Lal Qila (Red Fort) - Naubat Khana

The Naubat- or Naqqar-Khana (drum house) stands at the entrance of the palace area, and was used for playing music five times a day at propitious hours. It was also called Hathipol, as visitors dismounted from their elephants (hathi) here. Faced with red stone, it is a large three-storeyed building rectangular on plan. Carved designs on its red stone walls appear to have been originally painted with gold, while the interior was painted in other colours. Several layers of these paintings can be traced even now in the entrance­ chamber.

The later Mughal kings Jahandar Shah (1712-13) and Farrukhsiyar (1713-19) are said to have been murdered in the Naubat-Khana. The War Memorial Museum is now housed in its upper storey.