Have you seen the beautiful song "Dil ka bhavar kare pukar, Pyar ka raag suno..." from 'Tere ghar ke saamane'? Of course you have. then you know that it is picturized in Qutub Minar.
So here I was, heading towards Qutub, humming the tune, expecting it to be a quick deco at the tower with some nostalgia. Climbing up the minar is banned, because we as people do not know how to behave and to manage so we just prohibit.
But it turned out to be a wonderful journey down the path of history. Starting with the king Chandra of 10th century to Prithviraj's Rai Pithora to Allauddin Khilji and Iltutmish and finally to the British era.
I must commend and recommend the audio guide available at the complex for 80 Rs. It is a very nicely done and informative guide. Especially if like me, you are interested in historical snippets and interpretations, you must listen to it.
The Qutub minar is magnificent.
Quvvat-ul-islam has a beautiful prayer wall. Ambitious architecture of the masjid shows traces of the destruction on which it was built. In the middle stands the Iron pillar that Allauddin looted from Devgiri. The pillar which mostly is a "Garuddhwaj" build during the era of one "Chandra Raja" in 10th century.
Alai Minar is like a commentary on an enigma that was Allauddin Khilji.
the complex houses Iltutmish's tomb. Iltutmish was Qutub's son in law. He was the only Sultan who nominated his daughter razia to be his heir, overlooking his male progeny. And Razia Sultana the only female Sultan. She also helped him plan his kabar. I find it very morbid to plan one's own tomb during the lifetime. But I guess if that is going to be your resting place for eternity, you would want it to be just right!
Alai Darwaja is an example of accomplishment of Mogul architects to build a dome starting from a square to finish it off with a flourish. The "toran"like work on the arches of the Darwaja is so delicate! The tomb of Imam Zamin is interesting due to the colorful stones cobbled.
And finally we end this journey with Smith's Folly.
The stone work is magnificent, the buildings are alive with intreguing stories about lives - fully lived - in faith, greed and perhaps wisdom.
Truly earthy and classic.
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