Historic Jantar Mantar to be illuminated from Thursday

By IANS,

New Delhi : The 18th century Jantar Mantar in the national capital, housing five prominent astronomical observatories, will be illuminated Thursday onwards.


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“From Thursday we are illuminating it (Jantar Mantar) to highlight the protected monument during night,” said S.K. Sinha, superintending archaeologist (Delhi circle) of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The five observatories are home to 14 major geometric devices for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking stars in their orbits, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the celestial altitudes and related ephemeredes.

Samrat Jantar, the largest instrument, is over 50 feet high and its shadow is carefully plotted to tell the time of day.

Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni will inaugurate the illuminations at the historical place, now more famous as a venue of all kind of protests and strikes.

In collaboration with ASI, the Apeejay Group, a private business enterprise, has been supporting the conservation of Jantar Mantar, which built by Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur during the early 18th century.

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