New Delhi, Jan. 3 -- On Saturday, Delhi will host a historical exhibition at an unlikely stretch of stone and rubble - bringing briefly into the spotlight Qila Rai Pithora, the earliest of the so-called seven cities of Delhi. The fortification has undergone careful beautification and restoration to frame the public display of the sacred Piprahwa relics of Lord Buddha. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Grand International Exposition of Sacred Piprahwa Relics at the Rai Pithora Cultural Complex - a temporary museum being constructed inside the Qutub Golf Course complex. The exhibition, being jointly curated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the National Museum, will remain open to the public for around six months, offering visitors a rare encounter with artefacts that sit at the intersection of faith, archaeology and global history. Officials said the exhibition has been designed so that it places the relics not merely as objects of devotion, but as witnesses to the spread of Buddhism across Asia and beyond. "The exhibition will feature the Piprahwa relics, sections tracing the expansion of Buddhist culture, and artefacts recovered from different parts of the world," an ASI official said, requesting anonymity. "Once inaugurated on January 3, it will be accessible to the public for at least six months." The venue itself carries symbolic weight. Qila Rai Pithora - ruins of which can be spotted across south Delhi, including at the Mehrauli Archeological Part near the Qutub Minar - though largely reduced to fragments of ramparts and buried walls, marks one of the earliest phases of Delhi's urban history. It was here, toward the end of the 12th century, that Prithviraja III - known better as Rai Pithora - expanded the older Tomar citadel of Lal Kot to establish what would become the first of Delhi's historic cities. According to ASI records, the Tomar Rajputs initially settled around Surajkund before shifting westward, where Anangpal II raised Lal Kot. Prithviraja III later extended this fortification, creating Qila Rai Pithora. "This enlarged city, with Lal Kot at its south-western base, is known as Qila Rai Pithora and is the first of the so-called seven cities of Delhi," according to ASI's publication Delhi and its Neighbourhood. While much of the original structure has been lost to time - its rubble-built ramparts now fragmented and partially buried - officials said the recent work has focused on stabilisation and presentation rather than reconstruction. "Minor restoration has been carried out along surviving sections of the wall wherever required," the ASI official said. "The emphasis has been on creating a museum-like setting for the exhibition, not altering the archaeological character of the site." An official from the National Museum confirmed that entry will be ticketed and that preparations are now in their final stages following a site visit by Union culture and tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat late last month....