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 lines 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. 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. Close to the entrance is a clearing, beyond a gateway, which is a recently excavated archaeological site. I shared some of my surface finds with the group: a small clay toy shaped like a horse, bits & pieces of pottery! (more…)

This walking tour combines some sites of historical interest with food stops. Our starting point was Jama Masjid, the main congregation mosque built by Emperor Shah Jahan & is still an active mosque. It is one of the biggest in South Asia, the other competing mosques being the Badshahi Masjid in Lahore & the Taj ul Masajid in Bhopal. However, much of the grandeur & beauty of the mosque is lost because of poor maintenance; (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…)

Set of pictures by Farhiz Karanjawala, a regular at our heritage walks

The monsoons have blessed us a little late this year, but oh, what a treat are the rains! One of the good things about a heritage walk in Lodi Garden is has the terrain is easy to negotiate even in rains. The payments are well marked out & the trees look mighty refreshed after the rains! Hence we continued with our heritage walk in Lodi Garden, even though the clouds threatened to pour. I started with an introduction to the history of the area and why it was the chosen area for tombs of Sayyids and Lodis. Right from the early Islamic period to 2010 commonwealth games, this complex has seen several additions and changes. (more…)