Today was a perfect day for an evening stroll at the Lodi Garden. One of the most beautiful parks in the city of Delhi, the Lodi Garden is also full of tombs of some of the Sultans of Delhi. Our first stop on this heritage walk is in fact the tomb of Mohammad Shah Sayyid, of the Sayyid dynasty. It stands prominently on elevated ground and the perimeter is marked by tall palms in a way that the beauty of the tomb is highlighted. Next to stands ‘Buddha’s Coconut’ or ‘narikel’ the tallest tree in this park. Continue Reading This Post

This year began with a pleasant heritage walk at the Lodi Garden. When the British decided to build a new capital at Delhi, the Lodi tombs at the village of Khairpur became part of the New Delhi area. This is when a garden was planned around these tombs and the Lady Willingdon Park was created. Lodi Garden is a post-Independence name. The village was removed and the garden was landscaped in such a way that the monuments stood out as singular objects of beauty. The first stop on our heritage walk was the tomb of Sayyid ruler Mohammad Shah. This tomb is similar to his predecessor’s tomb in Kotla Mubarakpur & Isa Khan’s tomb in Humayun’s tomb complex. An octagonal building with three arched openings on each side, with sloping buttresses at each corner. The interior is decorated with incised plaster work which depicts calligraphy and arabesque. Right next to the tomb is ‘Buddha’s Coconut’ the tallest tree in the Lodi Garden which is a native of rain forests in north east & south India. It is also a favoured roost with the vultures.

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(photos by Nirmal Dayani, a regular at our walks)

This sultry Sunday evening was spent exploring monuments at Lodi Garden. Our heritage walk starts at gate number one of the Lodi Garden. As we walk in the Bada Gumbad stands majestic right before us. But our our stop is towards the path on the left. After a brief introduction, we walk towards Mohammad Shah Sayyid’s tomb. The tomb is landscaped beautifully, surrounded by tall palm trees. As we enter the tomb chamber, we see a dog lying majestically on the grave of the Sultan. The moral of the story then is, that no matter how important a person you are, somewhere down the line a dog is going to sleep on you!!!

The path from the tomb leads towards the recently created butterfly conservatory, beyond which is the Bada Gumbad complex and the Shish Gumbad. The Bada Gumbad complex consists of a massive gateway topped by a huge dome (which gives the building its name, literally, big dome), a grave platform, a mosque, and a couple of rooms opposite the mosque. Continue Reading This Post

This Sunday, our heritage walk took us around the well known Lodi Garden. Centrally located in Delhi, it is one of the most beautiful parks in Delhi and the medieval monuments in its compound have been beautifully landscaped to stand out as objects of beauty here.

The Lodi Garden itself is a creation of the British, when they were coming up with a new Imperial capital in Delhi, in the 1930s. It was then named, Lady Willingdon Park. ‘Lodi Garden’ was the name given post independence. Our heritage walk starts at gate no. 1 on Lodi Road. As one walks straight on the path leading into the park, there is fork and we took the path to the left. The first stop on our heritage trail was the tomb of Mohammad Shah Sayyid. It is a typical octagonal tomb, typical of architecture in this period. The tomb is a good example of Indo-Islamic architecture, with prominently visible chhatris, and dome topped by the lotus flower motif. Tomb has undergone conservation work, before the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Continue Reading This Post

Lodi garden in the heart of the capital is one of the best parks in Delhi. A nice place to walk around, exercise, peep inside tombs and observe birds. The Sunday evening heritage walk covered the monuments in this park. ‘Lodi Garden’ itself is a British creation. In the beginning of the 20^th century, Delhi’s landscape would have looked like a vast necropolis…miles and miles of space dotted with massive ruins. Creation of this park was part of colonial initiative to beautify their new capital, so that the monuments stand out as singular objects of beauty. Starting out as Lady Willingdon Park, it got its present name post-independence because most monuments in the park belong to the period when Lodi’s were ruling. We started our heritage walk at Mohd. Sayyid’s tomb. It is a typical octagonal tomb, which has recently undergone conservation. One can see the ‘before’ and ‘after’ pics of the tomb pasted below). As one walks towards the Bada Gumbad and Shish Gumbad, there are grave platforms on both sides of the path, which have almost been overtaken by trees growing over them. Continue Reading This Post