Pics by Nirmal Dayani, heritage walk enthusiast

(photos by Chhavi Sharma, team member, Delhi Heritage Walks & Vinay Kumar, a regular at our walks)

The ‘walk of the month’ for August was Kotla Firuz Shah: a 14^th century citadel built by the Tughluq king, Firuz Shah. A group of about 20 heritage enthusiasts braved Delhi’s summer to be part of this walk. For some of us it was a trip down the memory lane…those who had lived in the neighbourhood of Kotla and spent their childhood frequenting the ruins here, bunking classes and hiding away from home. Kotla is relatively lesser known among the historic cities of Delhi for most Delhiites. But for the locals it is actually a shrine of great significance. The locals believe that the ruins are inhabited by jinns. Continue Reading This Post

This month’s special was the heritage walk to Purana Qila (old Fort), led by Anand Taneja. We began the walk from Khair ul Manazil, the Mughal-period madrasa which stands right opposite the Purana Qila. Delhi generally is not associated with Akbar’s reign, but there do exist some monuments associated with him. Khair ul Manazil is a madrasa built by Akbar’s wet nurse, Maham Anga. Adjacent to it are remains of gates & fortifications of Sher Shah’s city. There is a row of single-room structures leading up to the Lal Darwaza, one of the gates of Sher Shah’s capital. These rooms have been identified as shops. Entry to the Old Fort is from near the Delhi zoo. There is a lot of conservation work being done around the gates of the fort so some parts of it are inaccessible. The Old Fort is traditionally associated with the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas in Mahabharata and then with Sher Shah Sur and Humayun. The most prominent monuments inside the Old Fort are the Qila i- Kunha mosque and the Sher Mandal. Continue Reading This Post

The special walk for the month covered Tughuqabad fort and tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughluq. The entrance to the fort is right on Mehrauli Badarpur Road. The fort and tomb were connected by a causeway which was breached to make the road. We began our heritage walk by first exploring the fortifications on the south side. The Continue Reading This Post

Pictures of heritage walk in old Delhi: Jama Masjid, Gali Guliyan, havelis in Katra Khushal Rai, Digambar Jain Naya Mandir, haveli where St. Stephen’s college began (Sheesh Mahal), Kinari Bazaar, Naughara & Parathewali gali. The landmarks were explained by Priya Gangadharan & Kanika Singh.

(posted by Rajesh Ranjan, team member, Delhi Heritage Walks)

Jama Masjid and Lanes of Old Delhi Heritage Walk