Red Fort

"A Paradisiacal Abode"

The 250-acre complex of the Red Fort is home to an array of buildings, some of which are:

Diwan-e-Aam (Diwan-i-Aam) – The Public Audience Hall

It is here where the king used to interact with the general public and where some public functions used to take place. In the middle of the structure is a marble balcony, now enclosed into a cocoon of glass, called the jharokha, where the emperor used to reside during his viewings to the public and during the public functions. After the great Lahori Gate and the Chawari Bazaar one can witness the Diwan-e-Aam surrounded by trees and garden that lead to the imperial quarters hidden behind it.

Diwan-e-Khas (Diwan-i-Khas) – The Hall of Private Audience

This hall is specially reserved for the private audience of the king where, it is speculated, that the emperor had meetings with the chiefs of departments and states. The rectangular structure has high arched gateways surrounding all the four sides to give a panoramic view from the inside. The columns were embedded with floral pattern and the ceiling, which was once inlaid with silver, is now replaced with wood because of its removal by the British and the Marathas. It is here where the infamous Peacock Throne resided.

Red fort is not only the symbol of exquisite architecture and cutting edge technical advancement, it is also the representation of political change and the amalgamation of different cultures. It is a fort that was constructed in the time span of ten years from 1629 to 1639. It has been the abode of the rulers and political center of the Mughal empire for over 200 years until 1857 when the Mughal empire breathed its final stages and a majority of the beauty and unique features of the Red Fort were obliterated by the mutiny of the British East India Company. Regardless of being stripped of its beauty, the Red Fort doesn’t cease to mesmerize today’s generations.

Red fort is not only the representation of the zenith of the Mughal empire, it is also known for its political significance as it is the birthplace of the independent India. It was in Red Fort where the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, delivered the famous speech Tryst with Destiny on the eve of our independence, around midnight on 15th August, 1947. Since then it has become a tradition of the serving Prime Minister to address the nation through the podium capping the Lahori Gate (the main entrance gate).

The construction of the Red Fort was commissioned by Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor in the Mughal dynasty, when he decided on shifting his capital from Agra to Delhi. The construction commenced on 13 May, 1639 and it was completed on 6 April, 1649.What is quite interesting is the nomenclature of this magnificent monument. Where most people misrelate the red appearance of the fort with its conceived name of Red Fort, it was actually named based on its humungous red walls enclosing the compound and it being adjacent to the preexisting structure – Salimgarh Fort erected by Islam Shah Suri in 1546. In fact, the entire structure was built with white lime stone. The transformation was done by the British East India Company, because of the degrading condition of the stones at that time, which motivated them too paint the building red.

The Red Fort is a literal translation of Lal Qila in Hindi and was previously known as Qila-i-Mubarak (Qila Mubarak in Hindi). This fort is built on the banks of the Yamuna river which also becomes the source for most of the moats. It is believed that the flow of the gigantic Yamuna was shifted to accommodate the entire Red Fort complex. What is quite sublime when it comes to the architecture of the Red Fort is the layout of the border wall. It does not follow the popular patterned layout which is quite visible in the previous structures of the Mughals. This brevity in the structure is because of encompassing the Salimgarh Fort in the complex as well. The imperial pavilions are all interconnected by water canals called the Nihir-i-Bihisht (Stream of Paradise). The structure was inspired by Islamic prototypes but it has a blend of Timurid and Persian architecture and it has left a legacy of its own inspiring various other structures across numerous regions in the subcontinent.

The fort was stripped of all of its artwork and intricacies during Nadir Shah’s invasion of the Mughal empire in 1747 and then it was greatly plundered by the British empire during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. The historic value and respect that the fort once had during the apogee of Mughal architecture and technical advancement soon slowly diminished by the repeated attacks and reacquisitions of the fort by a myriad of rulers. This downswing in the existence of the fort began by the aforementioned plunders of the fort by many rulers who tried to capsize the Mughal empire by capturing it. The Red fort was left unattended, deprived of any ruler for three decades during which the artefacts like the silver casts on the ceilings of the Diwan-i-Khas, the peacock throne (one of the most expensive, grand, and exquisite thrones ever), the pearl wine cup of the Shah, the crown of Bahadur Shah II were either transformed into tradeable goods to raise money (which the Marathas did with the silver to fund their army in protecting the fort) or were auctioned to the East India Company, private collectors or added to the Queen’s collection or given to the British museums as display pieces. In fact, the Mughal empire was on a decline during the ruling of Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan’s successor.

Rang Mahal – The Palace of Colors
- It is one of the zenanas – the place designated for the women – and housed the emperor’s wives and mistresses. Its name translated means the Palace of Colors which complemented its aesthetics as the palace is said to be one of the most colourful structures in the entire complex. This palace is built in such a way that there are fountains and small canals meandering through it, not only beautifying the
Nihir-i-Bihisht – The stream of Paradise
- The imperial abodes were interconnected by a canal which was known as the Nihir-e-Bihisht (Nihir-i-Bihisht). This was an attempt to exemplify the aesthetics of the fort as the entire complex was planned to reciprocate paradise as penned in the holy Quran. In addition, these canals regulated the temperatures of the buildings to make it cooler. The source of the water for the stream of paradise was the Yamuna that ran along the back of the fort. The Shahi Burj, a tower, was used to draw water from the river and replenish the stream.

"If heaven can be on the face of the Earth, it is this, it is this, it is this"

-Amir Khusrow Persian poet)

The Red Fort was actually white, but as the British saw the limestone chipping off, the fort was painted red.

The infamous Kohinoor diamond was part of the grand Peacock throne that Shah Jahan had.

What sets the Red Fort apart from any other monument in India is its acceptance by many as one of the most exquisite buildings, with peerless beauty and grandeur. Francois Bernier, a physician and a traveler who attended to Dara Shikoh, the elder son of Shah Jahan, said ‘If heaven can be on the face of the earth, it is this, it is this, it is this’ witnessing the Diwan-i-Khas and its exquisite decorations with precious stones and the peacock throne. This is the legacy of the Red Fort – once a capital to the great Mughal empire and the symbol of opulence and superiority. Although destroyed by many, it still emerges unshaken and has transformed into one of the most visited tourist destinations and where one can still get the essence of the Mughals.