Posts Tagged ‘Lal Masjid’

Rediscovering 1857: a heritage walk in Kashmiri Gate, 10 April 2011

April 12, 2011 in 1857,Delhi Heritage Walks,DHW,Heritage Walks,Kashmiri Gate,Kashmiri Gate Heritage Walks | Comments (0)

This heritage walk covers the modern neighbourhood of Kashmiri Gate near ISBT. Most of the sites here relate to first half of 19th century and some specific events associated with the revolt of 1857. In the 17th century this area was part of the Mughal capital of Shahjahanabad, what is today old Delhi. Kashmiri gate has mansions of some important personalities associated with the Mughal court like, Ali Mardan Khan, the noble who was instrumental in building canals which brought water to the city and Dara Shukoh, Shahjahan’s son. Later, the British started living in this neighbourhood. It is their buildings which mostly survive now.

We started the heritage walk from Nicholson’s cemetery. John Nicholson was a British general, instrumental in breaching the defenses of rebels who were controlling Delhi, and in the process lost his life. Continue Reading This Post


Revisiting 1857: a heritage walk, 16 Jan 2011

January 17, 2011 in 1857,Delhi Heritage Walks,DHW,Heritage Walks,Kashmiri Gate,Kashmiri Gate Heritage Walks | Comments (0)

Delhi was the centre of the Uprising of 1857. As a result, the area around the Mughal capital of Shahjahanabad is full of landmarks of the revolt. This heritage walk beings at Nicholson’s Cemetery, named after the British general who was fatally wounded fighting the rebels. His grave lies in the cemetery. The cemetery has several contemporary graves, one of the most prominent being that of Master Ramachandra, of Delhi College fame. The trail then continues into the fortified area of the former capital of Delhi. The Kashmiri Gate stands testimony to the battles of 1857. It is the point from where the Indian rebels stood to defend themselves from the British siege. The breaking of the defenses at Kashmiri Gate, turned the tide in British favour and they soon overtook the city of Delhi. Before 1857, the neighbourhood around here had residences of prominent officials of East India Company. Some traces of these still remain. Walking through the market here, one can see the Lal Masjid also known as the Fakhrul Masajid and the old Hindu College & old St. Stephen’s College buildings. St. James Church, the oldest church in Delhi, stands tall, across the road. It was built by James Skinner, in thanksgiving, when he survived wounds suffered in a battle. Continue Reading This Post


1857 Uprising: heritage trail in Kashmiri Gate, 26 Dec 2010

January 6, 2011 in 1857,Delhi Heritage Walks,DHW,Heritage Walks,Kashmiri Gate,Kashmiri Gate Heritage Walks | Comments (0)

Yet another foggy December morning and 12 of us assembled outside Nicholson’s cemetery to take a heritage walk down the memory lane! Nicholson was strong a British general, considered a demi-God by his Pathani and Punjabi soldiers. At the same time he has a reputation of being rude & arrogant towards the Indians. The cemetery gets its name from Nicholson, who is buried here. All around there are other small and beautifully carved sandstone and marble graves dating to the 19th century. Our next stop on this walk is the Kashmiri gate; one of the remaining gates of the walled city of Delhi! Once on its rooftop one can see the cross of St. James’ Church and if living back in 1857 one could imagine – watching the British troops coming down from the ridge to the north of walled city! In the neighbourhood is the Lal Masjid built from the red sand stone on the upper storey of a local market built by Lala Sultan Singh. Lal masjid or Fakhr-ul-masajid was built by Begum Fatima in memory of her husband Shujaat Khan in 1729. The old Hindu College and the old St. Stephen’s buildings which came up here are now being use for MCD and Election Commission’s offices! St. James’ Church is clearly the most striking building around the neighbourhood of Kashmiri gate. Continue Reading This Post


Landmarks of 1857: a heritage walk in Kashmiri Gate, 5 Sept 2010

September 6, 2010 in 1857,Delhi Heritage Walks,DHW,Heritage Walks,Kashmiri Gate,Kashmiri Gate Heritage Walks | Comments (2)

For us the 1857 heritage walk at Kashmiri gate has become synonymous with rain. For the last three months, on the day of Kashmiri gate heritage walk, it rains! Thankfully no walk has been cancelled because of it. Rather, the rain added to the charm of walking around the city, exploring its heritage. So once again we were out with our umbrellas, walking around Kashmiri Gate

For me, leading the walk is a new experience every time:it is a great opportunity to meet people with similar interests. Their enthusiasm is infectious. For this particular walk we had people coming in from NOIDA & Gurgaon in the rains! Nicholson’s cemetery, our starting point was like a mini pool with water rushing out of it as we entered the gate. After looking at Brigadier General John Nicholson’s and Master Ramachandra’s graves we walked towards Kashmiri gate hopping and skipping around puddles & sometimes wading through water! This walk was as much a trek as it was about heritage. Continue Reading This Post


Walk A Rain! Heritage walk through the landmarks of 1857, 1 Aug 2010

August 4, 2010 in 1857,Delhi Heritage Walks,DHW,Heritage Walks,Kashmiri Gate,Kashmiri Gate Heritage Walks | Comments (0)

It was yet another lovely morning and excitement brewing as I was about to lead my third walk with the Delhi Heritage Walks. Kashmiri gate and neighborhood is area we would be visiting about. After waiting for few minutes longer than decided time, I proceeded with bunch of 10 people to Nicholson’s Cemetery. Since the last time I was here, it seemed that graveyard had freshly bathed with monsoon rains. Everybodywas simply delighted to be here: the graves surrounded by bright green grasslooked great..this site is one of the hidden beauties of Delhi. I was delighted to be surrounded by lot of photographers, who were part of our walk this time. From Nicholson’s to Kashmiri gate, as we moved across the road, it began drizzling.
We took shade under the Metro station and I tried filling the gap by explaining how Delhi was surrounded by the rebels in 1857. This walk covers some sites associated with some landmark events of 1857 rebellion. Continue Reading This Post