Seehausen´s Travels The World 2008 - 2015: Indien - del 1 af 4

Nok er vi lidt trætte ovenpå igår, men i dag skal vi se lidt mere af New- og Old Delhi...

Vi skal opleve Qutub Minar...

Qutb Minar, (also spelled Qutub Minar) at 72 meters, is the tallest brick minaret in the world. Qutb Minar, along with the ancient and medieval monuments surrounding it, form the Qutb Complex, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tower is located in the Mehrauli area of Delhi, India.The Minaret of Jam a UNESCO World Heritage Site in western Afghanistan is thought to have been a direct inspiration for the Qutb Minar in Delhi, which was also built by the Ghorid Dynasty. Made of red sandstone and marble, Qutb Minar is a 73-meter (240 feet) tall tapering tower with a diameter measuring 14.32 meters (47 feet) at the base and 2.75 meters (9 feet) at the peak. Inside the tower, a circular staircase with 379 steps leads to the top. Qutb Minar station is the closest station on the Delhi Metro.

In 1200 AD, Qutb al-Din Aibak, the founder of the Delhi Sultanate started construction of the Qutb Minar. In 1220, Aibak's successor and son-in-law Iltutmish added three storeys to the tower. In 1369, lightning struck the top storey, destroying it completely. So, Firoz Shah Tughlaq carried out restoration work replacing the damaged storey with two new storeys every year, made of red sandstone and white marble.

Qutb Minar is surrounded by several historically significant monuments, which are historically connected with the tower and are part of the Qutb Complex. These include the Iron Pillar of Delhi, Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Alai Darwaza, the Tomb of Iltutmish, Alai Minar, Ala-ud-din's Madrasa and Tomb, and the Tomb of Imam Zamin. Other minor monuments include Major Smith's Cupola and Sanderson's Sundial

The construction of Qutb Minar was commissioned by Qutb al-Din Aibak, the founder of the Delhi Sultanate in 1199 AD. The minar was built on the ruins of the Lal Kot, the Red Citadel in the city of Dhillika. It and the complex around it used the ruins of 27 Hindu and Jain temples purposefully destroyed in the Islamic incursions. Aibak's successor Iltutmish added three more storeys to complete the tower.

It has not been established with certainty whether Qutb Minar has been named after Qutb al-Din Aibak, the emperor who commissioned its construction or Qutbuddin Bakhtiar kaki, the famous Sufi saint.

The culture of tower architecture was established in India before the arrival of the Turks. However, there is no evidence on record to confirm that the Qutb Minar was inspired or influenced by earlier Rajput towers. Numerous inscriptions in Parso-Arabic and Nagari characters in different sections of the Qutb Minar reveal the history of its construction. According to the inscriptions on its surface it was repaired by Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351–89) and Sikandar Lodi (1489–1517).

The Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, located to the north of Qutb Minar, was built by Qutb al-Din Aibak in 1192. It is one of the earliest surviving mosque in the Indian subcontinent. Later, an arched screen was erected and the mosque was enlarged byIltutmish (1210–35) and Ala-ud-din Khilji.

The topmost storey was damaged by lightning in 1368 A.D. and was rebuilt by Firoz Shah Tughlaq. Firoz Shah Tughlaq built two floors one of which can be distinguished easily as it was built of white marble. In 1505, an earthquake damaged Qutb Minar and the damage was repaired by Sikander Lodi. On 1 September 1803, a major earthquake, possibly in Garhwal Kumaun Himalaya, again caused serious damage to Qutb Minar. Major Robert Smith of the British Indian Army renovated the tower in 1828 and installed a cupola to the top of Qutb Minar. The cupola was taken down in 1848, under instructions from The Viscount Hardinge, then Governor General of India and was installed to the east of Qutab Minar, where it rests now.

Den ikke færdige Alai Minar

The Alai Minar is an incomplete monument that lies within the Qutb complex in South Delhi. Sultan Ala-ud-Din Khalji was an over ambitious Sultan of the Khilji dynasty and won many wars and battles. After a win from one of his Deccan campaigns, the Sultan dreamt of constructing a huge Tower or Minar to commemorate his victory. He wanted a structure that would double the height of Qutub Minar in order to be remembered as the only Sultan who dared to create such a monumental masterpiece that was grander and more spectacular than the Qutub Minar of Qutb-ud-din Aibak of the Slave dynasty that ruled before him.

Sultan Ala-ud-din Khalji also executed the plan and increased the size of the enclosures of the Quwwat-Ul-Islam Masjid by four times its original size to provide a ceremonial entrance gateway on either sides of the mosque. He wanted the Alai Minar to match up with the size of the increased height of the mosque and also wanted a second tower of victory under his name and hence the Alai Minar began to take its shape. The construction was completed up till the first storey and at a height of 24.5 metres but unfortunately, the construction was abandoned after the death of Sultan Ala-ud-din Khalji in 1316 AD and the subsequent successors could not continue the further construction as they were defeated and the Delhi Sultanate was taken over by the Tughlaq dynasty.

During the reign of the Khilji dynasty, a renowned Sufi poet named Amir Khusro makes a mention in one of his works named 'Tareekh-i-Alai' of the Sultan's intentions to increase the size of the mosque and the plan to construct the Alai Minar. Amir Khusro was born in 1253 AD in Patiali in Northern India to Amir Sayf-ud-din Mahmud who was a Turkic Officer. He was a renowned scholar, musician, poet and a Sufi mystic who wrote numerous poetries in the Persian and Hindavi. He was also known as the 'Father of Qawwali' and introduced Arabic and Persian elements in his Hindu Classical music. He invented the use of Tabla, Khayal and Taraana styles in his music.

If you historically look back at the Khilji dynasty, it attributes to the Turkic origin. The first three Khalji Sultans belonged to the Khalji tribe of Turkic origin and were known for their ferocity, mercilessness and constant greed to penetrate through all the parts of India and thus rule over it. Their courts were filled with Ministers, Viziers, Writers, Poets, Scholars etc of different backgrounds including Persian, Arabic, Indian, Turkic and other origins. Even the Iranian slaves and Turks that came with the Sufis, Physicians and Scientists of noble families greatly influenced this tribe.

Khalji means 'Swordsmen' in the Turkic language, 'Long Hand' in Ottoman-Turkic language and 'Thief' in the Pashto language. They mainly originated from central Asian continents and came along with the Turks and Iranian Slaves who later came into power after Ala-ud-din Khalji aka Ali Gurshap took over the Delhi sultanate reign after he married the reigning Sultan's daughter and finally took over the Throne and ruled ferociously for 20 whole years.

The Alai Minar depicts that very high ambition, pompous attitude and ferocity of Ala-ud-din Khilji who wanted to compete by building a structure higher than the Qutub Minar but today, is an incomplete mammoth of a foundation that cannot even be compared with the massive Qutub Minar beside it.

The Alai Minar in fact looks like a piece of undulating rubble core that was definitely intended not to look like it does now but in fact would have been ornamentally decorated and covered with stone carvings, intricate design and art work as Ala-ud-din had planned. Today, it sits silently amidst the other elaborate and stunning structures within its proximity in this Complex.

This incomplete Alai Minar structure today can only mark and set as a perfect example for all the people who can literally see what over ambition can do to you. The result is always incomplete work and failure and hence, 'Over Ambition' is not a well encouraged virtue amongst Indians who believe that it can only lead to destruction and disappointment.

The Tomb of Iltutmish

Til tider var det os der var attraktionen og nogle gange flokkes folk om os, oftes var det de blonde, blå øjne der tiltrak..

Vi havde lavet en konkurrence om hvem der kunne få taget flest billeder med indere, men det skulle være dem der spurgte.. Siv var milepæle foran os alle, så vi besluttede det kun skulle være imellem drengene....

Mehrauli søjlen - Jern søjlen

The Iron Pillar was originally established in 402 AD in the front courtyard facing the Vishnu Temple as a 'Vishnudhwaja' which is in honour of Lord Vishnu atop Vishnupada, a small hillock at Udayagiri in Madhya Pradesh by Chandra Gupta II who ruled between 375 CE and 414 CE. It was later moved by Sultan Iltutmish in 1233 AD from its original location to where it stands today within the Qutb Complex in South Delhi.

This Iron Pillar speaks volumes of the ancient art of metallurgy and their inherent skilled techniques to forge such a remarkable masterpiece which weighs 6 tonnes. It stands 7.21 metres tall with a beautifully carved base measuring 48 cm in diameter which weighs 6.5 tonnes and gently tapering to about 29 cm at the tip consisting of a 646 kilos ornate bell and the rest of the pillar weighing 5865 kilos. This Pillar is probably one of the most amazing structures to have existed through the centuries withstanding the corrosion of time and hence triggering all those curious minds. The decorative top of this pillar is seen with a deep socket that is probably believed to be where the statue of Lord Garuda or the 'Sun Bird' was embedded which was a significant feature seen on many pillars like this one.

This Iron Pillar has intrigued many minds as to its stunning corrosion free and non rusting surface though many have experienced the fact that wrought Iron does rust with time but this pillar seems to remain unharmed and looks as good as new despite it being 1600 years old. Numerous Scientists, Archaeologists, Historians and Metallurgists have put their minds together to understand this mystery and some conclude that it is probably due to the way it was forged by expert ironsmiths.

In ancient times, iron was extracted and processed so accurately and with the highest quality of wrought iron used especially due to the abundance of metals as opposed to their availability today. The application of high content of phosphorus was considered as a unique technique used during the process of Iron making in those ancient years where the core of the iron was mixed with charcoal and the slag iron particles reduced to steel in just one step. In today's iron making process, ironsmiths use limestone instead of charcoal to mould the iron into steel which unfortunately results in the phosphorus being wiped away by most of the slag iron particles and hence, most iron products today rust at the mere touch of humidity or change in climatic conditions.

Some theories also state that since this Iron Pillar has high content of Phosphorus and the complete non existence of Sulphur or Magnesium, it prevents the pillar from corroding. Environmental effects also reveal that the pillar was made to withstand a relative humidity of about 70% which is appropriate as the Climate in Delhi despite experiencing four seasons in a year does not exceed that limit at all and maybe this explains the reason why this pillar has not rusted even after a thousand years. Others also state that the slag surface coating used in this Pillar after being forged and the application of clarified butter coating during its usage may have also resisted any corrosion.

Experts from the Institute of Technology like Professor Balasubramanium and a Current Science report suggested that lately, it was discovered that the Iron Pillar has a thin cover of a compound named 'Misawite' which is made from a perfect amalgamation of iron, hydrogen and oxygen that has consistently protected this pillar from rusting. This thin film of compound came into existence due the natural catalysis of very high amount of Phosphorus measured as 1% opposed to only 0.05% of the presence of phosphorus in today's iron products. This catalysis occurred just 3 years after its establishment and since then the layer has increased by 1/20th of a millimetre in thickness after 1600 years.

The Iron Pillar is also seen with Brahmi inscriptions dating back to the 4th Century containing six lines that proclaims the greatness, bravery and victories of the Gupta dynasty. These inscriptions only marvels a King named Chandra but it could refer to any of the Royal Gupta clan which includes either Chandra Gupta I, Chandra Gupta II aka Vikramaditya or even Samudra Gupta, hence, it is unclear and probably buried and lost amongst the bygone generations but whomever it might be, it is evident that the pillar was erected during the Gupta period.

Today, the Iron Pillar is used by many tourists and visitors to test their loyalty, longevity, trustworthiness and many other emotional factors. Many people stand on their backs towards this pillar and wrap their arms around it trying to make their fingers touch each other to prove their truthfulness and fidelity to their loved ones and also to get their wishes to come true as per superstition and many who cannot due to physical factors just quietly leave disappointed. This act became a permanent fixture with this pillar after numerous tourist guides began to flock around this complex trying to make a buck or two by passing such stories and superstitions and thus the act of holding the pillar is viewed with intense delight and has certainly become one of the main reasons to attract many visitors to this complex.