Hauz Khas Village, the uptown market is a delight for Delhi-ites for its cafes & eateries and designer boutiques. And the monument complex here is a popular hangout zone. But few would know of the history of this unusual medieval monument. We walked into HKV and stood at the parapet of the monument looking at the beautiful view of the tank. The Hauz or the tank was initially constructed by Sultan Alauddin Khalji, who is known for his capital city of Siri and landmarks in Indian architecture such as the Alai Darwaza at Qutb Complex. (more…)

One of the lesser known sites of Delhi, this 100 acres green land has 70 odd monuments scattered around. The reason why Mehrauli Archaeological Park fascinates history lovers is because of its wild, un-kept look interspersed with monuments dating back from the first fortified capital, Lal Kot up till British period. The first monument we covered on this heritage walk was built by one of the powerful ‘slave kings’, Sultan Balban. (more…)

Mehrauli Village is one of the more unusual trudges in our list of heritage walks. It is a historic village, the first cities of Delhi came up here, & there is plenty of evidence of prehistoric settlements on the ridge area where Mehrauli area if one is careful enough to look.

Our walk this Sunday covered some of the medieval monuments which stand hidden among modern construction in Mehrauli. We meet at Adam Khan’s tomb which is the most prominent building here. (more…)

Located between Safdurjung’s tomb and Khan Market, there lies 90 acres of beautifully landscaped garden which was once a royal burial ground of Sayyid and Lodi royalty. Today, the monuments are surrounded by walking paths and jogging paths with trees, shrubs and flowering plants on both sides. The garden as we see today was designed in 1936 by the British when it was called Lady Willingdon Park. (more…)

Remember ‘khoob ladi mardani woh to Jhansi wali rani thi’ or ‘do gaz zameen bhi na mili kue yaar mein’? Rani Laxmi Bhai of Jhansi, her companion Jhalkari Bai, Tantia Tope, Mangal Pandey & Bahadur Shah Zafar: these are people from Indian history we have most often read about, their poetry of defiance or of despair, were all part of the experience of 1857. (more…)