Certain places reinforce in me the Buddhist belief in impermanence. The Coronation Park in the northern fringes of Delhi is one such place. A hundred years ago King George V, Emperor of India, invited the royalty from Indian princely states to this ground in Delhi to celebrate his coronation to the English throne. It must have been a grandiose ceremony, which also led to Delhi once again becoming the capital of India.
In 1911, England was a superpower and the British Empire ruled a big chunk of the world. A century later, Britain is a has-been and the coronation ground, which was neglected for 6 decades, is virtually unnoticed in the former Crown Colony. When I asked a policeman, where the entry to the ground is, he was shocked that someone would actually want to go there.
Large swathes of forest grew over some statues, but the Delhi Government woke up a few months ago and decided to revive this park. There's a lot of activity in the ground and labourers are busy landscaping the park, cutting off wild bushes and cleaning the statues, of which there are quite a few. None of the statues have any "name plaques" so only a historian or a fan of the British Empire would know who these people are.
King George V is the only statue that would be instantly recognisable. The gigantic statue, which reminded me of many a Lenin Statue in Russia, was moved to the ground from its original location, opposite the India Gate. Now the emperor faces a pretty impressive obelisk marking the Delhi Durbar of 1911.
Delhi will celebrate 100 years of being India's capital (well it was the capital several times over several centuries, but that's not the point) and a grand party will be staged at the ground in December to mark the anniversary. Since projects actually do get done in Delhi, I am sure the ground will be in good shape and British tourists will be able to walk with pride in this bizarre park.
In 1911, England was a superpower and the British Empire ruled a big chunk of the world. A century later, Britain is a has-been and the coronation ground, which was neglected for 6 decades, is virtually unnoticed in the former Crown Colony. When I asked a policeman, where the entry to the ground is, he was shocked that someone would actually want to go there.
Large swathes of forest grew over some statues, but the Delhi Government woke up a few months ago and decided to revive this park. There's a lot of activity in the ground and labourers are busy landscaping the park, cutting off wild bushes and cleaning the statues, of which there are quite a few. None of the statues have any "name plaques" so only a historian or a fan of the British Empire would know who these people are.
King George V is the only statue that would be instantly recognisable. The gigantic statue, which reminded me of many a Lenin Statue in Russia, was moved to the ground from its original location, opposite the India Gate. Now the emperor faces a pretty impressive obelisk marking the Delhi Durbar of 1911.
Delhi will celebrate 100 years of being India's capital (well it was the capital several times over several centuries, but that's not the point) and a grand party will be staged at the ground in December to mark the anniversary. Since projects actually do get done in Delhi, I am sure the ground will be in good shape and British tourists will be able to walk with pride in this bizarre park.
Dear Ajay,
ReplyDeleteIlked your views on the state of the Coronation park.Your observation that projects do get done in Delhi is very true.Very soon the whole park will be bubbling with life,and there will be a festive look all around.