Way back in the 13th century, Sultan Alauddin Khalji ruled from the capital city of Siri (Delhi). He decided to dig up a tank, Hauz i Alai, about 28 hectares large to provide water for the fields & the capital. After him, the Khalji dynasty declined & the tank fell into disrepair. It silted up & people carved out private plots of land on it. They dug wells & were selling of its water. (more…)
Hauz Khas village is both, one of the most well known, happening place and a neglected on at the same time. HKV as the popular jargon goes has become famous for its cafés & designer shops. But not many would know of the history of the area. It is true that the ruins here have become increasingly popular with photographers, musicians & people simple hanging around, still, there is much that is not quite well known. Our heritage walk in Hauz Khas focuses on lesser know aspects of this area’s history. (more…)
Hauz Khas is one of the urban village in the city of Delhi & Delhi Heritage Walks organizes walks to this area regularly. Our walking tour here covers the monument complex which lies behind the Hauz Khas village market. This is a 14th century madrasa built by Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq. It overlooks a water tank which was originally created by the most well known of Khalji Sultans, Alauddin Khalji. He called is Hauz I Alai. Later Firuz Shah Tughluq renamed it Hauz I Khas. The madrasa complex has remains of classrooms, tombs of teachers associated with the school, colonnaded halls probably classrooms and the tomb of Firuz Shah himself. This heritage walk also covers monuments in Deer Park which include the Bagh I Alam ka Gumbad, Kali Gumti & Tuhfewala Gumbad. This blog entry has photographs of our heritage walk to Hauz Khas & Deer Park on 23 Dec 2012, led by Moby Zachariah. Photographs are by Kavita Singh, team member, Delhi Heritage Walks.
Hauz Khas village today is one of Delhi’s urban villages. It is today known for its cafés & designer shops. There are art galleries, curio shops as well as some selling antiques. The famous Deer Park is also in the same village. It is a large patch of greenery almost surprising the first time visitor with its variety of trees & the large area. Hidden among all this a medieval tank & a madrasa, going back to the 14th century. (more…)
If a Delhi-ite wants to experience a place which tells you stories about Delhi’s Islamic rule and present life, one must visit, Hauz Khas complex. Amidst of contradictions, once forming the outskirts of the city of Siri, known for its reservoir and monuments of 14th century is now a fashion street & has come a long way. One of the most fascinating things about this place is we walk down through a busy road with shops and boutiques, this chaos and noise leads to a quite and different place, the Hauz Khas monument complex. The participants in our heritage walk are awestruck at the view when we stand on the parapet which over looks the tank; the first reaction I get to hear is “wow, what a view!†The credit of building this tank goes to Alauddin Khalji. (more…)
