Purana Qila Poem by Asit Kumar Sanyal

Have you seen Purana Qila in Delhi?
it's in the heart of New Delhi
and adjacent to the zoo
people say it's the ruins of Indraprastha
the capital of Pandavas
but it's not.

it's the site of Indraprastha, not the ruins
Humayun built the city of Dinpanah
on the site of the then Indraprastha
later on, Sher Shah Suri razed it
and raised the citadel of Purana Qila
with an extensive city-area
sprawling around it.
it's the ruins of those buildings.

As it's located by the Yamuna river
it was an important site
for trade and industrial activity
in Mayurian, Sungha, Kushana, Rajput
or Mughal eras
terracota, beads, figurines, coins
belonging to these dynasties unearthed
from this site during excavations.

Recently a painted gray ware (PGW)
unearthed from here, from 11m deep
experts say …
it represents the Iron Age culture
of the western Gangetic plain and
the Ghaggar-Hakra valley
corresponding to the period between
600 BC and 1200 BC.

Scientists say, the site of Purana Qila
is the only place in Delhi
which has various cultural deposits
of last 2500 years in its various layers
from pre-Mayurian to modern era
govt. planned to turn this site shortly
into a world-class monument.