A Day Spent with Friends at Qutub Minar

How do you refresh your mind? Have you ever noticed that we need a quick break from our daily routine to get our mind refreshed? Our daily routine is so repetitive that time comes when we get bore and need a break. To overcome this boredom, people often play games, listen music, watch movies, read books, go on trips, and get involved in some other activities as per their interest. I choose different activities depending on the situation. Sometimes, I watch movies and if weather is really very good then I go out for an outing. It can be a day outing or it can also be a well-planned 4-5 days trip. Generally, I prefer group tours but never hesitate to go on solo trips as well. 

It was almost 4-5 months when I last went on a trip. On a weekend, I decided to spend a day with friends somewhere in Delhi. It was an instant decision so we decided to go out for Qutub Minar. Our journey begin at 11 AM when three of us Hitesh, Vipul and I started from our home. As it was Sunday, we did not get much traffic on the highway. As a result, we crossed Faridabad and entered Delhi in next 35-40 minutes. The weather was cloudy and pleasant when we started from home but the time we reached Delhi, it was very hot. We crossed Badarpur toll plaza and turned left on Badarpur-Mehrauli road. 

Qutub Minar is hardly 10 kilometers away from here but due to a traffic jam in Khanpur and Sangam Vihar, it took us 15-20 minutes to reach there. This road ends to a T-point in Mehrauli, from here left turn leads to Gurgaon while right turn connects you to Aurobindo road. We turned right, then first left and reached to the entrance of Qutub Minar. Here is an ample space for parking, but due to holiday, the parking was almost packed. It took us 15-20 minutes to find a parking space for our car. We bought our entry passes from the ticket counter situated within the parking area. With these entry passes, we headed towards entrance of Qutub Minar. 

A man at entry point checked our tickets and allowed us to go inside the minar premises. Qutub Minar was constructed by Qutub-ud-din Aibak in 12th century. The Minar is made up of red sandstone and white marble. Best time to visit this place is from February to April. During this time, people from across the world comes India to see this Minar. An entry fee of Rs 10 is charged from Indians and Rs. 250 is charged from foreigners. Photography is allowed free of cost inside the Minar premises but for videography you need to pay some extra bucks. This Minar contains seven storeys and overall height of entire Minar is 72 meters. The Minar is regarded as tallest individual tower in the world. 

Earlier till 1981, people were allowed to go inside the Minar and on the top of this tower. But in 1981, due to a stampede, 45 people were killed and more than 100 were injured. After that incidence, people access to the inside of the Minar has been banned. Inside the Minar premises, there is an iron pole which is considered to be made up of non-resistant material. Height of this pole is 7 meters and it weighs around 6000 kilograms. This place is famous among Indian filmmakers, scenes of many bollywood movies are shoot here. 

There is another Minar beside the Qutub Minar named as Alai Minar. Alauddin Khilji started building the Alai Minar, first storey of this Minar was completed by the time he dead. Height of first storey is around 24.5 meters which is almost double of Qutub Minar's first storey. The construction of Alai Minar was abandoned just after the death of Alauddin Khilji in 1316. Only first Minar was completed by the time and construction work was never taken up by his successor. If Alai Minar was completed by Alauddin Khilji's successor then no doubt it would be considered as the highest Minar in the world. 

We stayed almost two hours inside the Minar premises and enjoyed a lot. We were feeling hungry and decided to go out and have some food. We stepped out from the exit door, picked up our car and headed toward a food junction. In next half an hour, we were sitting in Dominos. We ordered pizza's for all of us which was served in a while. By 5 PM in the evening, we reached back at our home. It was a great day with friends and everyone enjoyed a lot.
Pradeep Chauhan

घूमने का शौक आख़िर किसे नहीं होता, अक्सर लोग छुट्टियाँ मिलते ही कहीं ना कहीं घूमने जाने का विचार बनाने लगते है ! पर कुछ लोग समय के अभाव में तो कुछ लोग जानकारी के अभाव में बहुत सी अनछूई जगहें देखने से वंचित रह जाते है ! एक बार घूमते हुए ऐसे ही मन में विचार आया कि क्यूँ ना मैं अपने यात्रा अनुभव लोगों से साझा करूँ ! बस उसी दिन से अपने यात्रा विवरण को शब्दों के माध्यम से सहेजने में लगा हूँ ! घूमने जाने की इच्छा तो हमेशा रहती है, इसलिए अपनी व्यस्त ज़िंदगी से जैसे भी बन पड़ता है थोड़ा समय निकाल कर कहीं घूमने चला जाता हूँ ! फिलहाल मैं गुड़गाँव में एक निजी कंपनी में कार्यरत हूँ !

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