Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Zeenat Mahal - Palace of Beauty

Spotted at Lal Kuan, a once-beautiful house named Zeenat Mahal.
The brick-work is gone, the beautiful latticed balconies are lifeless.
The carved arched entrance is hidden by a grey tarpaulin and a red board.
Old Delhi is a mess, we all know it.
But I am still saddened every time I see it crumbling like this.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Zennat Mahal also happens to be the name of the last Mughal Queen - Bahadur Shah Zafar II's favourite wife. I wonder if this structure is related in any way.

Anonymous said...

This happens to be Zinat Mahal's haveli, yes the last Mughal queen. This is also the place where the last king Zafar was held prisoner after his capture by the British

Anonymous said...

sorry if you get this twice.

This IS Zeenat Mahal's haveli, the last mughal queen. This is also the house were the king, Zafar, was held prisoner immediately after his capture by the British.

Zafar's prime minister Hakim Asanullah Khan’s Haveli is also on the same street, you can find it at
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=28.6540266&lon=77.2220206&z=17&l=0&m=a&v=2