He Who Leaves the Coolest Monument Wins

Post for 11/22/09—Delhi: He Who Leaves the Coolest Monument Wins

1. Islamic invasions of northern India resulted in the establishment of a series of dynasties whose rulers took the title of Sultan and who fortified six different sites in the greater Delhi area as their capitals. (The Red Fort established by the Mughals is the 7th, while the British establishment of governmental buildings in New Delhi could be considered the 8th.) The first sultanate was established by Qutbuddin Aibak, who erected this tower in 1193, called the Qutb Minar. It contains much Hindu artwork, but also the “new” Islamic domes and arches. Over the next century later sultans added to the complex, with buildings such as tombs, mosques and schools. (Note that meanwhile, in Paris, the Notre Dame Cathedral was under construction—since 1160 or 1163, depending on which sign you read.)

2. In the middle of the Qutb Minar grounds is this iron pole from the 4th Century bearing Hindi inscriptions honoring Vishnu. One of our guidebooks calls the pole a “tribute to ancient metallurgy,” which I take to mean that the Muslims couldn’t destroy this pole!

Muslims and Hindus have been destroying each other’s worship sites in India for centuries. While we were in India, a government factfinding commission released a report on the destruction of a mosque near Varanasi by a mob of Hindu militants in 1992. The site is one holy to Hindus, and the Mughals had demolished a Hindu temple there centuries ago. The site is empty, but Hindu militants demand that a new temple be built. The report ignited a round of fingerpointing and political maneuvering, although most people paid lip service to the idea that communal violence should be prevented. As our traveling companion Reade pointed out, conversations (heard by us, anyway) about religion in India sound like conversations about race in America. One guide told us India is only 30% Muslim. I tried to fact check this on a government website and was told that I would have to become a subscriber to the website to get that kind of information. Our guides were Hindu, and assured us that both religions get along fine. They undercut the credibility of that assertion by repeating generalizations and myths about Muslims—for example, that Muslims in a row of sewing sweatshops in Jaipur were very well off, with homes in addition to the sickening storefronts we could see as we drove by. The guides also reported genuine fear over terrorism by Islamic militants, fueled, they believe, by the Pakistani government. The first anniversary of the Mumbai hotel terrorist attacks (India calls it “26/11” to tie it in with our “9/11”) occurred on 11/26 while we were in Varanasi. Hindu temples were under Army guard. Muslim leaders were quoted as being very conciliatory. They struck me as a minority keeping their heads low, and bracing for trouble.

3. Here is a tomb of another Delhi Sultan or someone close to him. I think it’s in the Qutb Minar complex, but I’ll have to check the other pictures I took to be sure. My point in choosing this picture is to note the idea that powerful men could be buried in the ground with a large slab of marble or other desirable stone (called a cenotaph) above them, all enclosed by beautiful architecture. This one is not as well preserved as later ones, but it’s quite good for 7 or 8 centuries.

4. And 5. Elaborate decorations on memorial buildings. You will see me frequently snapping photos of the “window” designs. These are called “jali” and are carved from one piece of stone—often marble. The workmanship is unbelievable. They create a quiet, shady space inside when the outside of the building is sitting in blistering heat.

6, 7. 8.Humayon was the second Mughal emperor. His tomb, a plaque explaining it, and a picture of his cenotaph close this post. In case you don’t like to read historical markers, I’ll give you a hint: the Mughals in 1570 were developing the skills that built the Taj Mahal in the 1630s.

Paul