‘Keele to dheeli bhai, Tomara bhaya mat heen’

This couplet referring to the Iron Pillar in the Qutb Complex is one of the popular stories on how Delhi was named. Our heritage walk at the Qutb Complex explored similar interesting nuggets on Delhi and its history. Delhi is known for its capital cities, and it all started here in the Mehrauli area where the Qutb stands today. The first cities of Delhi, the Lal Kot, Qila Rai Pithora and then capital of the Turks were all here. The Complex also has the first congregation mosque, the Jami Masjid, which is popularly known as the Quwwat ul Islam mosque. It is distinctive for the reuse of material taken from temples, used to create the cloisters of the mosque. Some of the pillars have mason’s marks on them giving numbers to the pillars.

In the courtyard stands the famous Iron Pillar. Continue Reading This Post

The Chandni Chowk heritage walk was unusual this weekend…due to Independence day security measures the previous week, we held the walk in the following weekend, an in evening. We were always apprehensive of the notorious crowds and chaos of the bazaar!!!!!!!…still went ahead taking it as a challenge and also, to savour old Delhi in it’s true colors.

The city of Shahjahanabad was built in mid 17th century with Red fort as the king’s palace and Chandni Chowk laid specially for Shah Jahan’s daughter, Jahanara, who was very fond of jewellery! There were also gardens laid in her name in the centre of baazar where currently the Town Hall and Old Delhi Railway Station stand…It’s the month of Ramzan, and we were close to the time of iftaar as we passed by several food shops filled with people… Parathewali gali, pakoras all along the way, sweets of shapes and sizes, dates…

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‘Among the gifts which God bestowed upon me, was a desire to erect public buildings. So I built many mosques and madrasas and khanqahs, that the learned and the elders, the devout and the holy, might worship God in these edifices and aid the kind builder with their prayers.’

These words of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq bring to life the magnificent ruins of Hauz Khas, the madrasa complex built by him in the 14^th century. Our heritage walk this Sunday covered the Hauz Khas complex and monuments in Deer Park. The complex stands on the edge of a reservoir, which was originally built by Sultan Alauddin Khalji for his capital city of Siri. Continue Reading This Post

The Mehrauli Archaeological Park is one of the best areas to explore in Delhi. Located on the Aravallis, this area is extremely rich in history. Being the longest inhabited region of Delhi, the Mehrauli area has seen settlements for a thousand years now. This is where the first cities of Delhi came up, and even when the capital moved to other locations, Mehrauli continued to be inhabited. So this area is practically littered with monumental remains.

Our heritage walk starts at the entrance to the park. We walk towards a gateway, which gives way to a clearing. Continue Reading This Post

Firuz Shah was a Tughluq king who ruled in second half of the 14^th century. His reign is remarkable for its architectural projects. Delhi in particular is full of buildings commissioned and repaired by him. Our heritage walk this Sunday evening was around one such complex. Known as the Hauz Khas village now, it contains the remarkable ruins of Firuz Shah’s madrasa, built around a reservoir. The latter was built by Sultan Alauddin Khalji for this capital city of Siri, but it fell into disrepair, after his death. Firuz Shah not only re-excavated the tank, but also built this impressive madrasa and his own tomb along the edge of the tank. The complex as is stands today, is completely ruined, only a bare skeleton of its original grandeur, and the tank is much reduced in size. However, together they still impress the visitor.

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