QUTUB MINAR OF INDIA :

                                                                               

                                     

QUTUB MINAR ….PYAAR  KA RAAG SUNO   RE

(Photographs.. Qutub Minar  April 2014.)

Chaahey  tum mitaana
 par na tum giraana
Aansoon ki tarah nigaah se
Pyaar ki Oonchaai
ishq ki gehraai
Poochh lo hamaari aah se
Aasmaan chhoo liya re
Pyar ka raag suno re
Dil ka bhanwar kare pukaar………

( Hasrat  Jaipuri )

Your Liberty to finish me ,
But don’t let me slip down
Like a  tear drop  from  your eyes .
Love’s loftiness,
 And depth of affection
Know all this from my sighs .
Yes sighs that have touched even the sky ,
Listen to the melody of my  love ,
the whirlpool within this heart cries loud..

Whenever I visit Qutub Minar  , I am reminded of this immortal   love song picturised on Nutan And Devanand inside the Minar  .

I am informed that Vijay Anand wanted to shoot the song on a sea beach . The idea to shoot the song inside Qutub Minar came from Devanand . The unit packed for Delhi and Nutan was apprehensive about going all the way to the top and then standing over there .She had a phobia of heights .Hasrat Jaipuri wrote lyrics for  a tune that S D Burman had already composed for the 1963  box office hit Movie  TERE  GHAR  KE  SAAMNE . The poetic  lines of Hasarat Jaipuri    aptly blended with the tune.  Devanand once wrote that Carrying  the cameras ,  Sound recording equipment ,lighting  equipment etc. inside the dark and  narrow steps and then ensuring smooth hassle  free shooting was a real tough job for the team.He also added that for some technical reasons , a major part of the song was Picturised inside a replica of the monument.

If you see the  picturisation  of the song " DIL KA BHANWAR KARE PUKAR " , you find that Devanand and Nutan actually come down from the top through dingy and dark steps.    Shot in Monochrome , I find no  acting gimmicks in the song picturisation  . Just the radiant smiles and batting of eyelashes by Nutan  while the   evergreen Devanand  tries to woo his love . This interaction is  more than enough   in creating a dazzling effect on the mind of the viewer.

 “ DIL KA BHANWAR   KARE PUKAAR ”was perhaps the first and the last movie song shot inside the Minar.

Now something about the Monument

 In April 2014, We were inside the  Qutub Minar complex for almost   full day . Qutub Minar is a UNESCO  world heritage site and presently the tallest Minar in India .Located in Mehrauli , this monument is a classic example of   Indo-Islamic architecture. The foundation of the minar was laid by Qutb-ud-din-Aibak (  Slave Dynasty ) in 1192. Since Qutb Ud Din Aibak died during the construction , the work was continued by  Iltutmish who is reported to have added  three-storeys to it.   Later in 1368, two more storeys were added by Firoz Shah Tughlak. At the moment the Minarl rises to a height of 72.5 metres from the ground . The Minaret is made up of Red sand stone  in fluted columns. There are 397 steps in total  that lead you to the top  ..

The Qutub  Minar complex also houses other monument like the Quwwat Ul Islam Mosque , Alai Minar , Imam Zamin’s  Tomb and Tomb of Iltutmish. The complex was  under extensive renovation and repairs in 2014 .  The top had a Cupola that was hit by lightening and then   replaced by  a Chhatri in the Rajputana style  by Major Robert Smith in 1829 AD.This Chhatri was removed under orders from Lord Hardinge  later as it did not match with the structure .

Presently you are not allowed to go inside the minaret or go up the steps.

( Avtar Mota )

                                             
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