The best way of learning history is to visit a place related to a particular period of the by-gone era. Consequently, all my classmates requested the history teacher to take us to the Qutab at Mehrauli before teaching us a chapter on the Qutab Minar in our history book. Being in Delhi, the city of many historical monuments, we had no problem in going there.
As per schedule, we left for Mehrauli in a chartered bus with our teacher and reached there by 9.30 a.m. There is a beautiful lawn near the minaret. We sat on it for some time and enjoyed the outside view. Soon we were surrounded by a number of peddlers, selling picture post-cards, slides and brochures. A few guides also came and offered their services.
After some time, we bought tickets and entered the big miner. It looked like a skyscraper. Outside, there were certain Arabic words written on the tower. Since none of us knew the language, we could not read or understand the inscription. When we raised our eyes in great surprise and excitement, we saw that the Qutab has many storey and persons were standing on each of it.
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Anyhow, we too stood in the long queue and could enter the tall structure after some wait. The staircases were made of very thick stone. There was some darkness; though the holes were there in the tower to let the air and light come in. After reaching the second storey, we were breathless.
Climbing the steep steps fast was taxing and tiresome. We stopped and took some rest. We emerged on the balcony and saw that there was greenery all around. The scene looked very beautiful. Then we went up further and reached the top.
It is said that the Queen of Prithvi Raj Chauhan, the famous, brave Rajput King, used to have a glimpse of the Yamuna from the top of Qutab. After enjoying the view from the top for sometime, we climbed down. There was a guide following some foreign tourists.
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He was telling them that experts were not of one opinion regarding the ruler who gave India a great monument like the Qutab.
Some claim that it was built by Qutbuddin Aibak who belonged to the slave dynasty, but others oppose the claim. They try to prove that it was built by Prithvi Raj Chauhan. Anyhow, the mystery remains yet to be cleared.
There is a mosque, nearby, and we did not miss it either. We found it beautiful. We also saw an iron pillar on which something was written in an ancient script. There was one Alai Darwaza, which is said to have been built by Alauddin Khilji. All around, there were other historical buildings which were in ruinous state and about which even the guide had no details with him.
After this, we sat in an open patch on the lawn, took out our food packets and shared our stuff with each other. It was quite an enjoyable trip for us. After that we had tea in a nearby restaurant and then returned home by evening. Next day, when the teacher started teaching us the new chapter, we found it absolutely familiar, exciting and full of great interest. We still had the picture of the majestic Qutab in our mind.