The fabled Connaught Place area
created and envisioned by the legendary architect, Lutyens, boasts of an
observatory
of yore in the form of Jantar Mantar. According to the rays of the Sun
falling on it, it helped the people calculate to some extent the time of the
day. Jantra(yantra-meaning instrument) and mantra-formula) was built in 1724
by Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur, who later built observatories on the same
lines in Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi and Mathura. According to historical
records, the Maharaja found the then existing astronomical instruments to
record totally accurate observations and so he decided that such bigger
structures should be constructed. The instruments at Jantar mantar are
fascinating for their novel approach, though as opf today, they cannot be
relied upon to give the kind of accuracy that they gave then because of the
growth of multistoreyed structures around it which block the avenues of
measurement. At one time the lawns in the area were used as a spot for
protestors who found it convenient to reach Parliament House from there. But
recently a host of them were removed from there and the area restored to its
pristine glory.
