THE QUTUB MINAR

The Qutub Minar is one among the many Indo-Islamic structures that found their place in India, thanks to the Muslim invaders who built many such structures during their reign in this beautiful country. The Qutub Minar found its home in Delhi. It is easily accessible from any part of the city. At 72.5 meters this imposing 13th century structure is hard to miss. As for stories of why the Qutub Minar was built, you can hear a variety of colorful stories from the people residing in Delhi. In a pursuit to clear the air, here's the literal meaning of the word Qutub; it means "Pole of Justice". So as the name suggests, it is said that it was built to celebrate the victory of Mohammed Ghori over the Rajputs. The Qutub Minar was housed in a complex which consisted of various other Islamic structures among which is the Quuwat-ul-Islam mosque which is one of the first mosques built by the Muslim kings. Thus came the theory that the Qutub Minar was also a tower built for the Muslim priest to climb up for prayer as in the Muslim custom.

The Qutub Minar is often referred to as India's answer to The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Both these structures are the pride of the cities that they are built in and are famous in their own ways that tourists flock to visit these places every year. The similarity however ends here. The Qutub Minar is one of the first Indo-Islamic structures to be built in India. It welcomed a new kind of architecture called the Indo-Islamic architecture which was an amalgamation of both Hindu and Islamic architectural styles. Time to mention the man behind the existence of this great structure, the great emperor Qutub-ud-din-Aibak. He started the construction of this massive tower in 1192 with the help of Indian architects and sculptors. He however lived to see only the first tower of the Qutub Minar standing proud. The rest of the tower was completed by his successor and son-in-law Iltumish. Going into the architectural details, the Qutub Minar stands tall at 72.5 meters and measures a diameter of 14.32m at the base and around 2.75m at the top. The three storeys of this amazing tower are painfully symmetric giving it that dizzying ring of harmony but on close inspection one finds that the three stories are different in their styles. The base storey consists of alternating circular and angular flutings, while the second storey has only the circular flutings. As opposed to the second storey the third one has only angular flutings. The Qutub Minar considering its height was easily prone to being struck by lightning and true to its height the tower was struck twice during its lifetime. The first time it was struck, the then emperor Mohammed-bin-Tughlaq rebuilt the damaged tower dutifully. The second time though, the tower was struck during the reign of Feroze-shah-Tughlaq. Being an effervescent builder himself he not only rebuilt the damaged tower but also awarded the already tall structure with one more level and so this tower came to be finally standing tall and proud as if keeping an eye out for the city it was built on.

While talking of the Qutub Minar it would be a sacrilege not to mention the iron pillar that stands close by within the Qutub complex. This intriguing pillar dates back to the 4th century and bears signs of being built in honor of Lord Vishnu and also in memory of the great King Chandra Gupta of the Gupta dynasty. This pillar, I refer to as intriguing because it is literally a standing example of India's prowess in the field of metallurgy that dated back centuries. This iron pillar is built of 98% wrought iron and to date stands tall without having rusted or decomposed over the years of exposure to different weather conditions. The sights this country has to offer will never cease to amaze me or any one visiting this country. Any one tempted to witness these wonders for themselves, have to pay a visit to India and you will know at once why this country is rightly called, the Land of Wonders.