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Magazine
ARCHITECTURE
From the red citadel
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The Red Fort is one of the most potent symbols of Delhi. Lack of a cohesive conservation policy has seen this monument fall into decline. TARA MURALI comments on a new book that examines the architectural history of the monument
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"They have inlaid stone flowers in marble,
Which surpass reality in colour, if not in fragrance."
Shah Jahan's court poet Abu Talib Kalim.
THE Mughals and their architecture have held a fascination for many through the ages. Among the foreigners, Francois Bernier came to India during the reign of Aurangazeb and wrote about the magnificence of the Mughal Court in his book Travels in the Mughal Empire. James Fergusson's pathbreaking The History of Indian and Eastern Architecture was published in 1876. Percy Brown has done yeoman service in painstakingly documenting the architecture of India in his book Indian Architecture: Islamic Period. The recent works of Ebba Koch and Catherine Asher on Mughal architecture have renewed interest in the architecture of the period. Among the works of Indian scholars are R. Nath's History of Mughal Architecture and Mughal Sculptures and Maulvi Zafar Hassan's Monuments of Delhi. Begley and Desai have edited A.R. Fuller's manuscript translation of The Shah Jahan Nama of Inayat Khan. An addition to these is The Red Fort at Shahjahanabad by Anisha Shekhar Mukherji. With a professional background (architect and conservationist), an intimate knowledge of the subject, extensive research and literary fluency, Mukherji has produced a book that is an excellent read for laypersons and the cognoscenti alike.
Of the Mughal era, the reign of Shah Jahan was the golden period of architecture. As with Akbar, his artistic sense overrode the limitations of decoration set by strict religious tradition. The abilities of local skilled craftsmen and builders coupled with his passion for architecture gave forth some of the best works in Mughal architecture. The project, of building a new city of Shahjahanabad (in which the Red Fort is encompassed), on a barren piece of land albeit amidst the ruins of several earlier dynasties that had ruled Delhi, was started in the eleventh year of his reign. The Red Fort took 10 years to build, at a cost of almost 10 million rupees and Shah Jahan led the celebrations for the inauguration of the fort in April 1649. Integrating the best architectural designs, construction methods, details and skills the Red Fort even in its degraded state today, shows signs of the grandeur and magnificence of that era.
While individual royal personalities played their role, the growing evidence of the emergence and impact of cross-cultural integration that took place in architecture, during this period, are of greater interest to the professional. With details of both the layout and the structures, the book explains the synthesising practice of absorption, adoption and adaptation of ideas and forms from the regions of Transoxania (from where the Mughals came) and the regions of India (from Gujarat to Bengal which came under Mughal rule).
Though essentially an architectural documentation of the Red Fort, the book guides us through "the city within the city" through several mediums. It tells us stories old and new of the Fort and its royal occupants. (According to the author "the most enduring is that of the last Mughal king, Bahadur Shah Zafar, composing poems in the translucent marble rooms before assuming briefly the spirit of his commanding ancestors over the battlements of the red citadel" in the last stand against the British in 1857). It recreates the spaces and the lifestyles of its royal owners through descriptions from various sources. ("At the close of day, numerous fireworks were set up by the future bride's relatives were ignited along the banks of the Jumna causing great delight to the spectators... Not to be outdone, by His Majesty's commands, the gardens beneath the royal chambers and the grounds below the audience balconies, as well as the boats upon the Jumna were illuminated with lamps and fireworks, which had been provided at his private expense, were displayed on the banks of the Jumna". The event was Dara Shukoh's wedding as described in the Shah Jahan Nama of Inayat Khan). It recounts the wonder felt by foreigners on seeing the Fort and its wealth. ("The palace at Delhi is, or rather was, the most magnificent palace in the East — perhaps in the world — and the only one at least in India, which enables us to understand what the arrangement of a complete palace were when undertaken and carried out on one uniform plan" — James Fergusson in the The History of Indian and Eastern Architecture). It laments the indifference of its caretakers past and present. ("Airy Mughal pavilions in exquisitely carved red sandstone and marble, partially obscured by abundant tree growth, sit uncomfortably in the shadow of tall barracks").
By focussing on the Red Fort and locating it alongside the comprehensive urban fabric of Shahjahanabad, the author enhances our knowledge of Mughal history in general and Mughal architecture and town planning in particular. For serious students of architecture, history and archaeology, the book documents, in great detail, plans, elevations and sections of all the extant structures. Through information gathered from a variety of sources, books, documents, maps, paintings, old photographs, etc. and filling in the blank spaces on the site and recreating the Fort as it would have been in its days of glory, the reader gets a comprehensive understanding of the Fort — something a mere visit to the place does not give. The wealth of information found in the book explicates the daily working of the Fort and especially through the realm of the Imperial and Common domain, both public and private. It also locates the Red Fort within the context of Shahjahanabad and Shajahanabad itself in the context of the Mughal Empire. It uses the medium of architecture to unravel the past.
The period between post-1857 and pre-independence witnessed the Red Fort in the hands of the British. As the author puts it "the practice of redefining the past transformed Shahjajanabad into a shadow of its Mughal origins" and "far from being an imperial Mughal Fort changed into an exotic British cantonment". She also says, "during this time, the Red Fort continued to be occupied, reshaped and misused by the British military". Large parts of Shahjahanabad were divided and destroyed while accommodating the railway line and the railway station. Though by the end of the 19th Century there were some attempts at preservation and prevention of further destruction, the inherent conflict in its use for military purposes, limited these attempts and by Independence substantial damage and vandalism had taken place.
Sadly in the post Independence period, the lack of a cohesive and coherent effort has only seen a continuation of this neglect. Ownership rights with different agencies of the Government have aggravated this neglect.
Even in such a state, the author says, "it is a tribute to the strength of the architectural design of the Red Fort that despite the litany of loss, it continues to be one of the most potent symbols of Delhi". She appeals for a holistic effort in its restoration as elaborated in international charters for conservation to which India is a signatory. She also points out that the involvement of people cannot be ensured unless conservation efforts are linked with a vision of the larger area around the Fort. We hope the authorities are listening.
The Red Fort of Shahjahanabad, Anisha Shekhar Mukherji, Oxford University Press, Rs. 1750.
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