THE VAST PAST OF DELHI (3) - Lutyens Delhi
- Malika Vaidya
- Jan 10, 2021
- 5 min read
Delhi as a city is an amalgamation of various architectural styles owning to its vast and rich past. It has always been the capital throughout history, under various dynasties with varied names. The capital of modern India post-independence, New Delhi continues to be the seat of power for today’s democratic government.
And this journey to become the seat of power began with the conceptualisation of an imperial city by Edward Lutyens.
POWER SHIFT
The mutiny of 1857 was a catalyst that resulted in shifting the capital of Colonial India from Calcutta to Delhi. Though the mutiny of 1857 was suppressed, nationalist opposition building up and an unsafe atmosphere for the British, led to a decision to declare Calcutta as a presidency- much like Bombay and madras, which had been the seat of power for British for over 150 years.
But, it was only in 1911 that Delhi was declared as the new capital, timing the declaration with the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to colonial India.
So, why was Delhi chosen?
Delhi had been the seat of power under the Sultanate and the Mughals, which the British wanted to use for symbolic purposes. The city was centrally located and was closer to the summer capital of Shimla. Some argued that Calcutta lacked the grandeur of Delhi. And, most importantly, the mutiny of 1857 brought to light the symbolic importance and emotional connect people had with Delhi and the Mughal emperor.
IDEOLOGY AND ARCHITECTURE
To realize the dream of an imperial city, the Delhi Town planning committee was formed and Lutyens was appointed as a consultant to draw up the master plan. The committee selected Raisina Hill on the south side of Shahjahanabad, to be constructed as a new Acropolis with the Viceroy’s house, now Rashtrapati Bhavan as the Parthenon. The architecture of the city needed to project the symbolism associated with British imperialism in India. For this a western style classical architecture with details of Indian motifs was chosen after much deliberation. The city was formally inaugurated in 1931 as the construction work had been delayed due to the outbreak of the First World War.
PLANNING
New Delhi's master plan was characterised by monumental classicism, ceremonial avenues, open spaces, geometrical symmetry and a grand central axis. The Viceroy’s house on top of Raisina hill flanked by the twin secretariat buildings formed the heart of the new city. The visceral estate and the crescent- an architectural arrangement of buildings around an arc or curved street, contained residential accommodation for important functionaries.
The king’s way, now Rajpath was the principal imperial axis connecting Purana Qila to the Viceroy’s house via the war memorial, now India Gate and Vijay Chowk. Queen’s way, now Janpath, crossed the principal axis at right angles, connecting Connaught Place and other important buildings with South end road.
THE RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN (VICEROY'S HOUSE)
The Viceroy’s house was originally designed as a Government House. But, due to certain changes in the colonial government reforms, the house was reduced to serving as an office and residence of the Viceroy.
Built between 1921-1929, the Viceroy’s house is a two storied horizontal building and was one of the largest residential buildings in the world at the time of completion. The upper main floor is made of cream-coloured sandstone and marked by long colonnades. The ground floor is a monumental platform in red sandstone interrupted by arched openings and square windows. The red and cream sandstone brought in from Uttar Pradesh protected structures from the scorching summers of Delhi.
The central feature of the building is the massive central copper dome (50 metres, or 164 feet, above the ground) which rises on a cream sandstone drum enclosed by a railing like the one at the Sanchi stupa. There are chattris, or kiosks, on either side of the drum while water flows through a series of circular stone basins, sometimes in a stepped formation.
The House has 340 rooms, the most famous of which are the Throne Room which lies right below the central dome and is now known as Durbar Hall. A place where investitures and durbars took place; the Ballroom now called Ashoka Hall and the Banqueting Hall now called the State Dining Room, which once had pictures of Governor Generals and Viceroys.
THE TWIN SECRETARIAT BUILDINGS
The twin secretariat buildings were constructed between 1914 and 1927. Like the Viceroy’s House, they are built in cream and red sandstone—the red forming the base while the cream is used for principal floors. European-style features include columns and domes whereas the Indian architectural elements include the use of red sandstone, jalis (perforated screens), chajjas (eaves/shade-giving cornices) and decorative elements such as chhatris (canopies that appear on the roof line), carved brackets and elephant heads on pillar capitals. Arches used in the construction are circular as opposed to the pointed Indian arches.
Features like spacious colonnades, open verandas, chajjas, jalis and small high window openings increased the circulation of air, reduced the amount of sunlight within buildings and brought the outdoors closer.
The site between Victory Square and India Gate is like an imperial avenue or a ceremonial boulevard and is dotted on both sides by huge lawns, pools and rows of trees. Containing six big fountains, the boulevard is now the site of the Republic Day Parade. Victory Square is like a spacious plaza containing six big fountains. This is where the “Beating the Retreat” ceremony is held every year to conclude the Republic Day celebrations.
INDIA GATE
India Gate, completed in 1921, was designed by Lutyens as a hexagonal space with an arch-shaped war memorial at the centre and roads radiating out of it. It was dedicated to the Indian soldiers killed during the First World War and other wars such as the Afghan War.
The India Gate complex contains a canopy that was originally designed as a memorial to George V, who died in 1936. It carried a statue of the monarch until 1968 after which the statue was shifted to Coronation Park. The area around the war memorial was called Princes Park, and important ruling families were allotted land to build houses along the sides of the hexagon. The notable ones among them include Hyderabad House, Baroda House (which has the offices of the Indian Railways), Patiala House (now a district court complex), Jaipur House (now the National Gallery of Modern Art) and Bikaner House.
The style of architecture selected for planning New Delhi tried to fit in the principles and ordered beauty of an empire rather than any other style of architecture. The architectural style was not tied to a specific geographic region, but could be easily tweaked and replicated to suit any tropical setting among the colonies of the British empire.
The city of New Delhi was planned as an everlasting imperial city symbolising the eternal supremacy of the British empire. But, ironically, just 16 years after its formal inauguration, the keys of the city were handed over to independent India by Lord Mountbatten.
REFERENCES:
https://frontline.thehindu.com/arts-and-culture/heritage/the-making-of-new-delhi/article9995888.ece
https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/imperial-delhi-how-the-british-built-a-new-delhi-at-the-cost-of-the-old/story-0teV8d6fhcAb8IudCZtmMP.html
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