India Gate Delhi

Located straight down the road from Rashtrapati Bhavan, the foundation stone of India Gate was laid by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Connaught in 1921 and was designed by Edwin Lutyens. The 42 mt high structure is a war memorial in honour of the soldiers who died during the second world war. The impressive has an eternal flame, amar jawan jyoti to honour the memory of the unknown soldiers.

On the walls of the structure are inscribed the names of all the soldiers killed in the Northwestern Frontier in the Afghan war of 1919. The entire arch stands on a low base of red Bharatpur stone and rises in stages to a huge molding, beneath, where the names of thousand unknown soldiers are inscribed. The trifling domed bowl at the top was intended to be filled with burning oil on anniversaries.

Originally known as All India War Memorial, India Gate is a popular picnic spot during the winters and equally popular as a relaxation area during the summer evenings. During the night, it is intensely floodlit and the fountains nearby are lit up with coloured lights. Several vendors selling bhel puri, ice-cream, balloons, etc stand at night. One can very easily find families enjoying together, youngsters playing cricket and tourists, just standing and viewing this imposing monument.