JOIN USThe ‘World Heritage Week’ ended on a high note at Qutub Minar, where an archive constituting old pictures and sketches of the monument was put on display for the public. The rare pictures were made available by The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and according to which most of the photographs and sketches fall into the ‘Never seen before’ category.
The exhibition consisted of over 100 paintings, sketches and photographs of the monument and the complex surrounding it. Among the oldest painting displayed at the exhibition was a conjectural sketch of the Qutub Minar which had been completed by Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, the third ruler of the Slave Dynasty. Paintings of the monument, which were commissioned in the 13th century, also highlighted the exhibition.
Photographs from the later part of the millennia were put on display highlighting the conservation projects of the Qutub Minar undertaken by the British. This included a casting operation to remove moulds from the Quwwatul-Islam Mosque in 1870 where a British official is seen supervising the entire project. Among the most contemporary of the photographs were of the conservation projects undertaken by the Government in the 60s.
Throughout the week, visitors were seen forming queues and clicking photographs of the rare display of the history of Qutub Minar. Officials of the ASI also told Metrolife that a special focus was put on the historical background of the entire complex in order to provide the visitors with basic details and stories surrounding the monuments.
“The ASI had been collecting the photographs for quite some time now. Few days before the ‘World Heritage Week’ started, they proposed that the rare pictures be put on display for the visitors,” said the foreman of the Qutub Minar complex.
He added, “We have been receiving an amazing reception. A comment book is maintained by the officials of the Qutub Minar complex and the entire week saw a flood of comments out of which many of them were regarding the exhibition. We received around 200 comments every day.”
Even though the ‘World Heritage Week’ has ended, officials at the complex said that they expect an upsurge of visitors as winter provides the Capital with an opportunity to show its historical monuments in all its glory. At the Qutub Minar complex alone, 700-800 foreign tourists are expected to visit on a daily average. The number of domestic tourists can only be calculated by the amount the complex generates from selling tickets.
Commissioned by Qutbuddin Aibak in 1192, the tower was completed by his successor - Iltutmish. Historians over the years have disputed over the origin of the name with some believing that Iltutmish named the tower after his predecessor while some claim the tower was named after Qutbuddin Bhaktiyar Kaki, a famous Sufi saint of Delhi.
The 73 metres tall monument has verses of Quran inscribed on it. The fifth and the final storey of the tower was constructed by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in 1368, which also seems like a part of the Tughlaq dynasties conservation project.