The walk of the month for January was themed on 1857 uprising and its landmarks on the northern ridge.  The ridge is an exciting place to explore any time of the year. And this Sunday morning was a perfect day to plan the walk. We started at the Flagstaff Tower, near Delhi University VC’s office. British residents from cantonment of Delhi assembled here after the rebellion broke out in Delhi. They waited for help but none came their way and they fled to Punjab. Nearby is an enclosure which was the burial place of four British officers commanding native infantry stationed in Delhi, and were killed by the rebels. The graves do not exist anymore but the enclosure stands. From here we entered the narrow walking trails within the ridge and reached the Khooni Jheel. This water body is named so because bodies of British killed by the rebels and then then the rebels killed by the British were dumped here. Continue Reading This Post

(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 Sunday evening was a welcome respite from the usual Delhi summer. The dust storm lowered the temperature which allowed all of us a pleasant heritage walk in Lodi Garden. We were a group of about 20 enthusiasts which included architects, lecturers, lawyers and two very very young children. These heritage walks are also a great opportunity for people to interact. In fact, two of the walkers found that they lived within 50 yards of each other for past 20 years, never knowing about each other until they met on this heritage walk !

Lodi garden is actually an early 20^th century British creation, who called it the Lady Willingdon Park. Post-independence it was re-landscaped under Joseph Allen Stein. Stein also designed some of the important buildings in the neighbourhood: the IIC, the Ford Foundation are the most well known. The name Lodi Garden was also given post-Independence & comes from the fact that the most monuments belong to the reign of the Lodi kings. In the 20^th century, before the British built a new capital in Delhi, this area was a village called Khairpur. People were living in an around these very monuments. Continue Reading This Post

With a great group to interact with, this heritage walk was a lot of fun. Here are the pics of the walk. We had 2 very young kids as guests. Check out their photograph.

And as always is the case with Mehrauli Archaeological Park, most managed to get lost on their way here. This happens without fail. People are always somewhere around the place but it takes a while to get to the Park. The signage is a wreck, this time we found it dumped upside down in a ditch along the main road. A little maintenance by civic authorities & less vandalism by locals would go a long way in preserving Mehrauli’s heritage. The Park’s diversity never ceases to amaze. Almost a thousand years of history, incredible stories about characters associated with these ruins & great views. The earliest surviving building in India which uses the true arch (Balban’s tomb), the beautiful tomb complex of Jamali, follies by Metcalfe, tomb converted into a pleasure retreat (Dilkusha) & dovecot converted into a boathouse, baoli of masons… this Park has it all.

(posted by Kanika Singh & Rajesh Ranjan, team members, Delhi Heritage Walks)

Mehrauli Village Heritage Walk

Archaeology, someone said, is the science of rubbish. The definition is true to the extent that a lot of archaeology is concerned with rescuing built heritage from being lost in the ever growing city. Mehrauli Archaeological Park is one of the few places in Delhi where in gets to see archaeological excavations at close quarters. The ongoing excavation near Balban’s tomb is an example. A couple of months back this patch was completely covered with soil and vegetation. Prominent structures were the gateway & Balban’s tomb. One could feel the elevation of the ground when walking through the gateway towards Balban’s tomb. Post-excavation the earth level is much lower and ruins of a settlement (in addition to existing ones) are visible.

For some reason, the Jamali mosque was closed this evening and the caretaker was nowhere to be found. Same is the case with Madhi masjid on Dara Bari road. Continue Reading This Post