Jantar Mantar of Delhi

The famous 18th century astronomer king and the founder of the Pink city of Jaipur, Sawai Jai Singh, built the first of his five astronomical observatories across India. The observatories are known as Jantar Mantar which derives it name from the corruptions of the Sanskrit words 'yantra' (instrument) 'mantra' (formula) over the period.

The Jantar Mantar at Delhi is located on Sansad Marg between Connaught Place and Rashtrapati Bhavan. It is the largest and the best preserved compared to the other four open-air observatories which were built by Sawai jai Singh in Varanasi, Jaipur, Mathura and Ujjain. Vast red and white sloping stone structures hover over palm trees and neat flower beds. They cast shadows, which were formerly used to calculate time, lunar and solar calendars, time as well as movements of planest and stars, all with incredible degree of accuracy.

I enjoyed shooting Jantar Mantar against the backdrop of the modern buildings. It was a contrast in Archetecture. Delhi is fast becoming a modern city with several old heritages.

India Gate

India Gate, a beautiful pieace of archetecture in the city, is a memorial built to commemorate more than 80,000 Indian soldiers who were killed during World War I fighting for the British. The monument is an imposing 42 meters high arch and was designed by the architect Edwin Lutyens. India Gate was earlier named All India War Memorial. The design of the India Gate is similar to the French war memorial, the Arc-de-Triomphe.

'INDIA' is written on top of the arch on either sides. Names of over 80,000 Indian soldiers are inscribed on the walls of the India Gate. At the base of the India Gate there is another memorial, the Amar Jawan Jyoti that was added after independence of the country. This eternal flame keeps burning to commemorate the unknown soldiers who had laid their lives to serve India.

I took this picture when it was twilight. Against the speedly moving traffic, the India Gate stood majestically.

Dilli Haat

Dilli Haat is a modernised version of traditional Indian village bazzar. You will find crafts and foods from all the states of India. A really nice place, where you can have a look and feel of India in one go.