The neighborhood of Mehrauli is a delight for a lover of history, for someone who revels in looking under the multiple layers of time. Mehrauli is the area where the first cities of Delhi came up & even when the capital shifted this area was never abandoned. Which means that as dynasties came & went, politics changed, the river shifted course, Mehrauli continued to be inhabited. So understanding the development in Mehrauli, its changes, helps us understand Delhi. (more…)

On the day of separation from you in helplessness and loneliness, nothing consoles us but the sorrow we feel for you.

O Jamali! Resort to the door of the friend, for our refuge is the door of the beloved.

These are lines by poet & traveller, Sheikh Fazlullah, who went by the pen name Jamali. And his name lives on today…the park where our heritage walk was organized is locally known as Jamali Kamali. Officially, the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, very few know it by that name. The Mehrauli Archaeological Park is a minefield of archaeological remains! Everywhere the eye goes, there are remains of historic settlements, some almost devoured by vegetation. Close to the entrance is a clearing, beyond a gateway, which is a recently excavated archaeological site. I shared some of my surface finds with the group: a small clay toy shaped like a horse, bits & pieces of pottery! (more…)

There are many a heritage trails in old Delhi area. What is today the old city for us, was the capital city of Mughal empire, called Shahjahanabad. Built in the middle of the 17the century, it is full of old buildings, traditional food shops, traditional crafts & professions which are dying out. This walking tour combines sites of monumental heritage with food stops.  Hence the title ‘Heritage Walk & Street Food’.  (more…)

This walk covers sites associated with colonial life in 19^th century Delhi & the rebellion of 1857. We start at Nicholson Cemetery, named after one of the most revered British heroes of the ‘mutiny’. Brigadier Gen. John Nicholson was fatally injured while storming the Lahori Gate of Shahjahanabad. All through the summer of 1857 the rebels were inside the walled city & the British has taken position on the Northern Ridge & there was bitter fighting between the two sides. For Delhi the battle was pretty much decided in the favour of the British after breaching the city walls. Nicholson Cemetery has graves of many Europeans & some Indians as well. (more…)

Our walking tour in Lodi Garden covers monuments scattered around the park, spread over an area of 90 acres. The monuments date back to the 15^th century but the park is a colonial invention. It was designed in 1936. Once called Bagh-i- Jud, a royal burial ground was landscaped by British & named Lady Willingdon Park. The present name, Lodi garden was given post independence. Now, one of the favorite parks for joggers in south Delhi, the garden is a perfect amalgamation of our glorious past and present day Delhi. (more…)