Today, I took the opportunity to visit the Qutb Minar once again along with my wife.Earlier, the visits have always been in a hurry due to being on a a tour package or with many friends so that there was time limit and one can not see all. This time it was different. We spent mch time to see the whole historic area.
Delhi is stated to be the capital of of seven empires from the time of Delhi Sultanate (13th Century). But it has got a long history even before that, with the Hindu kingdoms of Tomars, Chahamanas (Chauhans) etc. Prithiraja Chauhan was defeated (and killed in the battle field) in 1192 by Muhammad Ghur who left to his native land after entrusting Qutbud-Din- Aibak as his viceroy. The latter captured Delhi next year. The Slave Dynasty is stated to have started in 1206 and continued till 1526 when Babar captured Delhi. The Qutb Minar was constructed during this period of slave dynasty.
Qutbud-Din Aibak laid the foundation of the Qutb-Minar, probably as a victory-tower, but he could not complete it. It is also stated that it is minar attached to the mosque, one of the first mosques in India, for calling people to prayer. The tower was completed by the next three Sultans who followed Aibak. Certain repairs also have been made later. The tower have five storeys with a height of 72.5 meters and with 379 steps. ( Though Qutb Minar is considered as the tallest tower in India, it is interesting to note that Taj Mahal is 5 feet higher than Qutb Minar, as mentioned in a plaque put by the Archeological Survey of India nearby).
There are a lot of tombs, the famous Iron pillar which is stated to be centuries older than the tower and brought from some other place by the earlier Hindu kings etc., to see there.
I remembered the first time I visited the Qutb Minar, probably in 1964. At that time the Minar was open for visitors to climb up to the 3rd storey. I also climbed and saw the entire Delhi fom tht height. It was really an experience. I still remember that the curving steps were narrow and very slippery due to continuous use by thousands of visitors every day. A few years later accidents happened when many students were inside and some of them got killed also. After that, the authroities closed the stair cases and no visitor allowed to climb up. Even now it is completely closed.
During my visit today, I saw planes flying down to the Delhi airport almost every two to three minutes through the space over the tower with very much noise. I have also seen the Qutb Minar once or twice when flying from or to Delhi. I do not know at what height the planes are flying over the Minar, but I feel that the strong vibration may affect the tower. Of course the authorities might have considered this also when the route might have been secided. Still I have got doubt.
Any how, we enjoyed visiting the tower and seeing the old mosques the historic area with so many tombs as also an unfinished tower, which was proposed to have twice the height of Qutb Minar, but the construction of which was sdropped after that particular Sultan was dead.