New Delhi: Rajpath and India Gate
Rajpath or King's Way is kinda like the ceremonial avenue of India. New Delhi boulevard is lined on both sides by lawns with rows of trees and ponds. This is considered the most important road in India. The Rajpath goes straight towards Raisina Hill, India's administrative center. After the long climb up Raisina Hill, one can see that Rajpath is flanked by North Block and South Block. Rajpath ends at the gates of Rashtrapati Bhavan which was once the Viceroy's residence. Now, Rastrapati Bhavan is the offical residence of the President of India.
At the start of the Rajpath is the India Gate. It is India's war memorial arch in honour of those who died in the first World War and second Afghan War. It is also India's memorial of the Unknown Soldier. It was originally called the All India War Memorial and was to commemorate the Indian soldiers who died in World War I and the Afghan Wars. The names of the soldiers who died in these wars are inscribed on the walls. Standing right beside this gate, one would feel rather small. What I liked about the India Gate was that it actually looked like L'Arc de Triomphe of Paris. This was inscribed on top of India Gate :
“ To the dead of the Indian armies who fell honoured in France and Flanders Mesopotamia and Persia East Africa Gallipoli and elsewhere in the near and the far-east and in sacred memory also of those whose names are recorded and who fell in India or the north-west frontier and during the Third Afgan War. ”
A lil bit of trivia about the India Gate, the opening scene from the movie Gandhi starring Ben Kingsley was filmed here.
Underneath the arch of India Gate is a shrine called Amar Jawan Jyoti (the flame of the immortal warrior), which marks the Unknown Soldier's Tomb. The shrine is a black marble cenotaph with a rifle placed on its barrel, crested by a soldier's helmet. Each face of the cenotaph has inscribed in gold the words "Amar Jawan" (Immortal Warrior). This cenotaph is itself placed on an edifice which has on its four corners four torches that are perpetually kept alive. When we arrived there, there were a lot of soldiers preparing for a ceremony that was going on the grounds.
At the start of the Rajpath is the India Gate. It is India's war memorial arch in honour of those who died in the first World War and second Afghan War. It is also India's memorial of the Unknown Soldier. It was originally called the All India War Memorial and was to commemorate the Indian soldiers who died in World War I and the Afghan Wars. The names of the soldiers who died in these wars are inscribed on the walls. Standing right beside this gate, one would feel rather small. What I liked about the India Gate was that it actually looked like L'Arc de Triomphe of Paris. This was inscribed on top of India Gate :
“ To the dead of the Indian armies who fell honoured in France and Flanders Mesopotamia and Persia East Africa Gallipoli and elsewhere in the near and the far-east and in sacred memory also of those whose names are recorded and who fell in India or the north-west frontier and during the Third Afgan War. ”
A lil bit of trivia about the India Gate, the opening scene from the movie Gandhi starring Ben Kingsley was filmed here.
Underneath the arch of India Gate is a shrine called Amar Jawan Jyoti (the flame of the immortal warrior), which marks the Unknown Soldier's Tomb. The shrine is a black marble cenotaph with a rifle placed on its barrel, crested by a soldier's helmet. Each face of the cenotaph has inscribed in gold the words "Amar Jawan" (Immortal Warrior). This cenotaph is itself placed on an edifice which has on its four corners four torches that are perpetually kept alive. When we arrived there, there were a lot of soldiers preparing for a ceremony that was going on the grounds.
posted by Fairy-Duh | 2:34 AM
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