2 June 2014

Delhi, The (Political) Capital of India - The First Impression


The drive through Yamuna Expressway from Agra to Delhi was indeed a relaxing one, after the day tour of Agra. The first impression of Delhi was of those well connected highways well with in the city. We reached Chandni Chowk, were we had booked our room. Being Monday (didn't have Delhi Darshan) and Holi festival the next day, we were advised to stay indoor. But with our itinerary planned for the day, we thought of exploring the city ourselves.
Next morning we found the entire Netaji Subhash Marg empty, with most of the public transport closed for Holi. With no Metro running, we hired an auto rickshaw for a tour of near-by places.
Rajiv Chowk
Tri-colour at Central Park, Connaught Place
He took us through Connaught Place. The tri-colour flying at Central Park, caught our sight even before entering CP. This monumental flag is the largest tri-colour in the country measuring 60ft wide and 90ft long, weighing 35kgs. The flag flies on a 207ft tall flagpole which makes it visible from quite a distance.
Connaught Place
Connaught Place officially called Rajiv Chowk, is one of the largest financial, commercial and business centers of Delhi. It houses the headquarters of several firms and used to be headquarters of British. Said to be modeled in Georgian architecture, after Royal Crescent in Bath, it creates concentric circles, inner circle, middle circle and outer circle. This planned area also houses Palika Bazaar, the first under ground market, and restaurants and other small eating outlets.
Connaught Place
After munching at Domino's, we took the Parliament Street to head to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Built as a residence for the British Viceroy during British rule, Rashtrapati Bhavan is presently the official home of President of India. Spread over 130 hectare, the President Estate has President's official house, halls, guest rooms, offices along with presidential garden, large open spaces, residences of bodyguards and staff, stable.
Rashtrapati Bhavan
Rashtrapati Bhavan

Rashtrapati Bhavan
Sansad Bhavan is the house of the Parliament of India. The structure is circular in shape, based on the Ashoka Chakra. The building is surrounded by large gardens, the sandstone railings fenced off on the perimeter is modeled after Great Stupa of Sanchi.
Sansad Bhavan
Sansad Bhavan
Detailed post on India Gate in following post.
Top post on IndiBlogger.in, the community of Indian Bloggers 
Related Posts: Check out the complete series on Golden Triangle Tour.  

14 comments:

  1. Good to see my beloved Delhi Meghna :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Siddhartha, hope you liked my post on your beloved city :)

      Delete
  2. Delhi is Beautiful place .. a bit overcorwded but I have had some of the best times of my young days in the city..

    Bikram

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We were at New Delhi on a holiday, so the place treated us good..

      Delete
  3. All ur shots are beautiful...and narration also. Glad u took that Tricolor picture...new addition...and it's visible from wherever u stand at CP. Looks amazing in the night too when the spot light hits it. Quite an aura it gets. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. these images remind me of my own golden triangle tour of india in 2012.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thats grt Photo Cache, good to know you have visited India..

      Delete
  5. Impressive architecture!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was fascinated by the architecture when I visited Delhi few years ago. Beautiful captures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here Rajlakshmi... Thanks for dropping in..

      Delete
  7. Amazing monuments, hope to see them soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True Indrani, Delhi has lot to offer. I too have to plan another trip to explore more of Delhi..

      Delete