‘Among the gifts which God bestowed upon me, was a desire to erect public buildings. So I built many mosques and madrasas and khanqahs, that the learned and the elders, the devout and the holy, might worship God in these edifices and aid the kind builder with their prayers.’

These words of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq bring to life the magnificent ruins of Hauz Khas, the madrasa complex built by him in the 14^th century. Our heritage walk this Sunday covered the Hauz Khas complex and monuments in Deer Park. The complex stands on the edge of a reservoir, which was originally built by Sultan Alauddin Khalji for his capital city of Siri. Continue Reading This Post

(photos by Aditya Pathak, a heritage enthusiast)

The Mehrauli Archaeological Park is one of the best areas to explore in Delhi. Located on the Aravallis, this area is extremely rich in history. Being the longest inhabited region of Delhi, the Mehrauli area has seen settlements for a thousand years now. This is where the first cities of Delhi came up, and even when the capital moved to other locations, Mehrauli continued to be inhabited. So this area is practically littered with monumental remains.

Our heritage walk starts at the entrance to the park. We walk towards a gateway, which gives way to a clearing. Continue Reading This Post

The walk this Sunday came after a long break for me…I returning to doing heritage walks after a while…so a new start with gleaming new faces.. With a group of 20, our heritage walk started from the Nicholson’s Cemetery, a hidden historic gem of the city.  Here the graves-big n small decorated with red stone and marble are photographers’ favourite. Across the road crossing the metro line -( where once stood the wall demarcating Shahjahanabad from the outer ridge area) we reached premises of Kashmiri gate. Cannon ball marks from 1857 battles are still prominent around the gate which initially had a single entrance n later made 2 gateways by the by British official – Major Smith.  All major war strategies of 1857 were made by Indians from here. We moved along locating Fakhr-ul-Masajid built in memory of Shujaat Khan (commander under Aurangzeb) in 1728-29. Next to the mosque are famous old buildings of the Hindu College and St. Stephen’s College. Continue Reading This Post

Firuz Shah was a Tughluq king who ruled in second half of the 14^th century. His reign is remarkable for its architectural projects. Delhi in particular is full of buildings commissioned and repaired by him. Our heritage walk this Sunday evening was around one such complex. Known as the Hauz Khas village now, it contains the remarkable ruins of Firuz Shah’s madrasa, built around a reservoir. The latter was built by Sultan Alauddin Khalji for this capital city of Siri, but it fell into disrepair, after his death. Firuz Shah not only re-excavated the tank, but also built this impressive madrasa and his own tomb along the edge of the tank. The complex as is stands today, is completely ruined, only a bare skeleton of its original grandeur, and the tank is much reduced in size. However, together they still impress the visitor.

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