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A Mughal garden with shade trees, majestic parterre and the garden pavilion.
Aurangzeb's Sheesh Mahal Garden is a Mughal garden located in Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, India. It was named as Aizzabad Bagh when the garden was laid by Izz-un-Nissa wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1653 as a tribute and replica of Shalimar Bagh, Kashmir, laid by erstwhile Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1619, the Shalimar Bagh of Delhi is now abandoned but still houses shade trees, majestic parterre and structure such as the Sheesh Mahal and the garden pavilion. The imposing palace known as Sheesh Mahal served as the site where emperor Aurangzeb's coronation ceremony took place in 1658, giving it the current name owing to the emperor's fame and his exceptional reign. As there are other Sheesh Mahal's throughout India this one is distinguished by Aurangzeb's name used as a prefix with it as his coronation ceremony marked a significant event there.
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The venue of the three Delhi durbars. A durbar (दरबार darbār, meaning "court") is an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organised by the British to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. The first durbar was held in 1877 and proclaimed Queen Victoria as the Empress of India. The second durbar was held in 1903 to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII. The third and final durbar was held on 12 December 1911 to commemorate the coronation of George V (the original coronation was held on 22 June 1911 in London). It was also where the King-Emperor announced the move of India’s capital from Calcutta to Delhi. After the three durbars, a towering coronation memorial was built. Built in obelisk style the sandstone memorial is approachable from all sides by a flight of stairs. The memorial contains English and Urdu inscriptions on both sides about the final durbar. The park also contains a 15 m high (including a pedestal) marble statue of King George V. The statues of four viceroys (Lord Hardinge, Lord Willingdon, Lord Irwin and Lord Chelmsford) occupy the four corners of the park.
Built at the site, in the garden where Guru Nanak Dev camped when he visited Delhi in 1505 during the reign of Sultan Sikandar Lodi.