Introduction

Red Fort, also known as "Lal Quila" in Hindustani language ("Lal" meaning red; "Quila" meaning fort), is one of the exemplars of exquisite architecture that was mastered by the builders of the Mughal period. It was the residence of the Mughal Emperor for a period of nearly 200 years, till 1857. It derives its name from its red sandstone massive walls, but as the residence of the imperial family, it was originally called "Qila-i-Mubarak" or The Blessed Fort. The Agra Fort located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh is also known as "Lal Quila", but its construction is subservient to that of the Red Fort. Today, the Red Fort with the adjacent Salimgarh Fort is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, officially forming the Red Fort Complex.

The fort"s humongous complex houses a series of palaces and museums. In addition to accommodating the emperors and their imperial family, it was the ceremonial and political centre of the Mughal government. It is prominent from the major structures it houses, the walls and ramparts, the main gates, the spectators" halls and the imperial apartments on the eastern riverbank.

Diwan-i-Aam : The "Diwan-i-Aam" (Hall of Public Audience) is a rectangular hall with a facade of arches and columns exhibiting fine craftsmanship. At the back of the hall is an alcove, where the royal throne stood under a marble canopy, with an inlaid marble dais below for the emperor, from where he addressed the state issues. The courtyard behind it leads to the imperial apartments.

Diwan-i-Khaas : A gate to the north of the "Diwan-i-Aam" leads to the "Diwan-i-Khaas" (Hall of Private Audience), an intricately ornamented pillared hall constructed using white marble, with a flat ceiling, once silver restored in wood, supported on engrailed arches. Its marble dais is said to have supported the famous Peacock Throne, carried away by the Persian invader Nadir Shah. The "Diwan-i-Khaas" is embellished with precious stones and is one of the premiere resplendent structures inside the Red Fort.

Nahr-i-Behisht : The imperial apartments consist of a row of pavilions on a raised platform along the eastern edge of the fort, overlooking the Yamuna River. The waters from the Yamuna are drawn via the "Shahi Burj" tower at the northeast edge, to accumulate in the "Nahr-i-Behisht" (Stream of Paradise), connecting the pavilions running through the centre of each. It irrigated the whole palace running through many channels, feeding the fountains in the gardens, the pools covered with water lilies and the baths. The palace had been designed emulating paradise as described in the Quran and its two southernmost pavilions are the "zenanas" (women"s quarters), Mumtaz Mahal and Rang Mahal.

Mumtaz Mahal : The Mumtaz Mahal houses the Red Fort Archaeological Museum.

Rang Mahal : The Rang Mahal housed the emperor`s wives and mistresses. Signifying itself as the Palace of Colours, it was vibrantly painted and decorated with a mosaic of mirrors. It consists of a main hall with an arched front and vaulted chambers on either end. The "Nahr-i-Behisht" ran down through it, with a centred marble basin erected with an ivory fountain.

Khas Mahal : The Khas Mahal was the emperor`s apartment, connected to which is the "Muthamman Burj", an octagonal tower where the emperor greeted his subjects waiting on the riverbank.

Hammam : The "Hammam" were the imperial baths, consisting of three main apartments separated by corridors, with domed roofs. The entire interior with the floor is built of white marble and inlaid with coloured stones. The baths were provided with hot and cold water, with one of the fountains in the easternmost apartment said to have discharged rose water.

Moti Masjid : To the west of the "Hammam" is the "Moti Masjid", the Pearl Mosque added later in 1659 as a private mosque for Aurangzeb. It is a small three-domed mosque carved in white marble, with a three-arched screen leading to the courtyard.

Chhatta Chowk
Adjacent to the Lahori Gate is the "Chhatta Chowk", a "bazaar" (market) where silk items, jewellery and other items for the imperial household were sold during the Mughal period. It leads to an open outer court where it crosses the large north-south street that originally divided the fort`s military functions to the west from the palaces to the east.

With these significant structures, the Red Fort is further beautified with vibrant Mughal gardens, one of them being the "Hayat Bakhsh Bagh", the "Life-Bestowing Garden" in the northeast portion of the complex. It lies north of the "Moti Masjid" along with its pavilions. The red sandstone pavilion in the middle of the reservoir centred in the garden is the "Zafar Mahal", built by Bahadur Shah in 1842. Smaller gardens like the "Mehtab Bagh" (Moonlight Garden) existed west of it, but were wrecked when the British barracks were built. They are under restoration plans. Beyond these, the road to the north leads to an arched bridge and the Salimgarh Fort.

Brief History of the Red Fort

Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, in 1639, shifted the capital of his empire from Agra to Delhi to elevate his regime"s esteem and fulfil his motivated building plans, founding a new city "Shahjahanabad", which is seen today as Old Delhi. Along came the foundation of a fort in the northern side of the town, the construction of which took almost 9 years to completion, from 1639 to 1648. Today it stands as the Red Fort, utilized as the capital and residence of the Mughal Rulers till Bahadur Shah Zafar"s regime.

After the ouster of Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1857, the Red Fort was taken over by the British who controlled it as a military cantonment. Post independence in 1947, it witnessed a few changes to its construction and was continued to be used as a military cantonment, with a significant portion under the control of the Indian Army until December 22, 2003, when it was handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for restoration.

The Red Fort today is a major tourist attraction bringing in thousands of tourists every year. A light and sound show on the Mughal History is organised daily in the evening. Every year on India"s Independence Day (15th August), the Prime Minister hoists the tricolour national flag of the country at the main gate (Lahori Gate) of the fort, and delivers a nationally broadcast speech from its ramparts.

Location and Area of the Red Fort

The Red Fort is located at the heart of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and is the largest monument of the capital, housing a number of structures and museums. It extends over an area of 254 acres, enclosed by 1.5 miles of defensive walls with towering turrets and bastions, ranging from 18 metres in height on the Yamuna riverside to 33 metres towards the city. The fort lies alongside the original course of Yamuna River whose waters supplied the moats surrounding the walls. The wall at the fort"s northeast corner is adjoining the older Salimgarh Fort, built by Islam Shah Suri in 1546. The gigantic ramparts and widespread walkways on the top make the fort a veritable city overlooking another city.

Architecture of Red Fort

The architecture of Red Fort mirrors the idioms on Indo Islamic art. This fortified palace, today known as Delhi`s Red Fort, is irregular in plan, but essentially rectangular in shape. Its red sandstone walls, more than 3 kilometres in circumference, enclose nearly 125 acres of land. The fort was situated on Shahjahanabad`s eastern edge, dominating the newly constructed city. On the fort`s east, just beyond its walls, lay the Yamuna River. Beyond the walls on its remaining three sides, the nobles, high-ranking ladies and members of the royal family provided markets, mosques and gardens. For themselves, the nobles constructed mansions that, while smaller in size, mirrored the form and function of the fort`s palaces.

Among the fort`s gates, the south or Akbarabad gate (also known as the Delhi gate) and the Lahore gate, situated centrally on the west, were the most imposing and led to the city`s most important areas. The Akbarabad gate led to Shah Jahan`s Jami mosque, situated at the city`s highest point, and from a major thoroughfare and market later known as Faiz bazaar. Even more important was the massive red sandstone Lahore gate. It was a focal point, the terminus of Shahjahanabad`s main avenue through which a canal ran. On the other side, the Lahore gate was aligned with the palace`s Public Audience Hall, in which Shah Jahan`s magnificent marble throne was installed.

Walking through the Lahore gate, one immediately enters a covered two-stoned arcade, 70.1 meters long and 8.3 meters wide. On each side, it contains thirty-two arched bays that served as shops. Although the covered bazaar is well preserved, many other parts of the fort`s interior have been altered. The covered bazaar leads directly to a building known as the Naqqar Khana or Drum Room. Music announcing the arrival of the emperor and other important nobles was played there. The two-storied structure in turn leads into the courtyard of the Diwan-i-Am. Originally both the Drum Room and Public Audience Hall stood within a courtyard enclosed on all four sides by an arcade.

The Public Audience Hall closely resembles the pillared Chehil Sutun of Shah Jahan`s two earlier forts in Agra and Lahore (Plate 109). Within it is Shah Jahan`s jharoka, the one from which he presented himself to his nobles. This marble throne, situated in the central bay of the east wall, is composed of a high plinth upon which are carved floral sprays and baluster columns like those on the throne niche in the Public Audience Hall of the Agra fort. At each corner of the platform is a large baluster column that supports a deeply sloping curved roof (bangala) or baldachin. The baluster columns and bangala covering, inspired by European illustrations of royalty and holy personages, explicitly symbolize Shah Jahan`s role as a semi-divine world ruler.

Not only the architectural settings, but also the motifs formed by inlay in the throne itself, underscore this symbolism. The upper portion of the throne is famous for its coloured stones that are inlaid into the walls. The walls are adorned with rare pictures. The emphasis on the word rare here is not hyperbole, for rectangular plaques of black marble are inlaid with rare stones, a technique known as Pietra Dura. These black marble plaques were imported from Italy, doubtless presented to the emperor as a special gift, while the surrounding white marble inlaid with precious stones forming the birds and flowers was Mughal work.

Most of these imported pietra dura panels depict single birds and floral motifs; a few that depict lions are probably Indian works. Different from all the others, the top central panel, an Italian product, illustrates Orpheus playing his lute and wild animals seated peacefully before him. The combination of Orpheus, the birds, flowers and lions symbolise the throne of Solomon, regarded as the ideal model of just Islamic kingship. The theme is not a new one, for symbols of Solomonic kingship had been seen at the Lahore fort.

The quadrangle containing the Public Audience Hall is organised much like those in the Lahore and Agra forts. It, too, had a quasi-public function, and was centrally located inside the fort, but away from the river front. Those buildings reserved exclusively for the emperor`s private use overlooked the river. The riverfront pavilions were situated on an elevated plinth and were constructed of white marble. In front of each royal building was a courtyard enclosed by walls on three sides; the building itself served as the courtyard`s fourth wall. Thus, from within the fort there was no unobstructed view of the buildings reserved for royalty. A similar arrangement earlier was seen in the Agra and Lahore forts, revealing continuity in the concepts that stand behind the design of Shah Jahan`s palace architecture. The white marble pavilions on the riverfront include imperial offices, residences for the king and his family, gardens and viewing towers. The pavilion is south facing and aligned with the other imperial chambers on the riverfront. Its exterior consists of five baluster columns supporting cusped arches. Above the central arch lies a curved bangala roof suggesting a baldachin covering. According to contemporary sources, only the king and royal children entered this pavilion, underscoring the imperial connotations of this column and roof type. Within the bay of the central arch is a lotus-shaped pool, from which water flows into a channel that originally ran south through the other marble pavilions on the riverfront. The source of the palace`s channel, known as the Canal of Paradise (Nahr-i Behisht), was a larger canal 48 kilometres north on the Yamuna, excavated originally in the fourteenth century and then re-opened on Shah Jahan`s orders.

South of the Shah Burj are two marble buildings, the bath (hammam) and the Private Audience Hall (Diwan-i-Khas) that were originally part of a single quadrangle. Like their counterparts at the Agra fort, these structures form a single unit. Here the most important state issues were discussed privately, particularly in the baths, where a select few could hold council in a cool environment during the summer or a heated one in the winter. A three-chambered structure, the bath`s floors, sunken pools and the walls` dado are made wholly of inlaid marble. The most exquisite room, the central chamber, is marked by a sunken marble tank. This and the entire flooring are inlaid with uncluttered floral and chevron patterns, suggesting a simple yet elegant sophistication of form.

The Private Audience Hall is south of the bath on the same elevated marble platform. It is a rectangular building measuring 27.5 by 14.3 meters. The chaste elegance of this Private Audience Hall`s exterior, marked by marble piers supporting cusped arches, stands in contrast to its ornate interior. Here the marble is embellished with gilt and floral sprays rendered in inlaid jewels. The ceiling was silver, removed by marauders in the late eighteenth century. In this hall stood Shah Jahan`s famous gem-encrusted Peacock Throne (Takht-i Shahi), completed by Bebadal Khan. On the walls of the central chamber Shah Jahan had inscribed the oft-quoted verse, "If there be a paradise on earth, this is it, this is it, this is it."

Shah Jahan`s residential quarters are adjacent to the Private Audience Hall. This follows the arrangement of his quarters in the Agra and Lahore forts. The Khwabgah or place of sleep, today called the Khass Mahal, is divided into three chambers with a projecting engaged octagonal tower (Burj-i Tila) off the east side that overlooks the river. The tower`s arched windows served as the jharoka-i darshan, the one from which he presented himself to the public, similar in appearance to the public viewing balcony at the Agra fort.

The Canal of Paradise that commenced at the Shah Burj flows through the Khwabgah`s central chamber beneath an elaborately carved marble screen. Above the screen is a large gilt relief representation of the scales of justice, an allusion to Shah Jahan`s perception of his rule. A lengthy Persian inscription records the date work on the fort was commenced and the date the fort was formally inaugurated; it cites the cost and praises the patron, Shah Jahan; and it compares his fort to the mansions of heaven. There are inscription on the adjacent Private Audience Hall that relates it to paradise on earth, and it recalls the many visual allusions to paradise in Shah Jahan`s buildings. Rarely are the private quarters of other emperors provided such inscriptions.

South of the imperial sleeping quarter and viewing balcony lies the quarters reserved for the women. Among these is a pavilion known today as the Rang Mahal, properly called the Imtiyaz Mahal, that is, the Hall of Distinction. The Canal of Paradise flows through the central aisle of this building, too, and is caught in a centrally placed marble pool carved to resemble an open lotus. In the main chamber twelve-sided piers support cusped arches, a form used in most buildings of the Shahjahanabad fort. Inlay, gilt and polychrome originally covered the marble walls of the Rang Mahal. Thus, in the erstwhile Shahjahanabad palace, one of Shah Jahan`s latest architectural projects, the imperial chambers, are elaborately embellished. This stands in striking contrast to Shah Jahan`s private mosque architecture of nearly this same period.

Thus, each section of the fort had been diligently and aesthetically built. It is because of its architecture that the Red Fort remains a significant tourist attraction even today.

Delhi Gate, Red Fort

The Delhi Gate is located in the walled city of Shahjahanabad or Old Delhi, which was founded by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1639. It was the 17th city of Delhi that was built like a fortress encircled by strong and high red brick walls with 14 entry gates to the city. These 14 gates are known as the Gates of Delhi and located on the southern side of the fortified city is the Delhi Gate. It is currently maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Overview of Delhi Gate : Built by Shah Jahan, the Delhi Gate was constructed in 1638 with a similar design and architecture to the Kashmiri Gate, the northern gate of the walled city. The gate is an impressive large structure that is built of sandstone. And adjacent to the entry gate, there are 2 stone carvings of elephants. The Delhi Gate stands in the middle of the road, at the end of Netaji Subhash Chandra Road and links Daryaganj of Old Delhi with New Delhi. 

Design of Delhi Gate : A three storey gateway, the Delhi Gate is decorated with square, rectangular, and cusped arched panels, which are flanked by semi-octagonal towers crowned by two open octagonal pavilions. The gate is built with red sandstone while the pavilion roofs are in white stone. In the midst of the two pavilions is a screen of miniature canopies or chhatris with seven miniature marble domes. The walls of the gate are encompassed with flame shaped battlements. Between the inner and outer gates stand two large stone elephants without riders, which were replaced as a gift by Lord Curzon.

Sculpture of Red Fort

Sculpture of Red Fort is reminiscent of the great Mughal style of architecture which is located in the city of Delhi in India. It was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century. Everything about the sculpture of Red Fort reflects the Mughal architectural tradition. Red Fort is one of the heritage buildings in India that has received recognition by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Features of the Sculpture of Red Fort : The features of Mughal sculpture are embedded in every nook and corner of Red Fort. A lot of ornamental work is the part of this Mughal monument. It was the tradition of the later Mughal architecture, an amalgamated style of Persian and native Indian art is reflected in the Red Fort. This style is known as the "Indo Islamic architecture". A range of calligraphy and inscriptions were part of the features of Indo Islamic sculptures.

The fort is octagonal, with the north-south alignment longer than the east-west axis. The marble, floral decorations and double domes in the fort`s buildings demonstrate the later Mughal architecture. The fort`s artwork produces Persian, European and Indian art, resulting in a distinctive Shahjahan approach rich in form, appearance and colour. The Lahori Gate is the chief doorway, leading to a domed shopping area known as the "Chatta Chowk" (covered bazaar). The two southernmost pavilions of the palace are "zenanas" (women`s quarters), consisting of the "Mumtaz Mahal" and the larger "Rang Mahal". The Mumtaz Mahal houses the Red Fort Archaeological Museum. The architecture and sculpture of gates to Red Fort are notable for their rich form and designs. The most important gates are the "Lahori Gate" and "Delhi Gate". Besides these there are the Mori Gate, Ajmeri Gate, Turkman Gate and Kashmiri Gate.

Besides the gates of the Red Fort, visitors will also come across the majestic architecture of "Diwan-i-Am", "Rang-Mahal", "Mumtaz-Mahal" , "Diwan-i-Khas", "Naqqar-Khana", "Khas Mahal", "Muthamman- Burj", "Tasbih-Khana", "Hammam", "Moti Masjid" and the sculpture of "Hayat-Bakhsh Garden" and Pavilions. The Lahori and Delhi Gates were used by the public, and the Khizrabad Gate was for the king.