5/5 Md A. 4 years ago on Google
The Diwan-i-Khas
(Persian:
ديوان
خاص),
or Hall
of
Private
Audiences,
was
a
chamber
in
the Red
Fort
of Delhi
built
in
1648
as
a
location
for
receptions.
It
was
the
location
where
the
Mughal
Emperor
Shah
Jahan
received
courtiers
and
state
guests.
It
was
also
known
as
the Shah
Mahal.
A
gate
on
the
north
side
of
the
preceding Diwan-i-Am audience
hall
led
to
the
innermost
court
of
the
palace
called Jalau
Khana and
the Diwan-i-Khas. Originally
there
were
two
enclosures
on
the
west
of
the
hall,
one
for
the
nobles
and
the
other
for
those
of
a
lower
rank.These
arcaded
courts
were
destroyed
after
the Indian
Rebellion
of
1857.
It
measures
90
x
67
feet. It
consists
of
a
rectangular
central
chamber,
surrounded
by
a
series
of
arches
rising
from
marble
piers.
The
lower
parts
of
the
piers
are
inlaid
with
floral
designs,
while
the
upper
portions
are
painted
and
gilded.
The
four
corners
of
the
roof
are
surmounted
by
pillared chhatri.
The
ceiling,
which
was
originally
inlaid
with
silver
and
gold,
was
stripped
bare
by
successive
financial
crises
of
the
empire
by
the
Jats
or
Marattas.
The
current
ceiling
was
installed
in
1911.
The
later Peacock
Throne
from
after
Nadir
Shah's
invasion
once
stood
in
this
hall,
towards
the
east
side.
Through
the
centre
of
the
hall
flowed
the
Stream
of
Paradise
(Nahar-i-Bihisht).
The
building
used
to
have
red
awnings,
or Shamianas
. Over
the
corner-arches
of
the
northern
and
southern
walls
below
the
cornice
is
inscribed
the
verse
of Amir
khusro
:
"If
there
be
a
paradise
on
earth,
it
is
this,
it
is
this,
it
is
this." The
French
traveller François
Bernier
described
seeing
the Peacock
Throne
here. Jean-Baptiste
Tavernier
described
seeing
the
throne
in
the Diwan-i-Am,
to
where
it
was
probably
moved,
and
described
five
smaller
thrones
with
four
on
each
corner
and
one
in
the
middle
of
the
hall.
The
interior
was
completely
plundered
following
the Indian
Rebellion
of
1857.
The
throne,
the
carpets,
and
any
other
items
went
missing.
The
hall
today
is,
therefore,
only
a
shell
of
what
it
used
to
be.
Recent
restoration
work
has
been
redone
on
the
panels
of
inlay
and
has
also
reproduced
the
gilded
pattern
on
one
of
the
pillars
fronting
the
hall.
In
the
riverbed
below
the
hall
and
the
connected
buildings
was
the
space
known
as zer-jharokha,
or
"beneath
the
lattices".
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