Delhi Photo Diary: light and sound show

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Archaeological dig at Purana Qila

On 19 April 2014, my friend who teaches history in a school and I went to Purana Qila. We had read news reports that the Archaeological Survey of India had opened the dig sites to the public for two days.


The evening was lovely with the sun playing with the clouds to create a dramatic sky

We saw men hard at work, using brushes to carefully dust the layers without breaking any remains


There were others who used a special knife to scrape the soil without harming any pots, bones, etc. burried in the soil.

You can see the depth of levels till which the digging has been done.

This collection of pots was dug very recently.

The present and past vessels to store water

The pieces that were excavated were washed carefully. You can spot a bone in the pile above.

Once dried, each piece was coded using a nib-pen and black ink.


A small exhibition showcased some pieces that were dug from the site.

The paintings and the colour (hundreds of years old) still look bright and beautiful.

This piece of potery is believed to be dated to the Mughal period. This piece was my favourite from the lot because of the beautiful pattern.

Though the site was open to the public there were certain parts of the exhibition where photography was restricted. But fortunately those photographs are available on the web.

We ended our trip to Purana Qila by staying for the Light and Sound Show called, Ishq-e-Dilli. You can see a post on the show done earlier, here.

The audience sat in rapt attention, savouring the visuals and the engaging commentary.

The colours of the night were pure magic.

You can read more about it here.

Monday, November 14, 2011

इश्क-ए-दिल्ली Loving Delhi

Earlier this year, the Delhi Government held many events celebrating 100 years of Delhi being named the capital city of India. Unfortunately, I was not in the city or in the mood for celebration then. But I think it is never too late to join the party so I decided to explore some treasures of the city I had heard a lot about but never explored myself. First on my list was the Light and Sound Show called, Ishq-e-Dilli (Love for Delhi) at Purana Qila or Old Fort.

The show beautifully captures the history of Delhi, how the city passed on from the hands of one ruler to the other and how several men and women have expressed their love for the city from time to time. I would recommend everyone living in Delhi or visiting it to see the show at least once.

The dimly lit Old Fort and the nip in the air created the perfect ambiance for a magical evening of history, sound, light and love for Delhi.

The number 4 instruction left me a little disappointed but with a huge smile the staff there told me that only commercial photography was not allowed. I could take my camera.