In one of my earlier posts on the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata, I had mentioned that many cities usually have a monument which over time becomes the signature of the city. People start associating the city with the landmark, as a sort of top-of-mind recall, a term market researchers and advertisers swear by.
To my mind New Delhi, which has more historical monuments of significance than one can possibly remember, is always associated with Qutub Minar. In school, we always used to see the pictures of the Qutub Minar in our textbooks, and I always felt that it was an over-rated structure. After all, if you compare it to the Taj Mahal, it’s just a tall tower! It was only as late as 2006, that I first visited New Delhi and the Qutub Minar. And the interesting thing is, for a structure which I had seen in textbooks, newspapers, television so many times, my first reaction was- Wow!
It’s difficult to explain, but the structure has an awe-inspiring feel which I never got in the photographs I had seen. How well I have been able to capture the place in MY photographs, is something for you to decide. 🙂
In my earlier post I had talked about Sultan Ghari- The first Islamic tomb of India, which was built by Iltutmish. Just to put things in perspective, Qutub Minar was built by the Turkic Qutub-ud-din-Aibak (Ruled 1206- 1210 A.D), the first Sultan of Ghulam dynasty (Mamluk Sultanate) and the predecessor of Iltutmish.
Due to his untimely death, caused by a fall while playing Polo, only 4 years into his rule, the construction could not be completed by Qutub-ud-din. It was completed under the supervision of Iltutmish.
Qutub Minar is the 2nd tallest minar in India with a height of 73 meters. It is made of red sandstone and marble. It is not known for sure whether the Minar is named after Qutub-ud-din-Aibak or Qutub-ud-din-Bakhtiyar Kaki, a famous sufi saint who used to live in Delhi.
The most interesting thing about the minar and something which many people are not aware of is that you can find Hindu inscriptions in different parts of the Qutub complex. Moreover there are different parts which are un-mistakably from Vishnu temples. The reason is very interesting. Since the first Turks who invaded India were just military men looking for a loot, they did not bring along skilled architects or artisans who could design intricate structures. So, when they felt the need for a place of prayer, they had to think out-of-the-box. So, they decided to use huge blocks of the Vishnu temples which they had destroyed during the raids. I have always found this snippet of information very amusing.
Let me know if you liked the photographs. 🙂
Know-All's Box 
Very nice collection! I was in New Delhi for a couple of days a few years ago and found it extremely exciting 🙂
Thank you so much!! I hope you got to see some of the historical monuments the city has to offer! 🙂
Pretty nice post with some beautiful images and very informative notes 🙂
Thanks a lot for sharing.
Thank you Sreejith! 🙂
loved the photos! although I guess you must be in those places in order to feel how grand they are… same story with most monuments 😛
Thank you Ks3nia( did you know that Ke$ha has replaced the $ sign with S in her name 😛 )…I agree with you…it is difficult to capture the grandeur of these places! Glad that you liked my perspective! 🙂
:-p
Reblogged this on Oyia Brown.
Thanks a lot for the reblog!
Delhi, the green city. I love Delhi.
Now give me some sweet pan.
Haha…I will keep that in mind…to give you some pan! 🙂
I agree Delhi is full of historical monuments, and the Qutub Minar, is one of my favourites.
Nice Pics, as always!!!
Thank you!! Qutub Minar is really such a nice place!
I think you might have just about got there in that last shot 🙂 .
No, but seriously, it’s hard. Everyone’s seen beautiful, professional photos of the Taj Mahal but does it compare? Not at all. Your pictures look fairly impressive to me. Whether they match – well, I don’t know, but you have to have some reason to go and see with your own eyes.
Interesting about the origin of the stones.
Ah!! Thank you!! 🙂 I agree with you, nothing beats the human eye in its ability to capture details!
Hope your kids are keeping you on your toes!! 😀 😛 Have a great weekend ahead! 🙂
You’re such an awesome storyteller! Loved the photos as well!
Thank you Shutter Tripper!! You are too kind…as usual! 😀
I speak the truth! 🙂
😀 I guess the Turks made do with what they had. I love visiting here. Viewing your interesting history and phenomenal photos is like taking a mini holiday to an exotic place I’d never get to visit otherwise. Thanks. 🙂
Haha…you bet!! 😀 I am glad that you used the word exotic!! Because to me, the Americas would definitely be exotic!! 🙂 🙂 Thank you for dropping by!
I do like the photographs, they give a real feel for the place.
Thanks a lot! Its always a challenge to represent something this big on to the 2D world of the computer monitor! 🙂
I agree, that is a challenge.
I did like the pictures Sir Know-All. Very intricate that building. Quite amazing.
Thank you, Lady Editor! ( kinda sounds like “lady writer”…dunno if you are on TV, though you definitely have the brains!) 😀 Its really a beautiful structure, and I love visiting it!
I have been a few times, but if you think that you need intelligence to be on TV then your TV over there is nothing like over here in the west! 🙂
hehe…our television shows are world class in that aspect at least( I call it IQ- Idiocy Quotient)! 😛 But, I am sure you have heard the Dire Straits number.. “Lady writer on the TV..she had all the brains and the beauty” 🙂
Aha! You didn’t tell me you were quoting from songs. You cheated! 🙂
I was under the impression that it was mandatory for every English-speaking person to like Dire Straits! 😀
In the eighties yes. We have moved on. 😀
I like the bottom three photos best.
Thanks a lot! 🙂 Glad you mentioned the ones you like! 🙂
Your photos are amazing as per usual 🙂
This place looks so beautiful – totally in awe over the architecture!
Ah!!! Thank you, my wise friends from down yonder! 😀 If you make it to India someday, don’t forget to visit the place 🙂
One of my most favourite places in Delhi! Man, Delhi is BEAUTIFUL!
I couldn’t agree more! 🙂
Pingback: Suraj Kund- The Tank in a Sun Temple | Know-All's Box
I missed this one. Absolutely fantastic photographs. Love your story telling.
Thank you Swati Di! 🙂
Pingback: Inside Yangdup’s Bar | Know-All's Box