impressions of delhi

January 30, 2012

i’ve been in delhi, checking out the india art fair, doing studio visits and a bit of sight seeing. some highlights of the trip…

this was the 4th year of the india art fair. 90 galleries, primarily from the subcontinent, showed contemporary and modern work. parking and getting in and out of the fair were a mess. otherwise, this was as slick as any of the international art fairs. what made it more interesting than most was the opportunity to see fresh work. better yet, only a handful of artists could be found at more than one booth.

highlights at the fair were gallery espace and latitude 28 from delhi and chatterjee & lal from mumbai.

one of my favorite sites in delhi is qutb minar. construction began in 1192. it’s ostensibly a minaret – a tower from which muslims are called to prayer – but was more likely built by the first muslim ruler of delhi as symbol of the defeat and domination of the hindu rajput king. at a height of nearly 239 feet, it’s the second tallest structure in india. so tall that you can’t hear the voice of a person at the top when you’re standing on the ground.

the main gate to the complex, faced in red sandstone and marble:

surrounding qutb minar is what is known as the qutub complex – a series of ruins that includes quwwat-ul-islam, the first mosque built in india.

the cloisters around the mosque are constructed from the stones of 27 hindu and jain temples that were previously on the site.

another favorite is lodi gardens — a 90 acre park designed around 15th and 16th century structures of the sayyid and lodi dynasties.

after the lodi dynasty was defeated by the mughals, villages grew up amongst the monuments. in 1936, the villagers were relocated so that the wife of the british governor-general could landscape the park.

jantar mantar is a group of 13 architectural astronomy instruments, built in 1724 by the maharaja jai singh ii of jaipur. he built five jantar mantar observatories in northern india.