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Medieval And Colonial Capital Cities Of DelhiDESCRIPTIONBritain’s maritime traditions). The ship rests on a replica of the Ashokan capital: a lotus blossoming above awheel, flanked by a horse on one side and a bull on the other. There are stone tablets fixed at the sandstonesbases of the buildings on which the names of the architects and builders are inscribed.The Secretariat Buildings are not only impressive and majestic from the outside but their interiors are equallyinteresting. Both blocks have original paintings decorating some walls and ceilings. The North Block containssome very well preserved paintings depicting various themes like justice, war and peace. The South Block too haspaintings of different cities of the country and the emblems of old kingdoms.Designed originally as cold‐season offices, the Secretariats were constructed without the continuous verandahswhich are normally used in India as sun shields. Instead, windows were kept small in proportion to wall area, andtheir glass was deep‐set in thick walls away from high rays of the sun. Teak jalousie shutters screened the low sunof morning and evening. Lighting of rooms could be better adjusted as a result, and offices were not as gloomy inwinter with verandahs.India Gate India Gate is arguably one of the most striking arched memorials of its kind, anywhere in theworld. Its relatively plain façade and clean lines stand in sharp contrast to the more ornate appearance of theSecretariat buildings or Rashtrapati Bhavan. Like these buildings, though, India Gate is also composed mainly ofbuff sandstone. Its wide columns rise from a low base of red sandstone. Between the narrower sides of thecolumns are two large sandstone pine cones, symbolizing eternal life.Topping the arch is a shallow dome with a bowl to be filled with burning oil on anniversaries to commemoratemartyrs. There is a similar structure under the arch, with an ‘eternal flame’, burning constantly in memory ofIndia’s dead soldiers. This is in the form of a plain square shrine of black marble, atop a stepped platform of redstone. From the centre of the black shrine rises an upturned bayonet supporting a helmet – a symbol of theunknown soldier. On each of the corners of the red stone platform is a constantly‐alight flame. The shrine isknown as the Amar Jawan Jyoti (literally, ‘flame of the immortal warrior’.Hyderabad House The most elaborate and biggest of all the princely estates is this majestic cream‐painted,buff sandstone building, the Hyderabad House, designed by Lutyens himself and built in 1926. The palace, like theneighbouring princely palaces, sits on a wedge‐shaped plot of land. To use this shape to its best advantage,Lutyens designed the Palace of the Nizam of Hyderabad (as Hyderabad House was initially known) in a butterflyshape. However, the building plan is as if the butterfly is ‘halved’, leaving it with two wings, one facing each of thetwo roads that flank the palace: Ashok Road on the left and Kasturba Gandhi Marg on the right. Hyderabad Houseis more clearly classical in origin than the other Imperial buildings, and is less ornate and yet more original as atypology. The entrance hall of the palace and a domed roof are the outstanding features of the building. Thecream‐painted, buff sandstone palace with 36 rooms were designed to inspire awe: it has broad, sweepingstaircases, marble fireplaces, and floors decorated with rich patterns. Archways, obelisks, large stone urns, grandstairways, marble fireplaces and exquisitely detailed patterned floors are some of the design elements which canbe found in the interior of Hyderabad House. Currently the palace is in use by the Government, specifically theministry of foreign affairs for press conferences, banquets, and meetings. Four of the rooms have now beenconverted into dining rooms.Baroda House This is a building in the Anglo‐Saxon style, with the dome echoing that of the Sanchi stupa. Thebuilding is of buff sandstone, and from above resembles a butterfly cut in two down the centre: one of its ‘spreadwings’ faces Kasturba Gandhi Marg, the other Copernicus Marg. It has large French windows with semi‐circular31‐07‐2012 INTACH, Delhi Chapter 18
Medieval And Colonial Capital Cities Of DelhiDESCRIPTIONarches; a portico; and unornamented Doric columns. The carved screens of the walls surrounding the terraces aremore European in style than the ornate jaali screens Indian stone‐carvers were used to making. Baroda Housetoday houses the headquarters of the Northern Railway.Patiala House Like Baroda House, Patiala House – built in 1938 for the Maharaja of Patiala – was designed byLutyens as a ‘butterfly house’, where the two wings of the building are joined together with a dome above. Thepalace is painted cream, with sections of buff sandstone left bare to highlight balconies, parapets, and carvedventilator screens. An interesting feature is the distinctly Indian touch provided by a square, domed pavilion onthe roof, with a chhajja and four smaller pavilions clustered around it.National Stadium Although part of the Princes’ Park area, the National Stadium was designed by R. T. Russell ofthe Public Works Department (PWD). It is named the Dhyan Chand National Stadium, in honour of Major DhyanChand Singh (1905‐1979), one of the world’s finest hockey players. The building has a main entrance consisting offive large arches. The rest of the building is a combination of western and Indian architectural styles. Prominentamong the Indian elements are the chhajjas and the chhatris that stand above the arches.Jaipur house Designed by Arthur Bloomfield in 1936 for the Maharaja of Jaipur, it remained true to Lutyens’svision of New Delhi. Like the Lutyens‐designed palaces in Princes’ Park, Jaipur House too is a ‘butterfly house’,with a dome atop the centre. Built mainly of buff sandstone, the building has architectural elements that run thegamut from Art Deco to traditional Indian. The dome resembles the one on Rashtrapati Bhavan; a chhajja of redsandstone runs continuously below the roof; there are multiple strips of red sandstone inlaid to form a patterneddado and Rajput columns form arched openings along the façade. Jaipur House is today the National Gallery ofModern Art (NGMA). After India’s independence, when the princely palaces around India Gate became thegovernment’s property, it was realized that the large rooms and high ceilings of Jaipur House would be theperfect exhibition space for a gallery of modern art.Bikaner House The building Lutyens designed for Ganga Singh, the Maharaja of Bikaner is the most understatedand least striking of the buildings of Princes’ Park. The palace has large verandahs along the front, a backyard andextensive gardens – all of which were typical features of the bungalows Lutyens designed in New Delhi. BikanerHouse is now the office of Rajasthan Tourism.Connaught Place Connaught Place, popularly known by it's initials as ‘C.P.’ has now been officially namedRajiv Chowk. It is the prime business and commercial centre of New Delhi. Inaugurated in 1935, as the mainshopping district of New Delhi , Connaught Place, characterized by Georgian buildings, was designed by RobertTor Russel (1888‐1977). Connaught place is a two‐storied structure with an open colonnade, in two concentriccircles, creating the Inner Circle, Middle Circle and the Outer Circle. The circle was designed with eight radialroads that stretch out of the inner circle of Connaught Place like wheel spokes and twelve radial roads stretch outof the outer circle of Connaught Place leading you out of this centre and connecting it to other parts of Delhi.The centre of the complex, the Inner Circle, comprises an underground market, Palika Bazaar, which spreads outall the way to the Outer Circle. Also an important part of Connaught Place is the aptly‐named Central Park, withan amphitheatre and water bodies serving as one of Delhi’s major venues for concerts and cultural events.The buildings that make up the outer and inner circles have spacious colonnaded verandahs, beyond which areshops and establishments of various types ranging from restaurants, coffee homes and confectioners, to cinematheatres and travel agents. First floor apartments are used as shops with only a few residents remaining. All the31‐07‐2012 INTACH, Delhi Chapter 19
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