While wandering through Adalat Bazaar in Patiala on the hunt for phulkari, I stumbled upon the absolutely stunning old city fort, Qila Mubarak. Many of the architectural details – from chhatris to baluster columns to scalloped arches – are reminiscent of the style of royal architecture that cropped up throughout North India in the 17th and 18th centuries, popularized by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and exemplified in his Red Fort in Old Delhi / Shahjahanabad. Built by Baba Ala Singh (the founder of Patiala) in 1763, the Qila Mubarak is now quite run down, but still beautiful, and a lovely break from the chaos of the bazaar.