Heritage Walk in Hauz Khas, 6 March 2010
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 octangonal in shapeand has a flat roof at the lower level..to support the roof there is a large thick pillar rising out of the centre of the floor..the room above has a domed roof…this would have been a library…..opposite across the tank..we could see the munda gumbad…other buidings in the complex were the three pavilions.with.square ..octangonal and hexagonal.floor with domed roof and two chatri’s that aresymmetrcal…another interesting structure,..is the t-shaped assembly hall….next to it is another structre with amosque…where renovation work is being carried out…it is renovation of the ruins or ruining of the ruins…is debatable….from tuglaq structures…thatstand for simplicity,austurity and strength..we moved to lodi pd. Structure..inside the deer park.first we waled around.. The tallest building a tomb..built during sikander lodhi’s time….it is a typical lodi building..it has the appearence of three levels on the outside due to multiple niches…to the west..is a
small and simple wall mosque…close to it is another…rather a plain tomb known as kaligumti and an attached wall mosque….it is here we ended the walk…
Posted by Rajesh Ranjan & Vijaya Walia, Team Members, Delhi Heritage Walks
