photos by Dipanjan
As the heritage enthusiasts met at the gate of Deer Park in Hauz Khas village, we formed an interesting group of professional/amateur photographers, architects, journalists, IT and management professionals and of course an historian..I started the walk with an introduction of the structures constructed by different dynasties that take us to Delhi of 13th/14th century. first structure of our walk was the Hauz Khas, a water tank constructed under the royal command of Alauddin Khilji in early 14th century,it was probably intended to supply water to the gardens and fields around Siri Fort and also way of collecting rain water.However after Alauddin’s death the hauz was not maintained, it was then restored and brought back to use by Firuz Shah Tughluq in mid 14th century..when he came to throne ,was a middle aged man and understood the need of creating public utility works, (a lesson from history for our elected leaders). Continue Reading This Post
The monuments’ complex in Hauz Khas village is a remarkable set of buildings in Delhi. It is a 14th century madrasa, an institution for Islamic learning, which is built around a 13th century tank. The heritage walk in Hauz Khas covers this madrasa complex as well as some monuments in the adjacent Deer Park. A winding lane from Hauz Khas village leads us to the gateway to the complex. There is a lot digging being done in the complex so most of the area is piled up with building materials and big stones. The madrasa building is built along one side of the tank and originally the water would have lapped its walls. Now the tank is much smaller and there is a landscaped park with jogging track between the tank and the madrasa. It is an excellent view of the surroundings and in the evening, with the birds chirping and colours of the sunset, it makes a beautiful setting. Continue Reading This Post
The tank, hauz khas was a reservoir built during the reign of alaudin khilji,under his royal command,was probably intended to supply the needs of the gardens and fields around siri…capital city built by alaudin khilji….here we started our walk..the tank was restored by feroz shah tuglaq….infact when timur ,mongol ruler invaded, defeated mohammed shah tuglaq in1398…had camped here and misunderstood it to have been built by feroz shah tuglaq…feroz shah tuglaq’s tomb and the madarsa form an l-shaped building..as we entered the tomb we found it to be more elaborately carved than the other buildings…one unusal feature is the stone railings at the main entrance of the tomb.next to it is.the pillared hall, is connected .it.has the architectural style seen in hindu -jain temples…flat roof supported by pillars….there is also a hall with a dome…could be a cenotaph……after this we moved to south-west wing of the l-shaped stucture…here as we go down the steps we found ourselves among a row of small cell like rooms that would have been student’s accomodation..next building was an interesting one…it is Continue Reading This Post
