3 min readNov 27, 2011 05:33 AM IST
First published on: Nov 27, 2011 at 05:33 AM IST
Come December 12,and New Delhi – as we know it – is going to turn 100. It was in 1911 that the colonial capital of India moved from Calcutta to New Delhi. Lutyen’s Delhi,created by architect Edward Lutyens,would be its gem.
But how did the Capital look like exactly a century ago under the Raj? The run-up to ‘100 Years of Delhi’ drums up our curiosity about imperial Delhi. The oldest hotel in New Delhi,The Imperial at Janpath (Janpath was formerly known as the Queen’s Way),which always has on display some rare photographs of colonial Delhi,has dug out a special collection of some never-before-seen,100-year-old pictures to bring alive the Delhi of 1911.
Starting Tuesday,the hotel will host an exclusive exhibition by British biographer and artist,Jessica Douglas-Home,called A Glimpse of Empire. This is to showcase 22 original pictures taken by her Anglo-Irish grandmother,Lilah Wingfield,in the autumn of 1911,when she travelled to Delhi for the Royal Durbar.
The photographs poignantly capture her visit to the Durbar where she saw King George V crowned as the Emperor of India. The coronation that took place at,what is now known as the Coronation Park Memorial,was a moment of “unheard-of extravagance and imposing military spectacle” in the history of the country. The pictorial journey presents her meetings with remarkable colonial characters of the day,including some of the foremost Indian princes.
The Imperial hotel,fittingly,also boasts a 1911 Restaurant and 1911 Bar that celebrates the year when Delhi was declared the new Capital. “Nothing would have been more appropriate than showcasing the original pictures from the collection of Lilah Wingfield dating back to 1911,” says Vijay Wanchoo,Senior Vice-President and General Manager.
“She often shared her memories of India with me as she lived to a grand old age,dying in 1980. Most of the photographs come from my grandmother’s photograph book,while one has been lent by the Alkazi Foundation. A couple of them have been sourced from the 1911 newspaper and magazine cuttings that she preserved,” informs Douglas-Home.
This is the first time that these pictures will be seen anywhere in the world. After Delhi,the exhibition travels to Jodhpur. On December 12,it will be displayed in London,in the presence of the grandson of King George V (last King Emperor of India) on the exact day of the centenary of the Coronation Durbar Day when his grandfather was crowned King Emperor on the Indian soil.
The exhibition will be held at The Imperial from November 29 to December 1. Contact: 23341234
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