New Delhi, Nov. 4 -- The iconic Jantar Mantar observatory, Safdarjung Tomb, the National Museum and the humble Barakhamba Tomb in south Delhi are among a host of cultural sites chosen for the 108-day India Biennale to be held here starting December 4, according to officials.
Built by Sawai Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur in 1724, the Jantar Mantar observatory has been a witness over the past few decades to both vociferous agitations and silent crusades on the eponymous road next to it -- until its recent denotification as a protest site.
The leafy road was India's veritable demonstration square since the mid-90s and, earlier this year, saw a sustained student movement resulting in the resignation of then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. However, in an order issued on October 11 by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, it was recently denotified.
The Culture Ministry, in a post on September 30, had said the Biennale will unfold from December 4 "across some of Delhi's most iconic landmarks -- including the lawns of Lodhi Gardens, the Qutub Minar complex, Agrasen ki Baoli, the Red Fort and Safdarjung Tomb -- alongside galleries and private cultural venues across the city".
The main venue will be the historic Purana Qila, where various pavilions will also be hosted, a senior official said.
Jantar Mantar observatory, Safdarjung Tomb, Barakhamba Tomb, Sabz Burj, Qila Rai Pithora, National Museum, National School of Drama (NSD), Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Hauz Khas monument, are also among the numerous sites which would host various events as part of the Biennale, the official added.
However, it is not immediately known which events would be hosted at these sites.
"Delhi, something exciting is coming your way! The India Biennale 2026, taking place from 4 December 2026 to 21 March 2027, is a grand celebration of art, architecture and heritage, bringing immersive installations and cultural experiences to Delhi's iconic heritage monuments and cultural spaces. The historic Purana Qila is all set to become part of this grand celebration of art, architecture and creative experiences!" the culture ministry said in a social media post two days ago.
The ministry is hosting the mega event from December 4 to March 21, 2027.
The iconic Qutub Minar complex and the Red Fort complex are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The second edition of the India Art, Architecture & Design Biennale (IAADB), now fashioned as "India Biennale", is being organised with the intention of making it a global cultural initiative and the flagship programme of the ministry.
The theme of the mega cultural event, now fashioned as "India Biennale", is 'Tat Tvam Asi' -- the Sanskrit phrase which translates to 'You Are That'.
At the launch of the maiden edition in December 2023, the ministry had said that the aim of the IAADB is to "invigorate the cultural space and creative industries and leverage the arts for global cultural diplomacy and connect".
"In a world that never stops moving, attention has become the rarest form of devotion. The India Biennale invites you to pause, to see, and to find yourself reflected in every venue," reads an introduction to the curatorial statement on the India Biennale.
Across Delhi, its monuments and museums, its institutions, galleries, embassies, studios and streets, artists, architects and designers are invited to make works that slow the eye, return the body to the city, and restore what haste has worn thin, reads the statement.
"All languages of making belong here: the handmade and the digital, the ancient craft and the immersive new medium. Digital and new-media art are also welcomed not as an ailment but as instruments of encounter, technology turned back toward attention, presence and wonder," it said.
"We live in the most connected moment in human history, and often the least attentive. The pace of modern life, its speed, its abundance, its endless claims on our attention, has thinned three essential connections: with ourselves, with each other, and with the built and natural world we inherit. This is not the fault of any single force. Technology, like the city itself, is what we make of it: it can scatter attention or gather it, distance us or draw us close," the curatorial statement adds.
"Through the four threads of Reflection, Rejuvenation, Renewal and Resilience, and through the five senses as a shared lens, the Biennale proposes every venue, monument, museum, gallery or precinct, not as backdrop but as mirror. To stand before it is to stand before yourself. You are that," it says.
The Jantar Mantar observatory sits in a sprawling compound located in the heart of the city and faces Parliament Street on one side.
The iconic Delhi landmark has stood the test of time for more than three centuries, both as an architectural heritage and a symbol of engineering marvel.
Some of the key instruments located in its sprawling campus include the Samrat Yantra -- A giant triangular sundial, with a gnomon aligned to the Earth's axis; Jai Prakash -- Two sunken hemispheres to track the Sun and stars; Ram Yantra -- Twin circular buildings for measuring horizontal and vertical angles; and Misra Yantra -- A combo-instrument that tells time across continents and tracks the Sun's movement into Cancer, according to the ASI.
"The observatory is made up of brick rubble and lime plaster, which has seen many careful restorations without losing its original soul," the ASI had said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.