The Red Fort (Lal Qila) is one of the most famous monuments in India and is a symbol of courage and peace. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the national capital. This 17th century monument is octagonal in size and covers an area of about 255 acres. The Red Fort is a historic fort located in Old Delhi, India. which was the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Today, this monument is home to several museums that have an assortment of precious artefacts on display. The total number of gates here is three. The royal family used to enter the fort through the Ghisrabad Gate, which is now closed to the public. The gates of Lahore and Delhi are open to locals and tourists alike. The fort is located on the banks of the river Yamuna. The UNESCO declared the Red Fort a World Heritage Site in 2007. On 15 August 1947, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, raised the Indian flag above the Lahori Gate.
The construction of the Red Fort began in 1638, when Emperor Shah Jahan decided to leave Agra to create a new Mughal capital, Shah Jahanabad. Nadirshah, the Persian ruler, invaded the fort in 1739 and looted a number of valuables, including the Peacock Throne and the Kohinoor Diamond. The fort belonged to the Maratha kings who defeated the Mughals in battle in 1752.In 1857, the British made the Red Fort their military base and looted valuables. After independence in 1947, the Red Fort was chosen as the main venue for public celebrations.
The famous light and sound show at Red Fort is an hour long audio visual show depicting the history of Delhi and the fort. The show begins with the story of how Emperor Shah Jahan chose the site to build a huge fort and how the Mughal rulers tried to save the fort and India from invaders from different countries. The show also highlights the importance of the fort during the Indian freedom struggle. Excerpts from speeches by freedom fighters Mahatma Gandhi and Chandrasekhar Azad have been used in audio clippings. The show concludes with a speech by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and finally the national anthem.The shows are presented in English and Hindi.
Major structures
The most important surviving structures are the walls and ramparts, the main gates, the auditoriums, and the imperial apartments on the east bank.
Lahori Gate
The Lahori Gate is the main entrance to the Red Fort. Situated on the western wall of the fort, the gate received its name because it led to the city of Lahore, Present Day Pakistan. The gateway consists of three stories, each decorated with square, rectangular and cusped arched panels. They are surrounded by semi-octagonal towers crowned by two open octagonal pavilions. Except for the roofs of the pavilions, which are made of white stone, the entire gate is covered with red sandstone. Between the two pavilions is a screen of miniature umbrellas with seven miniature marble domes. Around the wall are flame-shaped culverts.
Every year since Indian Independence Day 1947, the national flag has been hoisted and the Prime Minister has delivered a speech from the bastion at the gate. In the 1980s, tower windows were erected to increase security in the area as a precautionary measure against sniper attacks. A lift has also been added to the gate. During Aurangzeb's reign, the beauty of the gate was altered by the addition of a barbican, which Shah Jahan described as "a veil drawn across the face of a beautiful woman".
Chhatta Chowk
The Chhatta Chowk is located behind the Lahori Gate. Chhatta Chowk is a long passage way that contains a bazaar, or market, located in the Red Fort. It is lined with two-story flats that contain 32 arched bays serving as shops. During Shah Jahan's reign, the Chhatta Chowk was very exclusive, specializing in trading goods such as silk, brocades, velvet, gold, silverware, jewellery, gems and precious stones, catering to the luxurious tastes of imperial households.
The bazaar was formerly known as Bazaar-i-Musaqaf, with a saqaf, meaning "roof".Its history dates back to the seventeenth century. It was inspired by another market that Shah Jahan saw in Peshawar in 1646.
Delhi Gate
The Delhi Gate is the gateway to the Red Fort and is located on the south wall of the fort. The gate received its name from the Fort's city. The Delhi Gate is the southern public entrance, which is similar in design and shape to the Lahori Gate. On either side of the gate are two stone elephants facing each other.
Diwan-i-Aam
The Diwan-i-Am or Audience Hall is a room in the Red Fort where the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1665) and his successors received the public and listened to their complaints. The Diwan-i-Am consists of a front hall, open on three sides and backed by a set of rooms faced in red sandstone. The hall is 100 ft x 60 ft and divided into 27 square bays on a system of columns which support the arches. The roof is spanned by sandstone beams. The inner main court, led by Nakharkhana, was 540 feet wide and 420 feet deep, surrounded by arcade galleries, where the chiefs on duty (umars) were appointed.
The proportions of this hall, its columns and carved arches show high aesthetics and excellent craftsmanship. With nine carved arch openings, the hall was ornamented with gilded and white shell lime chunam plaster work. Its roof and its pillars were painted with gold. In the center of the east wall is a marble canopy covered with a "Bengal" roof. The Prime Minister used a marble dais under the throne, encrusted with semi-precious stones, to receive petitions.
Behind the canopy, the wall is adorned with panels covered with multicolored Piatra Dura stones. They represent flowers and birds, and are carved by Florentine jeweler Austin de Bordeaux. Lord Curzon restored the hall, while the carvings and plaques on the west side of the throne were restored by Florentine artist Menegatti.
Naubat Khana
Naubat Khana or Nakkar Khana is a drum house located at the entrance between the outer court and the inner court of the Red Fort. Chhatta Chowk vault arcade measures 540 x 360 feet and ends in the center of the outer courtyard. The Side Arcades and the Central Tank were destroyed during the 1857 riots. The British government initially installed the museum of the fort in this gate. Later it was shifted to Mumtaz Mahal. The Indian War Memorial Museum is currently located on the first and second floors.
The ground plan is a rectangular structure consisting of three large floors. The band gallery is 100 x 80 feet. The construction material is red sandstone and the surface is white lime plaster. The richly carved floral designs on its red sandstone walls seem to be actually gold plated. The interior was painted colorful. Several layers of these paintings can be seen in the entrance room.
Nahr-i-Bihisht
The imperial apartments consist of a series of pavilions on a platform raised at the eastern end of the fort facing the river Yamuna. The pavilions are connected by a canal called Nahr-i-Bihisht which runs through the center of each pavilion. The Shahi Burj, the tower on the northeast corner of the fort, draws water from the Yamuna. The palace is designed to emulate paradise as described in the Quran.
Rang Mahal
The emperor's wives and mistresses were housed in the Rang Mahal. Its name means "Palace of Colours". It was originally part of the Imperial Haram and was known as the Palace of Distinction (Imtiaz Mahal) during the reign of Shah Jahan. After the conquest of the fort by the British in 1857, the Rang Mahal was used as a mess hall for some time. The interior of the building was once richly painted and decorated. Some of the apartments in this building are called Shish Mahal because of the small mirrors that cover the ceiling. In the middle of the marble palace, a shallow canal called the River of Paradise (Nahr-i-Bihist) flows into a marble basin carved into the floor. There was a basement (Tehkhana) under the Rang Mahal which was used by women in summer.
Mumtaz Mahal
The Mumtaz Mahal is one of the six main palaces that were situated facing the Yamuna River. The six palaces are connected by a stream of paradise (Nahr-i-Bishisht), a waterway that passes through them. The now defunct Chhoti Baitak is located on the northern side of the Mumtaz Mahal.
The lower half of the walls and pillars are made of white marble. Divided into six apartments with arched piers, it is actually painted with floral decorations in the interior. Mumtaz Mahal was part of Senana. After the capture of the fort by the British, it was used as a prison camp. The building currently houses an exhibition of the Red Fort Archaeological Museum, which mainly houses exhibits from the Mughal period.
Khas Mahal
Khas Mahal is a large defensive and governmental complex located inside the city. It consists of three parts: the Chamber of Telling Beads (Viz-tasbih-khana), the sleeping chamber, (khwabgah) and the wardrobe (tosha-khana) or sitting room (baithak). The interior is decorated with carved white marble painted with colourful floral decorations. The ceiling was also partially gilded. The marble screen was carved with the scale of justice (Mizan-i-adal), and above it is a particularly important item of Mughal art. The scale used was a depiction of the emperor's justice. The project tower on the east side of the Khas Mahal is known as the Octagonal Tower (Muthamman Burj). Every day in the morning, the emperor would address his subjects on the occasion of Jarokha Darshan
Hammam
It is located in the north of the Diwan-i-Khas. The marble hammam is a bath that forms a part of the palace building. It consists of three apartments separated by corridors and crowned with domes. The apartments are illuminated by a colored glass skylight. The two rooms to either side of the present entrance are believed to have been used by the royal children for bathing. The eastern apartment, containing three fountain basins, was used primarily as a dressing room. In the center of each room stood a fountain, and one of the rooms contained a marble reservoir built into the wall. The entire interior is adorned with colorful Pietra Dura floral designs made of white marble. The floors and floors of these apartments are finished with white marble.
Diwan-i-Khas
It was also known as the Shah Mahal. It measures 90 x 67 feet. It consists of a rectangular central chamber surrounded by numerous arches rising from marble pillars. The lower parts of the pillars are decorated with flowers and the upper part is gilded. The four corners of the roof are supported by a canopy of pillars.The ceiling, which was actually covered with silver and gold, was stripped bare by the Jats or Marathas in the wake of the empire's ongoing economic crisis. The current ceiling was erected in 1911.
Today's hall is just a gorge of the old. Recent restoration work has been done on the inlay panels and the gilded pattern on one of the front pillars of the hall. The throne, the carpets, and any other items went missing.
Baoli
The Red Fort Baoli is specially designed with two staircases leading to the well. Baoli is one of the few monuments not destroyed by the British after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The chambers in Baoli were turned into prisons. During the Indian National Army Trials (Red Fort Trials) of 1945-46, it housed Indian National Army officers Shah Nawaz Khan (General), Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal and Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon.
Hira Mahal
It is located on the eastern wall of the fort, located north of the Moti Masjid. The four-sided white marble pavilion was built in 1842 during the reign of Bahadur Shah II. It stands on the southern axis of the Hyatt Bax Bag. It is simply decorated and decorated with reliefs, but no carvings. The arches are carved.
Moti Masjid
Moti Masjid is a white marble mosque located inside the Red Fort complex. It is located in the western part of Hammam and near the Diwan-i-Khas. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb during the period 1659-1660. The mosque was also used by the ladies of the Zenana.
The prayer hall has three arches, and it is divided into two aisles. It is surmounted with three bulbous domes, which were originally covered in gilded copper. The gilded copper was probably lost after the Indian rebellion of 1857.
The outside of the mosque is plastered white. Inside there is a white marble courtyard and prayer hall, which is higher than the courtyard. The floor of the prayer hall has black marble outlines of small carpets for prayers (musalla). In the center of the courtyard is a small, square voodoo. The yard measures 40 x 35 feet.
Hayat Bakhsh Bagh
The Hayat Baksh Bagh, which means "Life-bestowing garden", is the largest of the gardens in the Red Fort. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The garden is beautifully decorated by pools, fountains, canals, walled enclosures and channels. The North Eastern portion of the Red Fort.
It had an area of about 200 square feet. West of the garden was another one called Mehtab Bagh, or the "moon garden". The garden was largely destroyed by British colonial forces. After 1857, most of the garden was built of stone barracks by British colonialists. Lord Curzon restored some elements of the garden.
There was a reservoir, which is now dry, and channels through which the Nahr-i-Bihisht flows. At each end is a white marble pavilion, called the Sawan and Bhadon Pavilions, Hindu months, Sawan and Bhadon. In the centre of the reservoir is the red-sandstone Zafar Mahal.
Princes' quarter
It was used by members of the Mughal dynasty and was destroyed by British troops after the Rebellion of 1857. One of the palaces was converted into a tea shop for soldiers. The palace has undergone some renovations and is now open to visitors as a tea shop and tourist shop. To the north of the Hayat Bakhsh Bagh and the Shahi Burj is the quarter of the imperial princes.
Location: Netaji Subhash Marg, Lal Qila, Chandni Chowk, New Delhi, Delhi 110006, India
Visiting Hours: 9.30 Am to 4.30 Pm. Red Fort can be visited on all days except Mondays.
Entry Fee: Red Fort ticket price for Indians is Rs 35 and for foreigners it is Rs 500. The Red Fort entry ticket for the Light and Sound show is Rs 60 for adults and Rs 20 for children. The weekend ticket rate will cost you Rs 80 for adults and Rs 30 for kids.
How To Reach
Nearest Airport : Indira Gandhi International Airport
Nearest Railway Station :Old Delhi Railway Station
Nearest Bus Station : Kashmiri Gate Bus Station