Posts Tagged ‘Sikander Lodi’s Tomb’

Exploring monuments in Lodi Garden, 10 July 2011

July 12, 2011 in Delhi Heritage Walks,DHW,Heritage Walks,Lodi Garden,Lodi Garden Heritage Walks | Comments (0)

(photos by Nirmal Dayani, a regular at our walks)

This sultry Sunday evening was spent exploring monuments at Lodi Garden. Our heritage walk starts at gate number one of the Lodi Garden. As we walk in the Bada Gumbad stands majestic right before us. But our our stop is towards the path on the left. After a brief introduction, we walk towards Mohammad Shah Sayyid’s tomb. The tomb is landscaped beautifully, surrounded by tall palm trees. As we enter the tomb chamber, we see a dog lying majestically on the grave of the Sultan. The moral of the story then is, that no matter how important a person you are, somewhere down the line a dog is going to sleep on you!!!

The path from the tomb leads towards the recently created butterfly conservatory, beyond which is the Bada Gumbad complex and the Shish Gumbad. The Bada Gumbad complex consists of a massive gateway topped by a huge dome (which gives the building its name, literally, big dome), a grave platform, a mosque, and a couple of rooms opposite the mosque. Continue Reading This Post


Sunday evening in Lodi Garden, 3 April 2011

April 6, 2011 in Delhi Heritage Walks,DHW,Heritage Walks,Lodi Garden,Lodi Garden Heritage Walks | Comments (0)

Lodi garden in the heart of the capital is one of the best parks in Delhi. A nice place to walk around, exercise, peep inside tombs and observe birds. The Sunday evening heritage walk covered the monuments in this park. ‘Lodi Garden’ itself is a British creation. In the beginning of the 20th century, Delhi’s landscape would have looked like a vast necropolis…miles and miles of space dotted with massive ruins. Creation of this park was part of colonial initiative to beautify their new capital, so that the monuments stand out as singular objects of beauty. Starting out as Lady Willingdon Park, it got its present name post-independence because most monuments in the park belong to the period when Lodi’s were ruling. We started our heritage walk at Mohd. Sayyid’s tomb. It is a typical octagonal tomb, which has recently undergone conservation. One can see the ‘before’ and ‘after’ pics of the tomb pasted below). As one walks towards the Bada Gumbad and Shish Gumbad, there are grave platforms on both sides of the path, which have almost been overtaken by trees growing over them. Continue Reading This Post


Heritage trail in Lodi Garden, 12 Feb 2011

February 15, 2011 in Delhi Heritage Walks,DHW,Heritage Walks,Lodi Garden,Lodi Garden Heritage Walks | Comments (0)

Lodi Garden is one of the best landscaped parks in Delhi. The monuments here especially stand out as remarkable objects of beauty surrounded by well maintained lawns. Our heritage walk in Lodi Garden begins at gate no. 1 on Lodi Road. As you enter the gate, the imposing Bada Gumbad stands tall straight ahead. However, we take the path to the left and the first stop on the walk is Muhammad Shah Sayyid’s tomb. The Sayyids and Lodis are often clubbed together in the study of history and we know very little about the individual Sayyid rulers. But we do have tombs of two of the Sayyid rulers in Delhi: one at Kotla Mubarakpur and the other at Lodi Garden. The tomb here is surrounded by tall palm trees which are a favourite in formal landscaping. As one turns the path to enter the tomb, there is a tall tree on the left. It is called ‘Buddha’s Coconut’, a native to rainforests in South and North East Indian rainforests. It is the tallest tree in Lodi Garden. The path then takes you across the bicycle track and along the butterfly conservatory to the Bada Gumbad. Continue Reading This Post


Rambling around Lodi Garden, 15 Jan 2011

January 17, 2011 in Delhi Heritage Walks,DHW,Heritage Walks,Lodi Garden,Lodi Garden Heritage Walks | Comments (0)

Walking through Lodi Garden is always a pleasant experience and this Saturday, a small group of enthusiasts undertook a heritage walk in this park. The beauty of the garden is enhanced by the imposing monuments in a pleasant winter afternoon. The name ‘Lodi Garden’ is due to the fact that the most prominent of these monuments were built during the times of the Lodi Sultans. The garden is in fact a creation of the British, when they were building their new capital of Delhi. It was originally called Lady Willingdon Park. Its current name was given post Independence when it was re-landscaped under Joseph Allen Stein. Stein also designed some of the important buildings in the neighbourhood: the IIC, the Ford Foundation are the most well known.

If one enters from gate no. 1 of the Garden, one can see a tall imposing building straight ahead. We took a detour towards the left and began our heritage trial from Muhammad Shah Sayyid’s tomb. This is a royal tomb dated to mid 15th century. Continue Reading This Post


Walking tour in Lodi Garden, 25 Dec 2010

January 6, 2011 in Delhi Heritage Walks,DHW,Heritage Walks,Lodi Garden,Lodi Garden Heritage Walks | Comments (0)

This year’s Christmas was unusual for Lodi Garden, it being packed with people. The weather was excellent, and the entire population of Delhi seemed to have come out to picnic at Lodi Garden! For a change, we weren’t the only ones exploring the ruins. Our joy in walking around these ruins was shared by children, screaming on top of their lungs and playing around these medieval tombs! Muhammad Shah Sayyid’s tomb was the first stop on our heritage walk. The tomb stands out an object of beauty among the tree lined lawn. This tomb has recently undergone conservation. From here it is a short walk to the butterfly conservatory and the Bada Gumbad complex in the centre of Lodi Garden. The mosque here is one of the most beautiful specimens of plaster decoration, in Delhi. There are intricate arabesque patterns and calligraphy all over the interiors. Opposite to it stands the Shish Gumbad, with prominent blue tiles. The next stop on this heritage trail was Sikander Lodi’s tomb, which resembles a mini-fortress. Perhaps, appropriate for a sultan, whose name is Arabic for ‘Alexander’! Besides the Lodi tombs in this park there are a few Mughal monuments as well. Continue Reading This Post