Photo by Mansi Agarwal

photos by Dipanjan

photos by Mansi

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 14^th century madrasa, an institution for Islamic learning, which is built around a 13^th 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