Gandhi Smriti. Birla House Delhi

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

Gandhi Smriti formerly known as Birla House or Birla Bhavan, is a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, situated on Tees January Road, in New Delhi, India. It is the location where Mahatma Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life and was assassinated on January 30, 1948. It was originally the house of the Indian business tycoons, the Birlas. It now houses the Eternal Gandhi Multimedia Museum established in 2005.

The 'Martyr's Column' at the Gandhi Smriti, the spot where Gandhi was assassinated.

It was acquired by the Government of India in 1971 and opened for the public on August 15, 1973, renamed the Gandhi Smriti (or Gandhi Remembrance). The museum in the building houses a number of articles associated with Gandhi's life and death. Visitors can tour the building and grounds, viewing the preserved room where Gandhi lived and the place on the grounds where he was shot while holding his nightly public walk.

The Martyr's Column now marks the place where Gandhi, the "Father of the Nation" was assassinated.

The Gandhi Smriti or Birla House is located at 5 Tees January Marg, a couple of kilometres from the Connaught Place, one of the CBDs of New Delhi.

Outside the house stands a pillar that contains a swastika symbol. The pillar is known as, and is used as, an example of how context can change the ethical nature of information, and the interchangeability of symbols across societies. According to Lester and Koehler, Jr. (2007)[1], "for Hindus and Buddhists, the swastika symbol is a representation of good." The same pillar also contains the Sanskrit symbol for the meditation sound, Om. Wallace C. Koehler, Jr. presents a photograph of the pillar on page 347 of the highly regarded information science text, Fundamentals of Information Studies, Second Edition, with June Lester.

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

gandhi smriti, birla house delhi india

About Humayun's Tomb, Delhi-India

A Beautiful View from Front of Humayun's Tomb, Delhi-India

About Humayun's Tomb, Delhi-India

""This tomb, built in 1570, is of particular cultural significance as it was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent. It inspired several major architectural innovations, culminating in the construction of the Taj Mahal.""

Exemplifying the formative stage of the Mughal structural style, Humayun's Tomb stands as a landmark in the development of Mughal architecture, and also represents the earliest extant specimen of the Mughal scheme of the garden tomb, with causeways and channels. It is a well-developed specimen of the double-domed elevation with kiosks on a grand scale. This building tradition culminated in the Taj Mahal, constructed a century later. Despite being the first standardized example of this style, Humayun's Tomb is an architectural achievement of the highest order.

Humayun's Tomb

The tomb of Humayun, second Mughal Emperor of India, was built by his widow, Biga Begum (Hajji Begum), in 1569-70, 14 years after his death, at a cost of 1.5 million rupees. The architect was Mirak Mirza Ghiyath. It was later used for the burial of various members of the ruling family and contains some 150 graves. It has aptly been described as the necropolis of the Mughal dynasty.

The tomb itself is in the centre of a large garden, laid out in char baah (four-fold) style, with pools joined by channels. The main entrance is on the south side, and there is another entrance on the west side. A pavilion and a bath are located in the centre of the eastern and northern walls respectively. The mausoleum itself is on a high, wide, terraced platform with small arched cells along the sides.

In plan it is an irregular octagon with four long and four short sides. It is surmounted by a 42.5 m high double dome clad with marble flanked by decorative pillared kiosks (chhatris). The middle of each side is deeply recessed by large arched vaults with a series of smaller ones set into the face. The interior is a large octagonal chamber with vaulted roof compartments interconnected by galleries or corridors. This octagonal plan is repeated on the second storey. The structure is of dressed stone clad in red sandstone with white and black in laid marble borders. Within the enceinte to the south-east of Humayun's Tomb there is a fine square tomb of 1590-91, known as the Barber's Tomb.

The tomb and its surrounding structures are substantially in their original state, and interventions in the present century have been minimal and of high quality.

Garden at About Humayun's Tomb

The importance of Humayun's Tomb in the evolution of Mughal architecture is great. It is the first of a long series of dynastic tombs and innovative in a number of ways, notably by virtue of the fact that it introduced the garden tomb to the subcontinent. Humayun had travelled widely in the Islamic world, notably in Persia and central Asia, and brought back with him ideas that were applied by the architect of his tomb, under the direction of his widow, in this tomb. The tomb has been respected throughout its history and so has retained its original form and purpose intact. Subsequent interventions have been aimed at preserving this character.

About Misra Yantra in Jantar Mantar, Delhi Observatory : Jantar Mantar

The Misra Yantra is located in the northwestern corner of the site. It is a relatively small instrument, and may have been built by Jai Singh's son, Madho Singh (reg. 1751-65) sometime between 1759 and 1799, as the instrument is not mentioned in Jai Singh's accounts. The entire instrument measures about 25 meters across (east-west) and 12 meters north-south. 

Misra Yantra in Jantar Mantar, Delhi Observatory

The Misra Yantra is organized symmetrically about a wall whose upper edge is inclined to the horizontal plane at the same angle as the hypotenuse of the Samrat Yantra. This wall is formed of two walls flanking a staircase used to access the top; while smaller, it is similar to the Samrat Yantra gnomon. The wall is 8 meters high, and and its base stretches for ca. 11 meters. A pair of semicircular scales are located on each side of the gnomon, with their centers located on the hypotenuse of the central wall. These four scales are marble strips, .5 meters wide and supported on individual curved walls. A staircase, about 1 meter long, runs between each pair of scales. The semicircles on the eastern side are inclined at angles corresponding to the meridians of Greenwich and Zurich. Like the hypotenuse, their inclination is upwards from south towards the north. The semicircles on the western side are mirror images of the eastern pair, and correspond to meridians of places in East Asia. This may be coincidental, as the symmetry of the instruments appears to have been the overriding determinant of their inclination. The calibrations on the marble scales can be read by climbing either the staircases located along the outer edge of the curved walls or the staircases in between them. Two doorways, about a meter wide and spanned by segmental arches, puncture the outer curved walls on either side of the gnomon to enable access to the inner staircases. The instrument has three additional quadrants, two on the west and one on the eastern side of the gnomon. 

About Rama Yantra in Jantar Mantar Delhi, Delhi Observatory

Rama Yantra in Jantar Mantar, Delhi Observatory

The Rama Yantra is located towards the southern edge of the site. It is composed of two complementary hollow cylindrical structures that are open to the sky and positioned close to one other along the north-south axis. The instruments are sunk two meters into the ground, so that the observer has to descend into the instrument to take the readings. Each cylinder is prescribed by a three-tiered circular wall, which steps back gradually from the periphery with every rising tier. The wall is about a meter thick at the bottom, narrowing to ca. 60 centimeters at the top, and is punctured at regular intervals of about a meter with keel-arched openings. The openings in the upper two tiers are about 1.5 meters tall and 1 meter tall in the lowest tier. The curved perforated walls describing the perimeter of each cylinder act as thresholds. Each instrument has a vertical pole marking the centre of the cylinder, which is about a meter and a half in diameter, constructed in stone and covered in plaster. The height of the wall and the pillar is equal to the inner radius of the cylinder. Inside the cylinder, a raised red sandstone floor supported on masonry arches is positioned at a height of one meter from the ground. It is divided into equal sectors radiating out from the central pillar. Every alternate sector has been removed to allow access for taking the readings on the solid sectors. The sectors and openings in one cylinder are the inverse of the other. Like the Jai Prakash Yantra, if the two cylinders were superimposed, they would form a complete cylinder. This division of a single instrument into two complementary units was done mainly to facilitate the readings for celestial bodies at night.

About Samrat Yantra in Jantar Mantar, Delhi Observatory : Jantar Mantar

The Samrat Yantra, jantar mantar, delhi

Samrat Yantra or the king of instruments is the largest and the most imposing device in Jantar Mantar, the observatory of Delhi. It is used to measure the accurate time of day and also to measure the declination of the sun. It consists of a triangular indicator with the hypotenuse parallel to earth’s axis.  Built by Jai Singh II of Jaipur, Jantar Mantar is also called Delhi Observatory. It is located in the Parliament Street near Connaught Place. This observatory represents one of the last links with the old school of astronomy.

About Jantar Mantar Delhi, India

front view of jantar-mantar-delhi-india

Jantar Mantar is very popular among tourists and the people of Delhi. The structure is another great masterpiece of Indian architecture which shows the scientific acumen of ancient India. Jantar Manter is situated at Parliament Street, very close to Connaught Place. Jantar Mantar is also called Delhi Observatory. It is maintained by the Jaipur government because it was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur in 1710 A.D.

Jantar_Mantar_Delhi_India

It is a remarkable structure which consists of fourteen geometric devices used for measuring time, forecasting weather changes, predicting behaviour of planets and finding extraterrestrial altitude. All these devices are fixed structures and point to a specific direction. The largest device or instrument is the Samrat Jantar which is 90 feet high and its shadow is plotted in such a manner so that is shows the exact time of the day. Any weather change or the onset of monsoons can be ascertained by the Hindu Chhatri, which is a small domed structure. 

Jantar_Mantar_Delhi_India

The whole structure is made of stone and marble with each of then having an engraved astronomical scale. Jantar Mantar finally got the status of a national monument in 1948. It has always attracted architects, historians and scientists from all over the world. 

Maharaja Jai Singh was a fanatical astronomer himself who studied various works from Hindu, Muslim and European astronomy. He had the perception that the tables used by the pundits were deceptive and the actual planetary changes and predictions of eclipses would not have been possible through these measuring parameters. So he thought that he would find an improved and efficient means through which exact prediction could be made. It was his own inspiration and foresightedness that gave shape to such an instrument. He built other observatories at Jaipur, Ujjain, Benares and Mathura to have an exact calculation. It took almost seven years before the whole structure was fully operational because he wanted to be fully satisfied with the accuracy of the instruments at Jantar Mantar.

Some of the major instruments at Jantar Mantar are: 

• The Samrat Yantra 'Prince of Dials' (the largest device)
• The Ram Yantra - two circular buildings
• The Jai Prakash
• The Misra Yantra (north-west to the Samrat Yantra)
• Pillars on the southwest of Mishra Yantra used to measure the shortest and longest days of the year.The Samrat Yantra measured the accurate time of the day. It also measured the declination of the sun which can be seen by the shadow moving around the structure.  

Samrat Yantra in Jantar Mantar, Delhi Observatory : Jantar Mantar

The Samrat Yantra, jantar mantar, delhi

Samrat Yantra or the king of instruments is the largest and the most imposing device in Jantar Mantar, the observatory of Delhi. It is used to measure the accurate time of day and also to measure the declination of the sun. It consists of a triangular indicator with the hypotenuse parallel to earth’s axis.  Built by Jai Singh II of Jaipur, Jantar Mantar is also called Delhi Observatory. It is located in the Parliament Street near Connaught Place. This observatory represents one of the last links with the old school of astronomy.

Rama Yantra in Jantar Mantar, Delhi Observatory : Jantar Mantar

Rama Yantra in Jantar Mantar, Delhi Observatory

The Rama Yantra is located towards the southern edge of the site. It is composed of two complementary hollow cylindrical structures that are open to the sky and positioned close to one other along the north-south axis. The instruments are sunk two meters into the ground, so that the observer has to descend into the instrument to take the readings. Each cylinder is prescribed by a three-tiered circular wall, which steps back gradually from the periphery with every rising tier. The wall is about a meter thick at the bottom, narrowing to ca. 60 centimeters at the top, and is punctured at regular intervals of about a meter with keel-arched openings. The openings in the upper two tiers are about 1.5 meters tall and 1 meter tall in the lowest tier. The curved perforated walls describing the perimeter of each cylinder act as thresholds. Each instrument has a vertical pole marking the centre of the cylinder, which is about a meter and a half in diameter, constructed in stone and covered in plaster. The height of the wall and the pillar is equal to the inner radius of the cylinder. Inside the cylinder, a raised red sandstone floor supported on masonry arches is positioned at a height of one meter from the ground. It is divided into equal sectors radiating out from the central pillar. Every alternate sector has been removed to allow access for taking the readings on the solid sectors. The sectors and openings in one cylinder are the inverse of the other. Like the Jai Prakash Yantra, if the two cylinders were superimposed, they would form a complete cylinder. This division of a single instrument into two complementary units was done mainly to facilitate the readings for celestial bodies at night.

Misra Yantra in Jantar Mantar, Delhi Observatory : Jantar Mantar

The Misra Yantra is located in the northwestern corner of the site. It is a relatively small instrument, and may have been built by Jai Singh's son, Madho Singh (reg. 1751-65) sometime between 1759 and 1799, as the instrument is not mentioned in Jai Singh's accounts. The entire instrument measures about 25 meters across (east-west) and 12 meters north-south. 

Misra Yantra in Jantar Mantar, Delhi Observatory

The Misra Yantra is organized symmetrically about a wall whose upper edge is inclined to the horizontal plane at the same angle as the hypotenuse of the Samrat Yantra. This wall is formed of two walls flanking a staircase used to access the top; while smaller, it is similar to the Samrat Yantra gnomon. The wall is 8 meters high, and and its base stretches for ca. 11 meters. A pair of semicircular scales are located on each side of the gnomon, with their centers located on the hypotenuse of the central wall. These four scales are marble strips, .5 meters wide and supported on individual curved walls. A staircase, about 1 meter long, runs between each pair of scales. The semicircles on the eastern side are inclined at angles corresponding to the meridians of Greenwich and Zurich. Like the hypotenuse, their inclination is upwards from south towards the north. The semicircles on the western side are mirror images of the eastern pair, and correspond to meridians of places in East Asia. This may be coincidental, as the symmetry of the instruments appears to have been the overriding determinant of their inclination. The calibrations on the marble scales can be read by climbing either the staircases located along the outer edge of the curved walls or the staircases in between them. Two doorways, about a meter wide and spanned by segmental arches, puncture the outer curved walls on either side of the gnomon to enable access to the inner staircases. The instrument has three additional quadrants, two on the west and one on the eastern side of the gnomon.