Pics by Nirmal Dayani, heritage walk enthusiast

The ruins in Hauz Khas village are among the most fascinating in Delhi. The neighbourhood gets its name from the reservoir, ‘hauz i alai’ built by Sultan Alauddin Khalji in early 14^th century, for his capital city of Siri. About 50 year after Khalji, Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq restored the silted up tank, built a madrasa along its edge and called it the ‘hauz khas’. The massive madrasa complex along the lake was among the most important in the Islamic world in the 14^th century. A contemporary poet wrote in its praise:

The courtyard was soul-animating, and its expanse was life-giving. Its dusk was musk-scented, and its fragrance possessed the odour of amber…Nightingales, so to say, were singing their melodious songs everywhere. It appeared, as if they had guitars in their talons and flutes in their beaks.

Today, the view is equally grand. Continue Reading This Post