Happy National Republic Day!

January 26th marked an important anniversary for India. In 1950, after gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1947 - India wrote its constitution becoming a republic. Sunday was the 75th anniversary of that momentous occasion and was a holiday for the country (even though it fell on a Sunday), and it was marked by all kinds of celebrations that were centred on the Indian flag which is orange white and green featuring a spinning wheel in the centre. Representations of the flag were everywhere usually in the form of stringed lights featuring the 3 colours of the flag. And while shops were mostly closed, restaurants were open, but interestingly, they all had posted signs saying “dry day” meaning they would not be serving alcohol! My cousin explained that’s why the restaurants were empty!

We celebrated by visiting a historical site called Qutub Minar which consists of a large tower and contains the Qutub complex. This was the site of the first mosque built in India. The complex sits on the site of Delhi’s oldest city, Lal Kot and the victory tower was raised to mark the beginning of Islamic rule in the region.

The surface of it is decorated with inscriptions and geometric patterns. The doors and balconies are only on the east side of the tower as it was used to call people for prayer.

Qutub Minar is seen as the earliest example of a fusion of Muslim and Hindu traditions because it was constructed by Hindu labourers and craftsman but overseen by Muslim architects leading to a construction that synthesized both religious architecture.

The mosque that was built on the site used carved columns of Jain and Hindu temples. You can see today that the columns containing deities with the faces obscured making it more difficult to identify the god depicted. But any good Hindu can spot these gods in an instant. Okay, it wasn’t this religious rube but my mother knew each one instantly!

All in all this was a beautiful site with history pouring out of each structure. The time and effort and care it took to build these beautiful structures was evident. And an important reminder of the rich and diverse history of India.