Visiting Tughluquabad in Delhi
Created | Updated Nov 10, 2008
Tughluquabad is on the road joining Mehrauli with Mathura road , 10 kms east of Qutub complex on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road and more or less outside Delhi though now colonies have caught up; still it does look isolated. People hardly ever go there, and the place is magnificent.The fort sits like a massive stone beast on the scrapped outcrop of a low hill.
Nirad C Chaudhury, in the 2nd part of his autobiography, mentions this in some detail - clearly he was very impressed with it. His close friend of one time, the Bengalee novelist Bibhutibhushan Bannerjee, had mentioned Tughluquabad in his novel "Aparajito", where his protagonist Apu visits the desolate fort during his ramblings all over India, and is struck by it.
Sir John Marshall, the archaeologist whom Lord Curzon had brought over to India to organise the Indian Archaeological Survey - he had writen in very glowing terms about this place. He had written : "It's cyclopean walls, towering grey and sombre above the smiling landscape; colossal splayed out bastions, tiers on tiers of narow loopholes;arched passageways .... combine to give an impression of unassailable strength and melancholy grandeur. Within the walls all is now desolation...."
It's surely a thing of gigantic proportions, and made all the more intersting by its sad history - it was built quickly to serve as a stronghold against possible invasions by the Mongols, and soon fell into disrepair, and was abandoned.It is entirely possible that the corruption in the public sector that so bedevils India now, especially when it comes to building roads and bridges, had its start here, if not earlier.
Within the citadel portion is relatively intact, and has some interesting places - an underground passageway with either storage rooms or prisoners quarters, massive circular towers, and one or two standing buildings from which occasionally peacocks dart out and startle one. Monkeys and a few lizards are other creatures you see in there, though the locals occasionally bring their buffaloes and donkeys in to graze.
The towers rise high, and on a clear day you can actually see them faintly in the distance from as far as Nizamuddin bridge. Takes a bit of luck..Delhi is seldom so clear, and now many obstacles may have come up between the two. The present writer remembers this view from about 10 years ago.
It's got this stern, rude aspect to it which makes it appear more as a savage natural element than something man-made; and the desolation within, of a stricken giant nursing its wound.The fort stretches over a perimeter of 6.5 kms, and one can see the place where the royal buildings used to be; there are some arches standing still, though all overgrown with thorny bushes except in summer when the extreme heat withers them and one can make forays into them a little. There are also 7 erstwhile water tanks in the fort, all dried up and full of shrubs and bushes, mainly the thorny acacia. A lot of the space within the perimeter walls cannot be accesed because of the unchecked growth of throny shrubs.
The rampart walls have a series of loop holes, and have stairs that descend into roughly constructed battlements, with their own loop holes. The fort had 13 outer gates, and 3 gates to the citadel section, built with high walls and circular bastions.Most of the outer gates are inaccessible due to heavy rubble and semi-jungles that have come up.
In comparison, the small mausoleum of Ghiyasuddin Tughluq right across the road from the fort is a gem of a building. It's also built massively externally, much like a fort, and one can see the causeway connecting the fort to this building.Apparently earlier they stood inside a lake. What a sight it must have been. Now the causeway has been cut by the road, but otherwise it is intact.
Inside,the building is a fine example of early Islamic architecture in India.
A few words of caution; the place is often completely devoid of people.If visiting in Summer, it's advisable to go as early as possible, else the heat gets to you.
It's advisable not to hasten while approaching the buildings and tunnels - there are often peacocks inside, and in case they have laid eggs they can act with unexpected ferocity.
There are lots of monkeys inside the fort; with their penchant for mischief making, which can occasionally turn uncomfortable for the victim of the mischief, it is better to give them a wide berth.
Snakes are a possibility or so it is held.
The occasional donkey inside the fort can be another proposition altogether. Usually there would be a solitary donkey grazing peacefully, but once it sees a person approaching, it would tend to silently follow the person around all over the place - and that can be a bit unnerving, especially if one is alone.
Typically the donkey would raise its head from grazing when one inadvertently approaches it, look with a reproaching eye, and insist on following one around with a time lag - that is to say, you think you have shaken it off, but then a few minutes later it is there, standing about 10 ft away and silently observing you. It reminds one that the mule or the hinny after all had to get its fabled obstinacy from someone.
I suppose if you saw such a thing in your dreams you would call it a nightmare, albeit a minor one.
Still, all said and done, it is a place to definitely visit if one finds oneself in Delhi.The place stays with you.
How to get there: The fort is located fifteen kilometres southeast of Connaught Place on the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. Tughluquabad is awkward to get to by bus; from New Delhi station or Connaught Place one can take #459 to Badarpur, and change onto a Mehrauli-bound #34, #430, #525 or #717, or else take #505 to Mehrauli/Qutb Minar Complex, and catch a #34, #525 or #717 going east. A trishaw from Connaught Place could cost around Rs. 150, and is a more sensible way to get there rather than take to Delhi buses.
One can locate the fort on Google Map at http://www.gearthhacks.com/downloads/map.php?file=10329
Nirad C Chaudhury, in the 2nd part of his autobiography, mentions this in some detail - clearly he was very impressed with it. His close friend of one time, the Bengalee novelist Bibhutibhushan Bannerjee, had mentioned Tughluquabad in his novel "Aparajito", where his protagonist Apu visits the desolate fort during his ramblings all over India, and is struck by it.
Sir John Marshall, the archaeologist whom Lord Curzon had brought over to India to organise the Indian Archaeological Survey - he had writen in very glowing terms about this place. He had written : "It's cyclopean walls, towering grey and sombre above the smiling landscape; colossal splayed out bastions, tiers on tiers of narow loopholes;arched passageways .... combine to give an impression of unassailable strength and melancholy grandeur. Within the walls all is now desolation...."
It's surely a thing of gigantic proportions, and made all the more intersting by its sad history - it was built quickly to serve as a stronghold against possible invasions by the Mongols, and soon fell into disrepair, and was abandoned.It is entirely possible that the corruption in the public sector that so bedevils India now, especially when it comes to building roads and bridges, had its start here, if not earlier.
Within the citadel portion is relatively intact, and has some interesting places - an underground passageway with either storage rooms or prisoners quarters, massive circular towers, and one or two standing buildings from which occasionally peacocks dart out and startle one. Monkeys and a few lizards are other creatures you see in there, though the locals occasionally bring their buffaloes and donkeys in to graze.
The towers rise high, and on a clear day you can actually see them faintly in the distance from as far as Nizamuddin bridge. Takes a bit of luck..Delhi is seldom so clear, and now many obstacles may have come up between the two. The present writer remembers this view from about 10 years ago.
It's got this stern, rude aspect to it which makes it appear more as a savage natural element than something man-made; and the desolation within, of a stricken giant nursing its wound.The fort stretches over a perimeter of 6.5 kms, and one can see the place where the royal buildings used to be; there are some arches standing still, though all overgrown with thorny bushes except in summer when the extreme heat withers them and one can make forays into them a little. There are also 7 erstwhile water tanks in the fort, all dried up and full of shrubs and bushes, mainly the thorny acacia. A lot of the space within the perimeter walls cannot be accesed because of the unchecked growth of throny shrubs.
The rampart walls have a series of loop holes, and have stairs that descend into roughly constructed battlements, with their own loop holes. The fort had 13 outer gates, and 3 gates to the citadel section, built with high walls and circular bastions.Most of the outer gates are inaccessible due to heavy rubble and semi-jungles that have come up.
In comparison, the small mausoleum of Ghiyasuddin Tughluq right across the road from the fort is a gem of a building. It's also built massively externally, much like a fort, and one can see the causeway connecting the fort to this building.Apparently earlier they stood inside a lake. What a sight it must have been. Now the causeway has been cut by the road, but otherwise it is intact.
Inside,the building is a fine example of early Islamic architecture in India.
A few words of caution; the place is often completely devoid of people.If visiting in Summer, it's advisable to go as early as possible, else the heat gets to you.
It's advisable not to hasten while approaching the buildings and tunnels - there are often peacocks inside, and in case they have laid eggs they can act with unexpected ferocity.
There are lots of monkeys inside the fort; with their penchant for mischief making, which can occasionally turn uncomfortable for the victim of the mischief, it is better to give them a wide berth.
Snakes are a possibility or so it is held.
The occasional donkey inside the fort can be another proposition altogether. Usually there would be a solitary donkey grazing peacefully, but once it sees a person approaching, it would tend to silently follow the person around all over the place - and that can be a bit unnerving, especially if one is alone.
Typically the donkey would raise its head from grazing when one inadvertently approaches it, look with a reproaching eye, and insist on following one around with a time lag - that is to say, you think you have shaken it off, but then a few minutes later it is there, standing about 10 ft away and silently observing you. It reminds one that the mule or the hinny after all had to get its fabled obstinacy from someone.
I suppose if you saw such a thing in your dreams you would call it a nightmare, albeit a minor one.
Still, all said and done, it is a place to definitely visit if one finds oneself in Delhi.The place stays with you.
How to get there: The fort is located fifteen kilometres southeast of Connaught Place on the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. Tughluquabad is awkward to get to by bus; from New Delhi station or Connaught Place one can take #459 to Badarpur, and change onto a Mehrauli-bound #34, #430, #525 or #717, or else take #505 to Mehrauli/Qutb Minar Complex, and catch a #34, #525 or #717 going east. A trishaw from Connaught Place could cost around Rs. 150, and is a more sensible way to get there rather than take to Delhi buses.
One can locate the fort on Google Map at http://www.gearthhacks.com/downloads/map.php?file=10329
