Sacred Heart Cathedral was built
in 1929. British colonial officers financed the construction. St Columbus’s School and the Convent of Jesus
& Mary lie right next to the cathedral.
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| Sacred Heart Cathedral |
Rashtrapati Bhawan is the official home of the President of India. It is a
large mansion with 320 rooms, and is within sprawling lawns that include the
beautiful Mughal Gardens, open to the public for a month every spring.
The architect of New Delhi, Edwin Lutyens, designed the building and it was completed in 1929,
initially as the Viceroy’s House.
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| Rashtrapati Bhawan |
India Gate was built
in 1931 to commemorate the Indian soldiers who died fighting along with the
British in World War I. Inspired by Paris’ Arc De Triomphe, India
Gate has the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier, also called the Amar Jawan Jyoti.
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| India Gate |
Connaught Place is a shopping centre
in the heart of New Delhi. The circular market, famous for its white buildings,
has a park in the centre. The market was completed in 1933 and consists of an
inner circle (renamed Rajiv Chowk) and an outer circle (renamed Indira Chowk).
Connaught Place was named after Prince Arthur (1850-1942), the 1st Duke of Connaught, who was the 3rd son of Queen Victoria. Connaught Place is full of restaurants, fast food outlets, cafes, bars and stores, and despite the advent of malls in recent years, remains one of Delhi's most popular markets. Besides Connaught Place, another of the city's favourite markets is Khan Market. In recent years, malls like Select City Walk in Saket and DLF Promenade in Vasant Kunj have opened, and have high footfalls, especially in their multiplexes and food courts. DLF Emporio in Vasant Kunj is a very high end exclusive mall, that features stores of luxury brands. The Chanakya is a high end mall with a multiplex, and was opened after refurbishing an old movie hall by the same name. Sangam is another mall that has a multiplex and several high end restaurants, and the mall was built on the site of another old movie hall. Janpath, near Connaught Place, and Sarojini Nagar Market are well known for their street stalls, where one can negotiate and get great bargains!
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| Connaught Place |
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| Select City Walk |
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| Interior, Select City Walk |
The Cathedral Church of the Redemption was
completed in 1935 and is close to Delhi’s Rashtrapati Bhawan. The church was built by the British, for the officers
serving in the country.
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| Cathedral Church of the Redemption |
Birla Temple, also known as Laxmi Narayan Temple,
is Delhi’s main Hindu temple. The temple was completed in 1939 by the Birla
family of industrialists and was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi.
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| Birla Temple |
Gandhi Smriti is the venue where Gandhi was assassinated on January
30, 1948, as he was going to the spot of his daily prayers. The assassin was Nathuram Godse, a Hindu
fundamentalist. The assassination was
within months of India’s independence on August 15, 1947. It is poignant that
the icon of peace met with a violent end.
Mohandad Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), also called the Father of the
Nation, was the main leader behind India’s independence movement. He adopted
the policy of non violence and stood up to the might of the British Empire,
amassing immense support and respect. Rajghat is the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi and lies along the banks of the Yamuna River. Mahatma Gandhi was cremated here after his assassination.
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| Birla House, Gandhi Smriti |
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| Gandhi's Last Walk, Gandhi Smriti |
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| Gandhi's Simple Room, Gandhi Smriti |
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| Sculpture of Gandhi, Gandhi Smriti |
The Dandi
March Statue, also known as Gyarah Murthi (or 11 statues, because of the 11 figures present), was
built by Devi Prasad Choudhary and lies in the heart of Lutyen’s Delhi.
It depicts Mahatma Gandhi’s Legendary Salt March from 1930, in which he and his
followers walked for 24 days and traversed a distance of over 350 km to protest
against the imposition of the salt tax by the British.
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| Dandi March Statue |
The National Museum was established in
1949. Its exhibits cover a period of 5,000 years of history and there are over
200,000 works of art. The vast
collections include archaeological finds (including those from the ancient Harappan
civilization), sculptures, miniature paintings, decorative arts, jewellery and
costumes.
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| National Museum |
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| Buddha Head from 5th century AD, Sarnath, National Museum |
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| Laxmi Narayan from 11th century AD, Madhya Pradesh,National Museum |
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| Bala Krishna, National Museum |
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| Miniature Painting of Krishna and the Gopis, National Museum |
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| Nataraja, National Museum |
The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) is
housed in the beautiful Jaipur House near India Gate, and was established in
1954. The building was previously the
residential palace of the Maharaja of Jaipur. The gallery has one of India’s biggest collections of
art from the modern era and contains over 14,000 works of art. Some of the famous artists featured include
Amrita Shergil, Jamini Roy, Raja Ravi Varma and Rabindranath Tagore.
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| National Gallery of Modern Art |
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| Victory of Labour, National Gallery of Modern Art |
Crafts Museum is located near Pragati Maidan, the venue of large
scale exhibitions. The museum was set up over 3 decades, starting in the 1950s
by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. The museum has
terracotta figures, stone sculptures, wooden sculptures, tribal paintings,
textiles, puppets, masks and even a temple chariot. The museum has a well known
restaurant called Lota Cafe.
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Terracott Figures,
Crafts Museum |
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Tribal Paintings,
Crafts Museum |
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Masks,
Crafts Museum |
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Wooden Sculptures,
Crafts Museum |
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Temple Chariot,
Crafts Museum |
Teen Murti House is the former residence of Jawaharlal Nehru,
India's first Prime Minister, who served in office from 1947 till his death in
1964. The complex now houses a museum, a library and a planetarium.
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| Teen Murti House |
Nehru Park is a large park in the heart of Delhi, near the
diplomatic enclave of Chanakya Puri. The park covers an area of 80 acres and was
established in 1969. Nehru Park has a prominent statue of the Soviet leader
Lenin, as a symbol of the close partnership between India and the Soviet Union.
The statue was unveiled in 1987. The park is particularly popular in the mornings, with
morning walkers, people walking dogs and people playing a variety of sports. In
winters, there are regular evening concerts featuring big names of Indian
classical music.
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| Lenin Statue, Nehru Park |
Chhatarpur Temple was established in 1974 by Baba Sant Nagpal Ji, whose samadhi lies
there. The complex has no fewer than 20 temples in all, and the main deity is
that of Goddess Katyanani. It is one of the world’s largest temple complexes.
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| Chhatarpur Temple Complex |
The National Rail Museum lies in Chanakya Puri and was
opened in 1977. It showcases the rail heritage of India and exhibits many
railway engines through the decades. A toy train takes visitors around the 10
acre museum.
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| National Rail Museum |
Indira Gandhi Memorial is the
house of the former Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. She
lived there for many years, and she was assassinated there in 1984. After her
death, the house was converted into a memorial for her. Many of the rooms are
preserved the way they were during her time, giving a glimpse into her life.
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Venue of Indira Gandhi's Assassination,
Indira Gandhi Memorial |
Baha'i Temple, also known as the Lotus Temple because of its
lotus-like shape, was completed in 1986. The Baha'i Temple
is open to people of all religions.
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| Baha'i Temple |
Sanskriti
Museum, the brain-child of O.P.Jain, is a complex which houses three museums – the Museum
of Terracotta Objects, the Museum of Everyday Objects, and the Museum of
Textile. The complex is spread over 8 acres of land and lies along M G Road, on
the outskirts of Delhi. It was established in 1990 by the Sanskriti
Foundation, a not for profit organization, to promote traditional Indian
culture and arts.
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| Terracotta Horses, Sanskriti Museum |
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| Terracotta Deities, Sanskriti Museum |
The ISKCON Temple was built in 1998.
ISKCON stands for International Society for Krishna Consciousness and was
founded in 1966 by Swami Prabhupada. ISKCON has more than 400 centres around
the world.
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| ISKCON Temple |
Akshardham Temple, the world’s largest comprehensive Hindu temple, was
inaugurated in 2005. The main monument
has a central figure of Swaminarayan, who was
born in the late 18th century
AD and is a central figure of Swaminarayan Hinduism.
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| Akshardham Temple |
Shanti Stupa is a peace
memorial that opened in Delhi in 2015, one of many such structures across the
world, intended to promote peace.
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| Shanti Stupa |
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| Meditating Buddha, Shanti Stupa |
Madame Tussauds opened in Connaught Place's Regal Building in 2017. The wax museum has wax figures of Indian and international celebrities, from the world of cinema, sports, music and politics. The original Madame Tussauds was in London, but now there are some 2 dozen of these museums spread all over the world, each having its own local touch.
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| Raj Kapoor, Madame Tussauds |
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| Amitabh Bachchan, Madame Tussauds |
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| Salman Khan, Madame Tussauds |
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| Sachin Tendulkar, Madame Tussauds |
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| Angelina Jolie, Madame Tussauds |
Delhi is a food lovers' paradise. North Indian non vegetarian restaurants (serving items like tandoori food, gravies and kababs) are a local favourite, with restaurants like
Karim's (which is one of the city's most famous restaurants, dating back to 1913 and lying next to Jama Masjid in Old Delhi),
Bukhara (a high end restaurant at ITC Maurya Hotel), Khan Chacha (which specialises in kababs and rolls), The Great Kabab Factory (with its unlimited kababs), Moti Mahal (a Delhi institution, in Darya Ganj) and the cluster of joints at Pandara Road Market (Gulati's, Pindi's and Chicken Inn).
Indian Accent, located at The Manor, is a very high end Indian restaurant run by a celebrity chef, and it is famous for its fusion food, where unusual ingredients from world cuisines are used to prepare traditional Indian meals. For Avadhi food, the city's best known place is Dum Pukht (at ITC Maurya). For Continental food, there are places like Orient Express (at Taj Palace). For Italian food, there's La Piazza (at Hyatt Regency), Olive (in Mehrauli, with an impressive view of Qutub Minar), Tonino's (on M G Road), Fresco (on Janpath) and Flavour's (near Defence Colony). For South Indian cuisine, there are places like Dakshin (at The Sheraton in Saket), Saravana Bhawan (an extension of the Chennai based chain), Naivedyam (at Hauz Khas Market), Sagar (in Defence Colony Market) and Swagath (again in Defence Colony Market, but serving South Indian coastal non vegetarian food). For Chinese food, there are old favourites like Pan Asian (at The Sheraton in Saket), Mainland China and Burco's. Japanese food lovers would enjoy Sakura (at The Metropolitan Hotel). For Mexican food, Rodeo's in Connaught Place is a popular option. People who fancy Middle Eastern food must try out Mashrabiya at The Ashok (the evening belly dance there is a welcome bonus!). For traditional parathas, there's Parathe Wali Gali in Old Delhi, which is street food at its tastiest best. For other traditional Indian vegetarian meals, snacks and sweets, there are places like Bikanerwala and Haldiram's. Most quick service restaurants chains have a strong presence in Delhi, including McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino's, TGIF, Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bell, Starbuck's, Barista and Cafe Coffee Day.
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| Kababs at Karim's |
Delhi also has some world class luxury hotels. Top of the list would be
ITC Maurya, a hotel preferred by many visiting dignitaries. The hotel's lobby features a famous painting called The Great Procession, by Krishen Khanna. ITC Maurya has some of the city's finest restaurants, including Bukhara and Dum Pukht.
The Oberoi New Delhi is another of the city's top hotels. The list of top hotels would be incomplete without mentioning
Taj Palace (which had restaurants like Orient Express) and
Taj Mahal Hotel (which has the well known Machan restaurant, and Rick's, a popular bar). Lastly, there's also
The Imperial on Janpath, a colonial era hotel that maintains its old world charm.
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| ITC Maurya |
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| Krishen Khanna's The Grand Procession, ITC Maurya |
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| Lobby, The Oberoi New Delhi |
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| Taj Palace |
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| Lobby, Taj Mahal Hotel |
Delhi has clubs like
Delhi Gymkhana Club, one of India's most prestigious clubs, dating back to the colonial era. A great place for food; activities like tennis, swimming and bridge; and catching up with friends at the bar or the central hall or in the Kashmir Lawns in the winter.
Delhi Golf Club is spread over a vast area in the heart of the city, interspersed with old tombs, including the Lal Bangla. There are institutions like
India International Centre and
India Habitat Centre, that are well known for their cultural performances, intellectual debates and discussions, restaurants, and art exhibitions.
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| Delhi Gymkhana Club |
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| Delhi Golf Club |
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| India Habitat Centre |
In a nutshell, Delhi certainly offers a lot to visitors, whether its through its grand Mughal architecture, its temples, its museums, its markets, its culture, or its restaurants. Call me biased for overlooking some of the city's problems, but I would certainly say it's well worth a trip for any visitor. The interesting towns of Agra (with the fascinating Taj Mahal, plus other landmarks like Agra Fort, Akbar's Mausoleum and Fatehpur Sikri) and Jaipur (famous for its City Palace, Hawa Mahal and Amber Fort) are short drives away, and these three towns are often jointly referred to as The Golden Triangle. For people interested in getting a glimpse of modern India, there's the Delhi suburb of Gurgaon, with its huge malls, fancy restaurants, chic hotels and posh corporate offices. So my verdict for Delhi is clear - go for it!
