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 20^th 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

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

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