Diwan E Am and Diwan E Khas of Red Fort

Diwan-E-Am of Red Fort

From Naubhat Khana, a trail goes through east through broad lawns to the Diwan-i-Am the Public Audience hall. In this graceful hall, the Emperor used to sit daily on a royal marble throne with ornamental marble panels at the rear, which sparkled with inlaid expensive stones to listen to complaints or arguments from his subjects and to cope with administrative matters. A number of of these panels, detached by British soldiers at some point in the Indian Mutiny of 1857, were revealed in London and restoration was performed 50 years later by Lord Curzon. The floral patterns that still exist, reflect the towering degree of skill of the Mughal artisans. Beyond Diwan-i-Am, access was allowed just to the royalty.

There is a large formal garden and a row of five small palaces along the east wall of the fort, behind the Diwan-i-Am. The palaces were beautifully decorated with silver ceilings ornamented with golden flowers and crowned with gilded turrets, delicately painted and decorated with intricate pieces of mirrors. Between the garden and the palaces there was a stream flowing Nahr-i-Bihisht (Stream of Paradise) with a network of lotus shaped marble fountains. The palace on the extreme south is the Mumtaz Mahal (Palace of Jewels), now the Red Fort Museum of Archaeology, (Open daily except Fri 9am-5pm) with six apartments displaying relics from the Mughal Period including numerous paintings, weapons, textiles, carpets, ornate chess sets, hookahs and metal work.

Diwan-E-Khas of Red Fort

The splendid Diwan-i-Khas the Hall of private audience, finished of marble was where the Emperor apprehended private meetings and acknowledged significant guests seated on his precious Peacock Throne. It is supposed that the throne which took 7 years to craft, was fabricated out of solid gold implanted with precious stones for instance sapphires, rubies, emeralds, pearls and diamonds and had figures of peacocks positioned behind.

The throne was taken to Iran by Nadir Shah at the time he did sack Delhi during1739. Afterward it was broken down up by assassins of Nadir Shah in 1747. Such was the grandeur of those days that adorned on the walls of the Diwan-i-Khas is the words of the renowned Persian poet, Amir Khusrau - "If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here". But at present, the Diwan-i-Khas is barely a pale shadow of its unique glory.

Diwan E Am and Diwan E Khas of Red Fort

Diwan-E-Am of Red Fort

Diwan-E-Khas of Red Fort

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