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I should like to write much of Delhi and its palaces in which the Great Moguls once lived in a splendor worthy of the monarchs in the Arabian Nights no wonder the stately Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Public Audience, bears the famous inscription in Persian: "If there be Paradise on earth. It is this, oh, it is this, oh, it is this!"
I do not believe that there exists in the world a more exquisitely beautiful hall than the Diwan-i-Khas in Delhi palace.
We will now pass over to the river side of the Machhi Bhawan, and approach that part of the palace which contains the Dîwan-i-khas, or Hall of Private Audience, the Zanana and Mahal-i-khas, all built by Shah Jahan and occupied by him in the days of his royal state and sovereignty. They rank with the Dîwan-i-khas at Delhi as the most exquisite of Shah Jahan's buildings.
The Marquis of Hastings, when Governor-General of India, broke up one of the most beautiful of the baths of the palace, and sent it home as a present to the Prince Regent, afterwards George the Fourth. The Samman Burj. The style of the inlaid work shows it to be earlier in date than the Dîwan-i-khas, and supports Fergusson's conjecture that it was built by Jahangir.
THE DÎWAN-I-KHÂS. Further towards the north, immediately opposite to the Kwâbgâh, is a square detached building, a fine example of the dignified style of the period, for it owes none of its effects to imposing dimensions, but only to the skill with which the architect has treated a difficult subject. This is the Dîwan-i-Khâs, or Hall of Private Audience.
A tattered awning had been raised over the entrance to the famous Diwan-i-Khas, and underneath, on a mockery of a throne, was seated the descendant of Akbar and of Aurangzeb.
Opposite to Akbar's apartments is a large square tank with a platform in the centre, approached by four narrow stone paths. The tank was filled from the waterworks near the Elephant Gate, and the water was kept constantly fresh by an overflow channel connecting with the tank at the back of the Dîwan-i-Khâs.
There is a treasury, a mint, a record office, and a building with three large rooms known as the Minchauli Anch, which is said to be the place where the Emperor played hide-and-seek with the ladies of the court; this is probably an erroneous statement. The most unusual building is the Diwan-i-Khas, the council chamber.
From this classification I purposely omit the Taj, gleaming on the banks of the river lower down. The Taj stands by itself. The Dîwan-i-Khas. The Dîwan-i-khas was built in 1637. Though much smaller than the Dîwan-i-khas at Delhi, it is certainly not inferior in the beauty of its proportions and decoration.
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