History
The Bhavan was originally known as 'Flagstaff House' and was the residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces in India. Situated in a large estate, the building is constructed of w stone and stucco, and faces the south side of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidents House). It has arched entrance, recessed window, and the first floor has a pillared veranda on the back on the building which overlooks the lawns.
After Independence (1947) the house was taken over as the residence of the Prime Minister. On Nehru's death in 1964, the house was converted into a national memorial comprising a library and a museum. Today, in a ground floor room of the Nehru Museum, his South Block office in the Ministry of External Affairs has been 'recreated' with the same furniture and other articles he used, along with several mementos, objects and manuscripts.
The complex has headquarters of Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, established in 1964, Nehru Memorial Library, and also the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship. The Nehru Memorial Library is one of the finest ones for information on modern Indian history. Started in 1966, it functioned from the main building itself, till its present building was inaugurated within the complex grounds, in 1974.
One of the four Nehru Planetariums in India, is also situated in Teen Murti House grounds. It was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi, on February 6, 1984. The planetarium's sky theater is used for screening shows and as a gallery. The planetarium was reopened in September 2010, after renovations worth Rs. 11 crore, ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games and received Queen's Baton. It now has 'Definiti optical star projector “Megastar” that can show 2 million stars.
Close to the Nehru Planetarium within the Bhavan complex, stands the Shikargah, also known as Kushak Mahal,the hunting lodge of 14th-century ruler of the Sultanate of Delhi, Firoz Shah Tughlaq (r. 1351–1388 AD). Built on a high platform of rubble masonry accessed by stairs, the near square structure contains three open bays, containing arches, with each bay further divided into three compartments. Firoz Shah's fort, Firoz Shah Kotla was situated far away on the banks of Yamuna River. The monument is today protected by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and the near by Kushak Road is named after it.
Read more about this topic: Teen Murti Bhavan
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“Throughout the history of commercial life nobody has ever quite liked the commission man. His function is too vague, his presence always seems one too many, his profit looks too easy, and even when you admit that he has a necessary function, you feel that this function is, as it were, a personification of something that in an ethical society would not need to exist. If people could deal with one another honestly, they would not need agents.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)