Newly built Red Fort Centre brings history to life
New Delhi: History buff or not, the newly launched Red Fort Centre has something for everyone as it uses innovative tools -- ranging from a 360 degrees immersive viewing experience to augmented reality photography -- to give visitors a slice of the Mughal history, especially the imposing 17th century fortress-palace like never before.
The centre, housed on two floors in a restored British-era barrack inside the fort between flea market 'Chhata Bazaar' and drum house 'Naubat-Khana', is designed by Red Fort's 'Monument Mitra' Dalmia Bharat along with the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Archaeological Survey of India.
Be it informative jigsaw puzzles, an entertaining Dastangoi-like session on ingenious articles sold at Chhata Bazaar during the heydays of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan or an immersive 360 degrees viewing experience of a short movie imagining the inaugural of the Red Fort, the centre ticks several boxes in showcasing the country's glorious heritage.
"We welcome our fellow citizens and guests from across the world to visit and experience Delhi's old-world charm through the best-in-class Red Fort Centre. It aims to provide a first-hand understanding of how the transformation and history of Delhi and the majestic monument's grand opulence have left a mark," Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director of Dalmia Bharat Limited, said.
Besides tourist attractions like a souvenir shop and a snack point situated on the ground floor, another hit among visitors is an augmented reality photography room where visitors can get themselves photographed with 'peacock throne' -- a jewelled throne built by Emperor Shah Jahan -- or the Indian flag at the ramparts of Red Fort.
The first floor, called 'Interpretation Centre', equipped with rare archival photographs of the historic monument is a crash course of sorts in the rich history of the iconic heritage site.
It is divided into four sections: 'Safar', 'Zindagi', 'Tareekh' and 'Hum Ek Hain'.
While Safar will be acquainting visitors to Delhi before the establishment of Red Fort and Shahjahanabad, Zindagi will give them a peek into the magnificent architecture, royal traditions and luxurious living in the fort.
Tareekh and Hum Ek Hain are based on the defining moments in India's history with Red Fort as the fulcrum and positioning the historical monument as the fort of India and the country's unity in diversity, respectively.
According to Anand Bhardwaj, CEO (Heritage & Events), Dalmia Bharat, the entire barrack was painstakingly conserved using lime -- and not cement -- similar to how the British built it after the 1857 revolt, when they destroyed almost "90 per cent " of the architectural ambience of the Red Fort.
"The conservation work was started around February 2019 and it took us a little less than three years, counting in the Covid period in between (when the monument was shut), to get this structure in place," Bhardwaj told PTI.
Dalmia Bharat Limited, a cement manufacturing company, was selected as a 'Monument Mitra' to adopt and develop tourist amenities of the Red Fort in 2018.
