ROLI Construction work was suspended during the World War I years. As late as 1920, nearly ten years after the formal declaration by the King-Emperor of India, critics in Britain did not want Delhi to be the capital.
Malvika Singh belongs to one of the families that built the new capital of India and is currently working on an interview-based book on the subject. She is a reputed journalist who has worked with many leading national publications. She was the editor of The India Magazine and is the publisher of Seminar, a journal of ideas and alternatives. She has authored Freeing the Spirit:The Iconic Women of Modern India and India in One City – Delhi.
After much protest from the citizenry of Britain, the total revised cost of the making of New Delhi totalled ` 13.07 crore.
Rudrangshu Mukherjee is a renowned historian and has a D.Phil. in modern history from the University of Oxford. He has taught at the University of Calcutta and held visiting appointments in Princeton University, Manchester University, and the University of California in Santa Cruz. He has authored Dateline 1857: Revolt against the Raj and is the co-author of India: Then and Now. He is the editor of the editorial pages of the Telegraph.
The Viceroy’s House [now Rashtrapati Bhavan] stands in the midst of an estate of 330 acres. Its construction absorbed 4½ million bricks, nearly 1½ million cubic feet of stone, 7,500 tons of cement, and 1,350 tons of iron and steel. It possesses 340 rooms, 1½ miles of corridors, 227 columns, 35 loggias, 37 fountains, 14 lifts, and 300 telephones.
A Mughal-style miniature painting by A.G. Shoosmith that depicts Viceroy Lord Irwin holding a durbar where Lutyens offers him the model of Government House and Baker, that of Council House. Behind them stands the chief engineer, Alexander Rouse.
Rudrangshu Mukherjee
Exclusive pictures of the earliest stages of levelling the massive Raisina Hill are followed by the block-by-block construction of what are today the Rashtrapati Bhavan (initially known as Government House), the Parliament House (known as Council House) and North and South Block (or the Secretariat buildings). A range of aerial shots capture the growth of the new city from a barren landscape into a bustling metropolis. This pathbreaking work is an amalgamation of fragments of history, recreating the era of struggle, disquiet and passion in which this great urban centre was built. New Delhi: Making of a Capital traverses between that formative age and the turbulent present bringing history to you from long-forgotten, dusty shelves.
MALVI KA SI NGH
“What sets this book apart is the incredible wealth of rare and unpublished material… The making of a Capital was a fascinating odyssey, and so is this book. It explains the concepts behind the broad avenues, the grand buildings, the material used, the choice of greenery, the design and the layout.” – Dilip Bobb in India Today
MALVIKA SINGH PRAM O D KAPOOR
Praise for the book “Beautiful and pathbreaking… A mustbuy for Delhi-dwellers, city planners and lovers of history.” – Time Out
MAKING OF A CAPITAL
R ud rangsh u M u kh e rj e e
Pramod Kapoor is a collector of historical records and photographs and a publisher by profession. The photographs for this book were painstakingly researched and collected by him over a long period of time. He has previously compiled pioneering books like the Unforgettable Maharajas, India: Then and Now, and Witness to Life and Freedom: Margaret Bourke-White in India, and will soon be launching Delhi 360º: Mazhar Khan’s View from the Lahore Gate with Jerry Losty.
Endpaper: Map of the Viceregal Estate as it connected with the rest of the new city, with Kingsway (now Rajpath) linkingViceroy’s House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) to the war memorial (now India Gate), providing a grand vista.
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ew Delhi was born at two o’clock on 12 December 1911, as King George V proclaimed it to be India’s new capital at his grand Coronation Durbar. New Delhi: Making of a Capital pieces together the story of the eighth reincarnation of this historic city. Breaking new ground, this book showcases century-old telegrams, maps, plans, drawings, letters and scraps of paper; the Agreement that the chief architects – Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker – signed together; the sharp arguments the two had on key architectural issues; and a lot more. Numerous newspaper reports, articles and editorials about the extravagant city, including vigorous debates in the House of Lords have been featured here for the first time.
Concept & Visual Research PRAMOD KAPOOR ISBN: 978-81-7436-574-3
Front Cover: Lutyens meticulously drew detailed sketches of Government House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) – his grand project (above), and even discussed architectural elements in letters to his wife, Emily (below).
9 788174 365743 www.rolibooks.com
Jacket Delhi Book 24-8-2011.indd 1
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