Pietra-Durra work).

Diwan-e-Aam (Hall of Public Audience) is the first major building in the fort complex, situated at the opposite end of Naqqar-Khana. This building has beautifully carved pillars connected through cusped arches (said to be the hallmark of Shahjahan style Mughal architecture), and a high white marble platform with colourful Pietra-Durra designs in the background. Here the Pietra-Durra artwork includes a figure of “Orpheus”, indicating towards possible western contribution in the fort’s construction. According to historians, either local artisans copied it from a gift brought by some ambassador, or it was carved under the supervision of a European craftsman.

Diwan-e-Aam was the place where pomp and glory of the Mughal Empire was in full view of the general public. The emperor held daily court here to carry out administrative work, such as announcement of important appointments, distribution of reward etc. Artisans and artists from distant places displayed their skills, foreign ambassadors presented exotic and expensive gifts, and sycophant courtiers narrated their dreams (claiming to bring good luck to the empire) to the emperor . After attending the court proceedings for about two hours, the Emperor used to retire to private quarters, at the back of Diwan-e-Aam.

During Shahjahan’s reign, Red fort was an exclusive residence for the emperor and his harem. All princes including the heir-apparent, Dara Shukoh, resided outside the fort. Dara Shukoh had his palace and library near the present day Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) (Kashmiri gate).

At the back of Diwan-e-Aam, southern portion of the fort housed the harem area and salatin (royal children born out of wed-lock ) quarters, while the northern side included two gardens (in the Persian Char-Bagh style). Eastern-end of the fort has three prominent buildings – Rang Mahal, Khas Mahal, and Diwan-e-Khas (Hall of Private Audience). Though Shahjahan was closely involved with the construction of entire Red Fort, he took special interest in these three buildings.

Rang Mahal was the principal harem building where the emperor spent time with his begums, partake meals and listened to music in the evenings. This building is flanked on both sides with two relatively smaller rooms called ‘reed houses’, which were curtained with wet reed mats to cool the main room during scorching Delhi summers. At the centre of the Rang Mahal is a lotus shaped water fountain carved out of white marble. This fountain was fed through a small canal called Nahar-e-Bahisht (Canal of Paradise), which enters the fort at the extreme northern end (near Shah Burj) and flows through all the principal buildings.
Eastern wall of the Rang Mahal has large screened windows from where Harem ladies used to watch elephant fights, and other forms of entertainments, staged at the banks of river Yamuna. During Mughal era, Yamuna used to flow close to the eastern boundaries of the Red Fort.

According to an interesting anecdote, once the emperor staged capsizing of a boat for his beghums, because they had never seen a boat drowning in a river.

Khas Mahal, the private quarters of the emperor, has a main room (called Khwabgah or Sleeping Chamber) with Tasbih-Khana (prayer room) to the left and Tosh-Khana (baithak or sitting room) to the right. Khas Mahal is known for its fine marble work that allows maximum sunlight at all times of the day.

Towards the riverside, Khas Mahal opens in to a tower called Mussaman Burj, built by the emperor to give morning darshan (public appearance) to his subjects. This ritual was an important aspect of the emperor’s daily schedule and was followed religiously. Shahjahan’s father started this tradition called ‘Jarokha-e-Darshan’ while residing in Agra Fort, and 18th century Mughal Emperors (though practically reduced to titular heads) continued with it.
Through Jarokha-e-Darshan, emperor ensured the Mughal subjects of his well being. According to some historians, when Shahjahan fell ill (allegedly due to an overdose of aphrodisiac) in 1658, Dara Shukoh made one slave (who resembled Shahjahan) to appear in Mussaman Burj in lieu of the emperor.

Just beneath the Khas Mahal is an underpass, which opens towards the river. This was the entry/exit point to/from the fort for the emperor and other high ranking royals.

Adjacent to Khas-Mahal, is the Diwan-e-Khas (Hall of Private Audience). Here the emperor held serious discussions on governance issues and other political matters with senior members of his council. Diwan-e-Khas housed the world famous peacock throne, made from silver and gold, and gilded with precious and semi-precious stones including jade, opal, turquoise, and the Koh-i-Noor (Mountain of Light) diamond.

It is said that the Raja of Gwalior (not to be confused with Scindias) was the original owner of Koh-i-Noor. When Babur (the great grandfather of Shahjahan) invaded India in 1526, his son Humayun was presented with the diamond on his arrival in Agra, by the Raja. From there onwards, the diamond changed hands from Humayun to Shah Tahmasp of Persia to Nizam of Deccan (area encompassing present day Bijapur, Golconda, and southern Maharashtra) to Shahjahan to Nadir Shah of Persia to Ranjit Singh, before final becoming part of Queen Victoria’s treasure in the 19th century.

Perhaps the only thing the Mughal disliked about India was excessive heat and dust during summers. Hammam (Baths), situated next to Diwan-e-Khas, allowed them to escape from these two evils. Intricate system of water tubes and tanks (embedded within the hollow walls) that fed Hammams is a fine example of Mughal era water engineering. The hammam building houses three different type of small-sized bathing pools – hot water, cold water, and scented water. The Mughal emperors used to spent hours in these pools, discussing policy matters with close associates, while enjoying rounds of delicious kebabs and fine wine.

Red Fort’s grandeur, which was at its zenith during Shahjahan’s rule, started waning with his death. Aurangjeb, who succeeded to the throne after eliminating his brothers, was an orthodox Muslim. He put a ban on all sorts of entertainments (including music), which used to be the hallmark of Red Fort’s evenings during Shahjahan’s era. However, he did make architectural contributions to the Red Fort in the form of Lahore gate, barbican and the pearl mosque.
Aurangjeb left the Red Fort in 1680 for military campaign in Deccan, never to return back. After his death in 1707, the Mughal Empire started disintegrating. The next few decades were marred with bloody feuds and fratricides, and as a testimony to it, the Mughal throne saw eight rulers in the next 50 years, of which, only three died of natural causes.

As the Mughal Empire weakened, Delhi witnessed a series of invasions including the infamous one of the Iranian king Nadir Shah during the reign of Muhammad Shah ‘Rangeela’, in 1739. Muhammad Shah was a debauch, interested in everything else but governance. His laidback attitude helped Nadir Shah in capturing Delhi effortlessly. A minor scuffle between his soldiers and bird-sellers in the moon market led to Nadir Shah ordering slaughter of Delhi’s populace, which continued for three days. While returning back to Iran, Nadir Shah took along with him the famous peacock throne along with other treasures. It is believed that Nadir Shah plundered so much wealth that he announced a three-year tax holiday in Iran.
To be continued......