Photographs of the heritage walk at Mehrauli Archaeological Park on 27 March ’11, by Vinay Kumar, a regular at our walks

As always the Mehrauli Archaeological Park reflected the changing colours of season. The bougainvillea was in full bloom and lent a splash of bright colour on a landscape which is almost wild. Our heritage walk started from Balban’s tomb, one of the most important buildings in India, architecturally speaking. It is the oldest building in India to use the true arch in its construction. Before this, our artisans had some trouble erecting domes. Such small corbelled domes and their remnants can be seen in the Qutb complex even now. Just before the tomb is an open area, which happens to be a recently excavated archaeological site. It revealed a stone flooring, a few rooms and a few graves; probably part of the residential settlement which is little further ahead on the heritage trail. In Balban’s tomb, his own grave is no more extant. But we do have a grave in the adjacent chamber which is believed to be of his favourite son, Khan Shaheed. Continue Reading This Post

Our Chandni Chowk heritage walk starts at the historic Shri Digambar Jain temple, opposite Red Fort. The foundation of the temple dates back to 1656. Gauri Shankar temple, which is next to Jain temple, was built in the middle of 18th century by a Maratha courtier of the Scindias. Both temples, though they are more than 200 years old, have modern building structures and it is difficult to imagine what they once looked like.

The next stop was the almost decrepit Fort View Hotel building, one of the first to be allowed to be built by the British in the area after the 1857 demolitions. Next to it is the State Bank of India office, an early 20th century structure undergoing renovation. It’s often mistaken as Begum Samroo’s palace. We took a detour inside the Bhagirath Place, to see the remains of Begum Samroo’s haveli, inside the market. Bhagirath Place is now one of the largest markets of electronic goods. Continue Reading This Post

The Kashmiri Gate heritage walk ‘brings alive’ many famous British characters associated with the First War of Independence or the Revolt of 1857. The first is Brigadier General John Nicholson, who is buried in a quiet corner of the Nicholson Cemetery. He is best known for being merciless while meting out punishment to the revolting sepoys. Another important grave in the cemetery is that of Master Ramchandra or Yasudas Ramchandra, a brilliant mathematician and Urdu journalist, who converted to Christianity in 1852 and lived to see the rebellion in Delhi. The next stop is the Kashmiri Gate, a mute witness to the explosion that ripped apart its wooden doors and allowed the British army an entry point to the rebellious city of Delhi on 14^th September 1857. The Kashmiri Gate area, once a fashionable promenade and commercial centre for the British, lost its glory to New Delhi when the latter was built in the 1930s. However, it still retains its old-world charm, in its architecture and old buildings. One monument that has withstood the test of times is St. James Church, built by Colonel James Skinner in 1836. Skinner himself is buried near the altar in the church. Continue Reading This Post