India Gate, New Delhi
The India Gate is the national monument of India. It is one of the largest war memorials in India. Situated in the heart of New Delhi, India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Originally known as All India War Memorial, it is a prominent landmark in Delhi and commemorates the 90,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who lost their lives while fighting for the British Indian Empire, or more correctly the British Empire in India British Raj in World War I and the Afghan Wars. It is composed of red sand stone and granite.
Rajpath, leading up to the Presidents Estate
Soon we were passing India Gate on our way back to the Hotel. These is a lot of construction going on in Delhi at the moment due to the upcoming Commonwealth Games in October 2010. We couldn’t park and go for a stroll as the nearby parking area had been turned into a tow away zone to facilitate some make-shift construction. After a quick hurried photo we hopped back in the Innova and went up the Rajpath also known as Vijay Chowk Road towards the Presidents Estate known as Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
On the way we passed many architectural façades some of these were the building of the National Archives of India, Nirman Bhavan, Vayu Bhavan. We took a detour on Mother Teresa Crescent which circumnavigates the Presidents Estate and then left the area after we went past a few High Commissions dotted in the Chanakyapuri Enclave also known as the Diplomatic Enclave due to the number of embassies found in this particular suburb, and yes we had a little glimpse of the Australian high commission in New Delhi 
The view towards India Gate
The view towards India Gate
It was a great day out, we got back to our Kingston Park Hotel(don’t fall for the name) probably about 5pm that afternoon. Still about 40 degree C. Exhausted would have been a major understatement! This was our second day in the real heat. We got home thinking we’d shower and rest up a bit and the make dinner plans… by 6:30pm we had succumbed to the exhaustion of the day. Totally! We had no energy to get out in the still nearly 40 degree heat. D plundered the snack-bar in our room. There were some Indian snacks — Masala chips!! They were yummy. We slept a solid 14 hours dead to the hustle and bustle of Karol Bag Delhi!
D in front of Kingston Park Hotel in Karol Bag, New Delhi
Attribution: India Gate, Wikipedia
These are such good photos, Amit. They are really interesting when you think of how much history and how many reflections of the different politics and interests are reflected in monuments and the whole cityscape and plannning. I'm reading William Dalrymple's The Last Moghul, which is a history of the last days in Dehli of the last Emperor, Zafar, and the British 'Company', and the various military and other players. He used archival sources that had been available forever but had been completely ignored by British and Indian historians and it's a great book. I'm really enjoying your India photos.
Thanks Pom glad you liked the photos. It sure is a little walk down memory lane even though we were there only a month back. While doing some search on William Dalrymple and his book: The Last Moghul — I did find some interesting reads. And it is particularly true that for many "Bahadur Shah II' was just another Moghul name. A lot of what we read in History classes are what historians would like us to believe and am sure there is a lot that went on, on both sides. This isn't to say the history books are totally wrong but yeah there is a lot more than happened during the time that what most of us will know. I must get my hands on this book. It does sound interesting.
Glad you're enjoying the photos. Lot more to come hope I dont bore my readers to death.
Could never be bored of India!!