I also visited the Rashtrapati Bhawan, originally House of Viceroy of India and one of the most spectacular symbols of the British Empire in India.

Jai, my Indian friend told me that, the Rashtrapati Bhawan today is the home of the President of India. He also added that this monument was designed by Lutyens, this imposing structure, originally built to house the Viceroy of India during the British Raj.

"What? " I was shocked, when I heared, that over 5,000 labourers, carpenters, engineers and designers worked for eight years using up 4.5 million bricks, 1.5 million cubic feet of stone, 1,350 tonnes of iron and 7,500 tonnes of cement to erect this monumental structure spreading across five acres on a north-south axis.

I was quite impressed by the monument as the imposing building has 104 feet by 34 feet Banquet Hall can seat 104 people at a time.The lower corridor is lined with rare paintings.

The time when I visited Delhi that was Feburary I think, Mughal gardens were open. Mughal Gardens are the crowning glory of the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Long before the Viceroy's House was constructed, Lady Hardinge inspired Lutyens to design "a dream of loveliness" like the terraced gardens of Mughal Emperors she had seen in Kashmir. Today, the shimmering sprays from scalloped fountains, soft music from mini-waterfalls, paved pathways running besides lush green lawns.