One of the oldest inhabited neighbourhoods in Delhi region, Mehrauli is a minefield of stories. It has the earliest capital cities of Delhi and has been continuously inhabited for almost a thousand years now. This heritage walk starts at the entrance to the Mehrauli Archaeological Park. The first group of monuments one comes across is a gateway and a recently excavated area which has a courtyard and rooms built around it. Balban’s tomb stands out amongst these ruins. This 13^th century royal tomb is the earliest building in India use the true arch as an element of architecture. Balban is known to be a ruthless king. To his credit, he managed to rule for up to 40 years (first as a vice regent and then as Sultan), a remarkable feat for times marked by frequent change of rulers. Continue Reading This Post

Mehrauli Archaeological Park is one of the most picturesque sites in Delhi. The area is virtually littered with ruins. Besides the prominent tombs and mosques there are numerous unnamed ruins which were probably part of residential settlements. Crumbling walls and niches are peek out from the surrounding vegetation. Balban’s tomb is the first major monument on the heritage walk. It is an extremely significant building as it is the earliest surviving example of the use of the true arch in construction. The adjacent chamber has a grave which is traditionally believed to be of Balban’s favourite son, Khan Shaheed. Immediately after the tomb is a large area covered with ruins of small rooms which may have been residential units. Only the foundations remain now and we can see that some of these structures might have been double-storeyed. A little ahead is the Jamali Kamali mosque and tomb. This is the monument which gives the area its local name. This is a protected monument under ASI and is now always under lock and key. Continue Reading This Post

Mehrauli lies on the Aravallis; the terrain is uneven and Acacia is the most commonly found variety of tree. This time of the year is a special treat for the senses. The bougainvillea shrubs are in full bloom and the deep pink and white flowers look exquisite!

We started the walk at the gateway to Balban’s tomb and moved in the large open space created just beyond it after the archaeological excavation. One can find pottery shards lying about on the site. It’s amazing how archaeology transforms landscape. A few months back this area was completed covered in mud and vegetation. One of the chambers’ in Balban’s tomb has the grave of his son, Khan Shaheed although there is another building in the Park which was meant to be his burial place. We next walked through the ruins of a residential settlement towards Jamali-Kamali mosque. Continue Reading This Post

The members of Hindi Department, Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University visited the Mehrauli Archeological Park for a heritage walk cum picnic. Being students of literature, many were familiar with the characters & events whose stories unfolded here: Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutb ud din Aibak, Balban, the Sufis, Lodi sultans, Thomas Metcalfe, 1857.

We started from Balban’s tomb, walked through the ruins of what might have been a residential settlement, and reached Jamali’s mosque. A faculty member remarked that 10 years ago the area was completely inaccessible and that it impossible to imagine that such a grand structure lay behind the boundary walls. Rajon ki baoli was the next stop. This baoli is always the highpoint of a heritage walk in the Park; it slowly reveals itself as one approaches it. Everybody had loads of fun, walking through the narrow stairs of the baoli. Continue Reading This Post

Today’s weather was perfect…bright, breezy and pleasantly cool. 18 heritage enthusiasts joined me along with Kanika Singh and Rajesh Ranjan for the heritage walk in Mehrauli Archaeological Park. Situated on the Aravallis, this is perhaps earliest inhabited area of Delhi. This heritage trail is vast and very interesting: it covers monuments and structures from 13th century to 19th century. We started our walk from an arched gate that leads to Balban’s tomb. It is here that ASI carried out some excavation work in summer of 2009 and found some rooms, graves which seems to be part of the larger residential complex..today again we saw labour working on the site…let us see what more may come out of it. Adjacent to Balban’s tomb is Khan Shaheed’s grave, son of Balban who died fighting the Mongols in 1285A.D. This chamber has some some remains of floral designs on plaster and little bit of blue tile on one of the walls. We can visualise how magnificent it would have been at the time of its construction. Continue Reading This Post