Delhi Land

¤ The Ridge

Till a few centuries ago, the Aravalli Hills (see The Land for details) which nudge Delhi from neighbouring Haryana and Rajasthan were a distinct and prominent part of the landscape reaching as far as the Yamuna. Today, the fragmented Ridge is all that remains of this once thickly vegetated range.

The Ridge pumps out most of the oxygen that keeps Delhi’s huge population alive. Patches of it remain near the University of Delhi in the north; stretch southward to Dhaula Kuan from Connaught Place in Central Delhi; spread along the cantonment area from South to West Delhi and also take in Mehrauli and Tughlaqabad. Most of plush, upmarket South Delhi came up at the expense of the Aravalli Hills and the entire city was left out on a limb, struggling to make do with its only lung.

The Ridge is made up of stratified russet sandstone and grey quartzite, which was rather cleverly used by Edwin Lutyens in the building of Imperial Delhi. In fact stone began to be quarried in the Delhi Aravallis as long ago as in the 10th century. That’s when the degradation of the Aravallis began, effectively reducing them to shallow ridges and rolling stretches. Agricultural necessity took its own toll by leveling the rocky terrain into fields.


¤ The Yamuna

Quiet flows the Yamuna but if you could listen to her hushed murmur, she would tell you a thousand tales of how Delhi was settled, destroyed and rebuilt and how Yamuna herself – once a sparklingly brilliant river – came to be so polluted. This lovely river, beloved of all the rulers of Delhi, rises from the mighty Himalayas (see The Land for details) and flows southward till it reaches Delhi via Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. From Delhi it meanders on to embrace India’s most sacred river, the Ganges. Hindus consider the confluence point of the two rivers, Prayag near Allahabad, a holy city. (Check Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh for details.) The entire course of the river is about 1,376 km.

Till about 350 years ago, when Shahjahanabad (see > History for details) was built, Yamuna followed a different course. It skirted the walls of the awesome Red Fort (see Sightseeing for details) surging happily into its moats to keep enemies away. Now the river is over one km to the east of the fort and the moat remains sadly empty. It seems as if the river wanted nothing to do with Delhi once the curtain fell on its Mughal patrons (see History for details).

The water of the river has been diverted to many canals to facilitate irrigation. The Eastern and Western Yamuna canals are fed from the river along the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border and the Agra Canal is made richer at Delhi. Near Mathura the river turns southeastward and passes Agra, Firozabad and Etawah. Below Etawah it receives a number of southern tributaries, the largest of which are the Chambal, the Sindh, the Betwa, and the Ken. If you visit the Taj Mahal (see Agra in Uttar Pradesh for details) in summer you’ll find the majestic Yamuna reduced to a mere trickle thanks to the amount of water siphoned of to the canals.

In fact this is the major factor that has led to the large-scale pollution of the Yamuna. According to environmentalist Iqbal Malik, "All rivers are capable of healing themselves but only if they have the minimum required water flowing in them, The Yamuna has a flow of just five cusec whereas the minimum requirement is 353 cusec. When the flow is weak, algae, shrubs and other water plants that cure the river die. Today, what we have in the Yamuna are catfish which are found only in sewers, red worms which inhabit only filthy water and disease-causing bacteria." Apart from this, the floating population of the river also consists of fly-ash, plastic, hospital waste and parts of half-burnt bodies from Nigam Bodh Ghat (Delhi’s biggest cremation ground).

But all is not lost yet. Chances of rescuing the river are bright – other water systems around the world have been revived under worse conditions.


¤ The Yamuna Action Plan

A popular adage in India runs Der hai, andher nahin! which roughly means that justice may be delayed but is never denied or that things may move slowly but they eventually get done. The Yamuna Action Plan is a classic example of neglect reaching a critical point till the Delhi Government and the Central Pollution Control Board were forced to sit up and take notice. Launched in 1994 with a budget of Rs 340 crore, the Yamuna Action Plan, if executed carefully and dedicatedly, will surely get results. No deadline has yet been set for the project but here are some of its salient features:

Construction of 16 sewage-treatment plants to treat domestic sewage.
15 common-effluent plants to treat industry-effluents from the more than 1,000 industries in the city. Right now only six are operational.
Toilets for Delhi’s slums and squatter settlements which are responsible for 40% of the sewage.

10 cumec (cubic meter per second) of water to be released into the river. This is an order that has come straight from the Supreme Court and is not strictly a part of the Yamuna Action Plan. and neither is it as simple as it sounds. The estimated cost of this exercise alone is Rs 20,000 crore.

Blocking the sewage water flowing into the river, treating it and then releasing it into the Agra Canal for irrigation. In exchange the Yamuna would get 10 cumec of bathing-quality fresh water from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.


¤ Climate & Seasons

The climate of Delhi isn’t much to write home about. When planning a trip remember that the city is best in winter and in its fleeting spring. About 160 kilometres south of the Himalayas Delhi feels every chilly blast that lashes the snowcapped mountains. While heat-oriented Delhiites find the winter a bit trying, foreigners seem to revel in temperatures ranging from 3*C to 21*C. The season is marked with light rainfall, frosty winds and an all-enveloping fog.

But the cold months of December-February soon give way to the balmy month of March. Birds sing out a full-throated welcome to Basant Bahar (the bloom of spring) as fresh grass and blossoms burst forth and trees sprout shiny new coats. Sometimes, when Delhiites are in luck, the spring gets an extra lease of life and tarries till mid-April.

Hot on its heels comes May which turns Delhi into a scalding charcoal tandoor (a large round clay oven). Thanks to its distance from the sea, Delhi bears the brunt of an extreme type of continental climate. The summer consequently is as hot as the winter is cold. The mercury, itself in danger of dehydration, soars to 47*C. One has to be carefully prepared before venturing out as heat strokes and dehydration are the order of the day. Violent dust storms and hot winds – locally dubbed loo – are part and parcel of the hot and dry Delhi summer.

The cruel onslaught of summer is cut short with the advent of the monsoon (moisture bearing winds) in early July. The monsoon, of course, is never known to have arrived when it is expected – it’s either late, early or whimsically decides to just skip Delhi. It provides the city much-needed succour. The parched ground, plants, animals and people greedily soak up the moisture for the next two months as the temperature dips down to a bearable 30-something. September though hot, is not dry but humid. In October the days become cooler and with November Delhi is very much in the arms of winter again.

¤ Delhi's Greenery

Bursting at the seams with human population (and all attendant hazards), it is Delhi’s plant life that keeps the city worth living in. Most Delhiites love greenery and fortunately so did the planner of New Delhi, Sir Edwin Lutyens. Delhi, as we have said before, is one of the greenest capitals in the world. Now let’s see what keeps it so.

The Ridge and whatever else remains of the Aravalli range is dotted with thorny trees like the keekar (a prickly tree that keeps its leaves all through the year and has yellow flowers) and acacias. In fact Delhi’s natural cover can best be described as thorny scrub. The British with characteristic foresight began planting drought-resistant trees in the 19th century. Thanks to them the Ridge has its share of neem (margosa or Azadirachta indica) and palas (Flame of the Forest or Butea monosperma) trees. During the monsoon the Ridge is a riot of shrubs, herbs and tall wild grass. It was declared a Reserved Forest as long ago as in 1878.

The shisham tree (Dalbergia sissoo) which yields a dark brown and durable timber commonly grows in the plain areas of the capital. The Yamuna of course abounds in typical riverine vegetation consisting of weeds and grass along its banks. This is what’s left of Delhi’s natural cover.


¤ Exquisite Gardens of Delhi

Fortunately, however, man has not been idle. Delhi boasts of some of the most beautiful gardens and parks in the country. It all began with the Mughals who were seriously garden-minded – wherever they went they laid out fabulous gardens. To Delhi they gave Qudsia Bagh, Roshanara Garden, Shalimar Bagh and Karol Bagh.

The British, who took charge of Delhi after unceremoniously bundling out the Mughals, were nature lovers too. Edwin Lutyens, the architect of New Delhi, ordered trees to be planted along the proposed routes even before the actual construction of the roads began. He chose to plant slow-growing but massive, long-living trees like banyans, neems, jamuns (Syzygium cumini, a tree with an edible grapelike fruit), mango, pipals and tamarinds which blocked out the harsh Indian sun.

The Green Brigade that took over the task of making gardens after Independence was the Central Public Works Department. But Indian town planners, eager to get quick results, planted fast-growing and showy flowering trees like the amaltas (Indian laburnum) and gulmohar (a large tree with tiny leaves and reddish-orange flowers) which give neither fruit nor shade. Delhi soon came to have many more green oases like the Lodi garden, the area around the Purana Qila, the National Zoological Park, the Delhi Golf Club, the Deer Park, the Nehru Park, the Buddha Jayanti Park and the Mahavir Jayanti Park.

and this is not all. The numerous roundabouts that lie at the centre of most road intersections are islands of greenery and a veritable feast for the eyes when thick with flowers in March. These flowering plants include a large number of multicoloured seasonals: chrysanthemums, phlox, violas, and verbenas, larkspur, dogflowers, pansies, dahlias, gladiola, tuberose, sweetpeas, roses and many more.

The animal life of the National Capital Region, like its plant life, is quite diverse. Among carnivorous animals are leopards, hyenas, foxes, wolves, and jackals, which inhabit the jungles, low forests, and hilly ridges. In some places along the banks of the Yamuna, wild boars are found. Monkeys and cows are a pretty common sight since both are deemed sacred by the Hindus and therefore allowed to roam unmolested. Bird life thanks to the city’s parks and gardens is profuse and includes partridge (gray and black), pigeons (black and blue), parrots, and bush quail. Peafowl are numerous on the hilly ridges. The Yamuna abounds in fish, and an occasional crocodile may be found too.


¤ The City Plan

Delhi- Not Exactly a Well Planned City :

The layout of Delhi is not a well-planned or well-executed whole. The reason, is that, Delhi was built piecemeal by successive rulers. The Delhi of today is a sum total of all the nine Delhis that have gone up since 1450BC and therefore seems very hap-hazardly laid out. When India became free the capital boasted of two living historic cities: Shahjahanabad (also called Old Delhi) and New Delhi. Shahjahanabad was built by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan and New Delhi was raised by the British.

¤ The Layout of Old Delhi

The street pattern of Old Delhi reflects the older requirements of defense, with a few transverse streets leading from one major gate to another. Occasionally a through street from a subsidiary gate leads to the main axes. Most of the streets, however, tend to be irregular in direction, length, and width and are suitable only for pedestrian traffic. The pattern as a whole consists of a confusing mixture of narrow and winding streets, alleys, and bylanes leading to residences and commercial areas. These roads are definitely at odds with the demands of a modern national capital. Did you know that Delhi has more cars than the three metros Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai put together?

¤ The New Delhi

In sharp contrast to Old Delhi, the Civil Lines (residential areas originally built by the British for senior officers) in the north and New Delhi in the south present an aspect of relative openness, characterized by green grass and trees, order, and quiet. Wide avenues characterized the New Delhi plan with trees in double rows on either side, creating vistas and connecting various points of interest. Almost every major road has a specific focal point closing the vista so that no avenue is lost in the horizon.

Despite this wonderful model of sensible and aesthetic town-planning left behind by the British, the CPWD could not achieve much on its own. Plots of land were sold indiscriminately, no thought was given to architecture, shoddy roads and flyovers came up quickly, land grabbing became rabid and Delhi, like spilt water, seeped in every direction submerging parts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Today it stretches from Rohini in the north to Gurgaon in the south and Ghaziabad in the east to Uttam Nagar in the west. Apart from a few, well-maintained sections in the city, Delhi is on the fast track to disaster with its zillion problems: overpopulation, inadequate housing and sanitation, water and electricity shortage, traffic congestion, pollution, beggary and crime.

¤ Land Use

The Delhi Development Authority’s 20-year master plan implemented from 1962-81 broadly divided up the city on the basis of public, semipublic and residential use of land. Public and semipublic land use was concentrated in the Central Secretariat area of New Delhi, the Old Secretariat area in the Civil Lines, Indraprastha Estate, the CGO complex and RK Puram (an office-cum-residence complex).

Small manufacturing units have sprung up in almost every part of Old Delhi, but the main industrial areas are along Najafgarh Road in the west and on Mathura Road in the south, where a large planned industrial estate, Okhla, has been established. Areas for commercial land use are confined mainly to Chandni Chowk and Khari Baoli (both in the north), the Sadar Bazaar of Old Delhi, the Ajmal Khan Road of Karol Bagh in western Delhi, and the Connaught Place area of New Delhi. A number of district and local shopping centres have also developed in other localities.

The University of Delhi, India’s most prestigious university, is located in the north, where a number of educational institutions for college education and for higher studies are located. It attracts students from all over the world and is hotbed of educational, research and cultural activity. Its southern campus is located near Dhaula Kuan. Another educational complex that includes Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Indian Institute of Technology, and other institutions has been developed in southern Delhi.

History of Delhi

¤ An Introduction

It's hard to think of Delhi as anything but the capital of India but for a surprisingly long time Delhi was not the hot seat of power. Having said that, however, it's also true that Delhi was never exactly a sidekick on the scene of Indian history. All through its long innings, the present capital of India has been an important player.
Reasons for this might be found in its geographical location. Delhi has always been a convenient link between Central Asia, the northwest frontiers and the rest of the country. An inscription dating from the time of Asoka, the famous Mauryan king, tells us that Delhi was on the great northern highway of the Mauryas and linked their capital Patliputta (near modern Patna, Bihar) with Taxila (Takshashila), now in Pakistan. This was apparently the route that Buddhist monks took on their way to Taxila, the intellectual hotbed in those days, and Central Asia. What one can read between the lines is that it was also the route that the Mauryan armies took enroute to quelling the frequent rebellions and foreign insurgencies in Taxila and other such border trouble spots. So, this gave Delhi considerable strategic importance.

The story of Delhi unfolds far back in the dark mists of history.


City :- Indraprastha
Date :-1450 BC (approx.)
Site :- In Purana Qila
Remains :- Archeological finds now support the view that this was indeed Delhi's earliest city. This has not surprised anyone in Delhi, for popular opinion had never doubted the existence of Indra-prashtha. Reasons for its decline are not known.


City :- Lal Kot or Qila Rai Pithora
Date :- 1060 AD; built by Rajput Tomaras. 12th century; captured and enlarged by the Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan.
Site :- QutubMinar-Mehraulicomplex.
Remains :- Very little remains of the original Lal Kot. of the 13 gates of Rai Pithora fort, now only three remain.


City :- Siri
Date :-1304 AD; built by Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate. Alauddin Khilji was well-known for his trade reforms, so it's not surprising that Siri was a major trading throughout the centre the Hauz-i-Alai, 14th century.
Site :- Near Hauz Khas and Gulmohar Park.
Remains :- Some portions and walls remain. Alauddin Khilji also built other things around Siri. Like, the beautiful Alai Darwaza, the south gate of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque and reservoir in present-day Hauz Khas.


City :- Tughlaqabad
Date :- 1321-23 AD. Built by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq.
Site :- 8km from the Qutub complex.
Remains:- Walls and some ruined buildings.


City :-Jahanpanah
Date :- Mid-14th century. Built by Mohammad- bin-Tughlaq, the so-called lunatic king. Actually he had some brilliant ideas but fumbled badly in their execution.
Site :- Between Siri and Qutub Minar.
Remains:-A few remnants of defensive ramparts.

City :-Ferozabad
Date :- 1354 AD; by Feroze Tughlaq. It remained the capital until Sikander Lodi moved to Agra.
Site:- Kotla Feroze Shah.
Remains:- Only the Asoka Pillar rising from the ruins remains. There is stadium for cricket which is called Feroze Shah Kotla grounds. It is also a regular bus stop.

City :- Dilli Sher Shahi (Shergarh)
Date :- 1534; This Delhi was actually started by Humayun, the second Mughal emperor. After he was defeated and forced into exile, his far more able overthrower Sher Shah
Suri completed it.
Site :- Opposite the zoo. Around Purana Qila.
Remains:- High gates,walls,mosque and a great baoli(well). Kabuli and Lal Darwaza gates and the Sher Mandal.

City :- Shajahanabad
Date :- Mid-17th century. Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor moved his capital from Agra to here.
Site :- The existing Old Delhi.
Remains :- The Red Fort, Jama Masjid, main streets of Old Delhi (like Chandini Chowk), long sections of walls and several city gates. Old Delhi might be congested, but it still retains its medieval charm. The people are very warm and welcoming, even though riots between Hindus and Muslims are quite common.


City :- New Delhi
Date :- 1920s. The formal announcement to move the seat of power from Calcutta to Delhi was made during the famous Delhi Durbar in 1911. Contractors and workers working from the designs of Edward Lutyens completed the main buildings 20 years later. Since then Delhi has remained the capital of India.
Site :- Connaught Place and Rajpath.
Remains:- All the main British buildings, which include the spacious bungalows of the now elite New Delhi area, the President's House, the Parliament and Supreme Court.

Delhi Travel Guide

¤ Today's Delhi- A Bustling Metropolitan City
Having shed its dusty cloak of antiquity, Delhi is today a bustling cosmopolitan city. The ancient cities of Indraprastha, Lal Kot, Siri, Tughlaqabad, Jahanpanah, Ferozabad and Dilli Sher Shahi have, over the centuries, been laid to ruins. Vestiges of Emperor Shah Jahan’s city, Shahjahanabad, barely peep out of the choked lanes and bylanes of Old Delhi. Lutyen’s Delhi is however still the preserve of the sahibs; albeit brown sahibs (Indian bureaucrats and politicians) who rule the roost here.


¤ Expension of The City

What’s new is the Delhi which has sprung up around the core city that has been handed down by centuries. When the fleeing Punjabis came to Delhi from Pakistan, they were given land by the government to resettle themselves. This was essentially around the areas of Karol Bagh and Patel Nagar in the West and Lajpat Nagar in the South. These small settlements soon grew into suburbs and the suburbs were swallowed up by the ever-growing city as colonies. Most of the posh South Delhi area has come up only in the past two decades; people still recount the times when the now-hot properties like Vasant Vihar or Gulmohar Park were just forest areas frequented by animals and vagabonds (well, okay robbers and dacoits actually).

On your travel trio to Delhi,don't forger to visit some interesting colonies like Chittaranjan Park, which the Bengalis of Delhi have made their own. It is called mini-Calcutta by Delhiites. A walk down Chittaranjan Park will warm the hearts of any Bengali nostalgic for the laidback charms of Calcutta, now rechristened Kolkata.


¤ Politics and Government

Delhi's legislative state has long been an issue for politicians to fight about. Untill a couple of years ago it was uncomfortably clubbed as a sort of Union Territory with limited powers. and now it's a sort of state with limited powers, called the National Capital Territory – which sounds grand, but the fine print still has various catches built in. Statehood has long been on the cards for Delhi, but has still to become a reality.
Anyway Delhi has a Governor and Chief Minister with a cabinet. It also has a legislative assembly to which members are elected in the general elections. The first elections of Delhi were won comfortably by BJP, however in the next elections it was voted out by an overwhelmingly popular mandate. The National Congress is in power now and enjoys that rare thing in Indian politics – a complete majority in the legislative assembly. The Chief Minister is Sheila Dikshit.


¤ Delhi Educational Institutions

Being the capital there are, of course, lots of things for which Delhi is the main centre. Like education. Two of Asia's largest and most prestigious universities are based in Delhi – the University of Delhi and the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Degrees from both universities are recognised widely abroad, and so students from all over Asia pour in to study here. In ideology both campuses couldn't get more different and there is a rivalry of sorts between them. The University of Delhi is modern, vibrant and 'with-it' India personified with students wearing all the latest fashions and spouting new-age dictums, as propounded by their favorite music channels. Jawaharlal Nehru University has a more cloistered hush of serious academia which seems to pervade the very winds that blow over its beautiful campus. Students here tend to take it much easier, taking greater pleasure in discussing obscure socialist ideology than worrying about getting ahead in the rat race.
¤ Jamia Millia Islamia University
Between these two big ones, the rising star is the Jamia Millia Islamia, based around Hamdard Nagar. The university, which has always been famous for its much sought-after Media courses, is also becoming rapidly well-known for its Liberal Arts and History courses. There are a couple of other well-known universities in Delhi – like Indira Gandhi Open University, the largest centre for private education in Asia. The prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) also has a campus here in Delhi – it's specially well-known for its Mechanical Engineering course.
¤ Economy & Business
Almost all the companies in the major industries have an office in the political capital – head offices of most of them are divided between Bombay and Delhi, although Bombay safely has a higher percentage of them. Most of the MNCs, like Pepsi, Coke, Nokia and so on, though have preferred to make base in or near the capital; the reason could be that the proximity to the political clout which is very crucial to their survival. Flashy offices of these companies, featuring overworked, furiously busy executives shouting on cellphones like anywhere in the world, are mostly concentrated around Gurgaon, easily the most happening suburb of Delhi.
¤ Communication & Connections
Travel and communications in Delhi is simpler than any other metro, Bombay included. The roads are spacious, unlike Bombay, and there are hardly any traffic jams, unlike Calcutta. Delhi has a very efficient bus and a limited local train service. Apart from that there are cabs and the notorious autorickshaws (which unlike in Bombay can go anywhere, and indeed do go only where they please). Dealing with autowallahs, as the autorickshaw drivers are called, can be quite a fine art and can test both your patience and pocket but eventually you will get the hang of it. Literally in every nook and cranny of Delhi, you will see STD/ISD booths, which usually have fax and e-mail/internet facilities too.