The pleasures of India Gate

Imagine a place where there is a kilometer long lane of cars parked on both sides of the road, where there is a large number of Delhi's families coming there with just family members, or with extended family to spend a fun filled evening. There is ice-cream, cold drinks, and many kinds of small snacks available over there. And the place is slightly colder than the heat of the city. And of course, there are the wide green lawns, and a beautifully lighted India Gate at one end, and the lighting of the North Block / South Block at the other end.
When we reached there, parking was an issue; there were so many people who had already reached there. Eventually we found parking closer to the Boat Club side, and then walked to the India Gate side. The sight that we saw brought a lot of smiles - there were kids playing football (with other kids or with an indulgent elder\parent), there were extended families playing either cards or antakshari (a songalathon) with sheets spread on the greenery.
And then there were the families with extended eating plans - bed sheets, tiffin carriers, casseroles, big jars full of either water or some sort of liquid, topped with ice cream from the large number of ice cream vendors selling their wares. In the partial darkness of the night, one could also see something lighted suddenly going up in the air and coming down again. Getting closer, one could clearly see that these were actually kids toys. We did not do most of these things, but just indulged in walking casually from one end to the other end (tip: I think that the lighting of the India Gate gets turned off at 10 PM, since that is what actually happened dot at 10 PM). Other than that, some chanas and some stale bhelpuris were consumed.
While watching all these families enjoying themselves, I also thought about the people who were all doing the selling, whether that be the ice cream sellers, the people selling the snacks, or the people selling the toys; and the policemen over there who were there to help others. These people, watching entire families enjoying themselves, must be feeling something - or maybe they have spent so much time that they no longer feel different (but I doubt that).


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Khooni Darwaza on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg

This is an old quartzite structure, just a short distance from the ITO crossing, and right next to Maulana Azad Medical College (in fact, the gate became even more infamous a few years ago (December 2002) when a medical college student was raped on the gate, something that was a horror !). It is a protected monument because of its historical background.
The Khooni Darwaza has a history that makes the name easy to understand. It was originally called the Kabuli Darwaza (Gate) in Sher Shah Suri's time since it is believed that caravans to Kabul would pass through it. The gate is an imposing structure if you look at it closely (it is 15.5 metres high), and one can imagine it to be a bustling structure at that point of time.
However, it started getting a bloody reputation during the Mughal rule after that. The bodies of criminals, and thieves, and also those whom the emperor ordered dead were displayed at the gate, to be eaten by birds of prey. This tradition continued for a long time, with the Mughal emperor Jahangir ordering the death of 2 sons of Akbar's friend (who had committed the crime of supporting another brother in the succession battle). His grandson, Aurangzeb got the throne by killing his elder brother, Dara Shikoh, and ordered his head to be displayed over here.
During the First Battle for Independence in 1857, after the British won, they killed 2 sons and the grandson of the last Mughal (Bahadur Shah Zafar) here at the Gate. And this was not the end. During the Partition of the country in 1947, there were massive riots, and a number of refugees were killed here while trying to go to safety.
No wonder people avoid the Gate during dusk hours, as it is rumoured to be the haunt of spirits and ghosts of the people who died violent deaths over here.


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