It was the morning of Delhi’s first monsoon showers…a welcome and much needed respite from Delhi’s summer. We were a bunch of 20 odd people who turned up for this heritage walk, excited by the prospect of exploring Delhi in the rains. Take a look at the pictures…we were conspicuous wandering around with our umbrellas and raincoats.

This heritage walk covers landmarks of the uprising of 1857. We began at Nicholson’s cemetery, near ISBT. This cemetery is named after a British officer, John Nicholson, who was instrumental in recapture of Delhi by the British. He was fatally wounded during the storming of Lahori gate and was buried here. He led a force of British, Pathan and Punjabi troops and his leadership skills were legendary. He was greatly revered by his troops. It is said that at his funeral, his men threw themselves on the ground and wept. They refused to fight any more and left for the hills from where they had come, picking up flowers from their beloved general’s grave. Continue Reading This Post

Pics by Aparna Goyal

Braving the summer heat, a group of heritage enthusiasts got together to explore the landmarks of the revolt of 1857 in Delhi. We covered sites located in the neighbourhood of Kashmiri Gate which falls within the old city, the former Mughal capital of Shahjahanabad. The starting point was Nicholson’s cemetery, named after Brigadier General John Nicholson who died fighting the rebels in 1857. He was fatally shot during the storming of Lahori gate, during recapture of Delhi by the British in September 1857. Another important person who is buried here is Master Ramachandra, professor of Mathematics in the then Delhi College. Across the road from Nicholson’s cemetery are remains of the city walls and the Kashmiri gate. The road roughly marks the demarcation between rebels inside the city and where the British were camped on the Ridge. The Kashmiri gate is one of the four surviving gates of the boundary of Shahjahanabad. The others which still stand are Ajmeri gate, Turkman gate & Dilli gate. Kashmiri gate still bears the damaged done to it by the British cannons while storming the city. There is also a memorial to the dead of the British army at this gate. Continue Reading This Post

This heritage walk covers the modern neighbourhood of Kashmiri Gate near the ISBT. Most of the sites here relate to first half of 18^th century and some specific events associated with the revolt of 1857. In the 17^th century this area was part of the Mughal capital of Shahjahanabad, what is today old Delhi. Kashmiri gate has mansions of some important personalities associated with the Mughal court like, Ali Mardan Khan, the noble who was instrumental in building canals which brought water to the city and Dara Shukoh, Shahjahan’s son. Later, the British started living in this neighbourhood. It is their buildings which mostly survive now.

We started the heritage walk from Nicholson’s cemetery. John Nicholson was a British general, instrumental in breaching the defenses of rebels who were controlling Delhi, and in the process lost his life. The cemetery is named after him, but there are other important people buried here as well. Continue Reading This Post