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

The monuments in Hauz Khas are one of the most interesting sites in Delhi. Built around a reservoir the madrasa complex is impressive even as a ruin. Today’s heritage walk covered these monuments in Hauz Khas village and those in the Deer park. The Hauz Khas complex is in disarray these days because of undergoing conservation work. The complex is littered with stone chips, piles of cement & mounds of dug up earth. One hopes that this is wrapped up soon so that one can truly enjoy the scenery. The tank was originally constructed by Alauddin Khalji for his capital city, Siri. By the time Firuz Shah Tughluq assumed throne, the tank has silted up and people were cultivating on it. Contemporary accounts report that people has dug up private wells and were selling off water. Firuz Shah did what is he is best known for, restoration &repair of existing monuments and building water works for publics. He re-excavated the tank and built a madrasa along its edge. In the 14^th century, this madrasa would have been one of the centres of excellence for Islamic learning. 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

It was a lovely morning when the students and teachers of Delhi Public School, Gurgaon joined us at the Qutb complex for a heritage walk. They were students of humanities from class 11 and 12 accompanied by their Principal, Ms Aditi Misra and two senior teachers, Ms Lisa and Ms Sapna Dhawan. There was slight drizzle and breeze which made it fun to walk around the monuments. There were 4 of us from Delhi Heritage Walks: Chhavi, Divya, Kanika and Vijaya to interact with the students.

The Qutb Minar needs little introduction, so we tried to discuss the lesser known details about the complex. What is today the entrance to the site is actually part of a serai dating to the late-Mughal time. Our first stop was the Quwwat ul Islam mosque, built from material taken from temples. Some of the students had visited an active mosque earlier, so they were familiar with Islamic religious practices; others were quick to note how the sculptures were disfigured. Continue Reading This Post