On the day of separation from you in helplessness and loneliness, nothing consoles us but the sorrow we feel for you.

O Jamali! Resort to the door of the friend, for our refuge is the door of the beloved.

These are verses by poet & traveller, Sheikh Fazlullah, who went by the pen name Jamali. And his name lives on today…the park where our heritage walk was organized is locally known as Jamali Kamali. Officially, the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, very few know it by that name. Our group of 20 odd met at the entrance to the Park and began exploring. The Mehrauli Archaeological Park is a minefield of archaeological remains! Everywhere the eye goes, there are remains of historic settlements, some almost devoured by vegetation. Continue Reading This Post

The Mehrauli Archaeological Park is one of the least known and yet, most interesting places in the city of Delhi. It is the poorer cousin of the Qutb Complex, adjacent to it, which is a World Heritage Site. The ruins in this Mehrauli park stretch all the way up to Andheria More. Our heritage walk this Sunday covers a small part of the Mehrauli Archaeological Park. There is a small clearing near the entrance to the park, beyond a gateway, which is a recent site of archaeological excavations. If we were here a little more than a year ago, the ground level was at least a feet higher and covered with vegetation. Now, one can see parts of rooms, some graves which are visible after excavations. There are probably remains of a settlement built around a courtyard. Balban’s tomb stands right next to it. A completely ruined structure, the main chamber of the tomb doesn’t even have the grave of the ruler for whom, it was built. Continue Reading This Post

Yet another foggy December morning and 12 of us assembled outside Nicholson’s cemetery to take a heritage walk down the memory lane! Nicholson was strong a British general, considered a demi-God by his Pathani and Punjabi soldiers. At the same time he has a reputation of being rude & arrogant towards the Indians. The cemetery gets its name from Nicholson, who is buried here. All around there are other small and beautifully carved sandstone and marble graves dating to the 19^th century. Our next stop on this walk is the Kashmiri gate; one of the remaining gates of the walled city of Delhi! Once on its rooftop one can see the cross of St. James’ Church and if living back in 1857 one could imagine – watching the British troops coming down from the ridge to the north of walled city! In the neighbourhood is the Lal Masjid built from the red sand stone on the upper storey of a local market built by Lala Sultan Singh. Lal masjid or Fakhr-ul-masajid was built by Begum Fatima in memory of her husband Shujaat Khan in 1729. The old Hindu College and the old St. Stephen’s buildings which came up here are now being use for MCD and Election Commission’s offices! St. James’ Church is clearly the most striking building around the neighbourhood of Kashmiri gate. Continue Reading This Post

For us the 1857 heritage walk at Kashmiri gate has become synonymous with rain. For the last three months, on the day of Kashmiri gate heritage walk, it rains! Thankfully no walk has been cancelled because of it. Rather, the rain added to the charm of walking around the city, exploring its heritage. So once again we were out with our umbrellas, walking around Kashmiri Gate

For me, leading the walk is a new experience every time:it is a great opportunity to meet people with similar interests. Their enthusiasm is infectious. For this particular walk we had people coming in from NOIDA & Gurgaon in the rains! Nicholson’s cemetery, our starting point was like a mini pool with water rushing out of it as we entered the gate. After looking at Brigadier General John Nicholson’s and Master Ramachandra’s graves we walked towards Kashmiri gate hopping and skipping around puddles & sometimes wading through water! This walk was as much a trek as it was about heritage. Continue Reading This Post

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