Hauz Khas is one of the historic neighbourhoods in Delhi. The locality gets its name from the reservoir, Hauz i Alai, built by Alauddin Khalji for his capital city of Siri. About 50 years after Alauddin Khalji, Firuz Shah Tughluq restored the dried-up tank, built his own tomb and madrasa along its edge and called it Hauz Khas or ‘royal tank’. The madrasa complex is impressive even after more than 6 centuries. The tank, in a much altered state, still holds some water. The complex has remains of assembly halls, small-cell like rooms, a mosque and several tombs which probably of prominent members of the madrasa. Firuz Shah’s tomb stands at the junction of the 2 wings of the madrasa. Parts of the monument complex, including Firuz Shah’s tomb is currently undergoing restoration work by Archaeological Survey of India. This heritage walk covers monuments in Hauz Khas village and the adjacent Deer Park. There are 3 prominent monuments in the Deer Park: Lodi period tomb called Bagh i Alam ka Gumbad, and two Tughluq period tombs, the Kali Gumti and the Tuhfewala gumbad. Bagh i Alam ka Gumbad is much like the Lodi tombs in Lodi Garden. Continue Reading This Post

Pic by Rupa Gandhi, heritage walk enthusiast

Interesting Walk on a sultry evening…we were a multi-lingual and multi-national group, including two visitors from China and one from Italy. The major buildings in this garden are from the Sayyid and Lodi period. There also exist some late-Mughal structures…the garden created by the British and named after Lady Willingdon in 1936. It was renamed Lodi garden after Independence as most of the structures are from Lodi period. The walk started with an introduction about the garden. This site was originally the village of Khairpur…Britishers relocated the villagers. The first stop was Mohammad Shah’s tomb who was a ruler of Sayyid dynasty[1434-1444). This is a typical octangonal tomb…from here a path weaves along the the newly created butterfly sanctuary to Bara Gumbad…Bara Gumbad is a tall imposing building with no grave inside and there are conflicting theories about the function of the building…it is perhaps gateway to a grave of a important personon a large platform….west to the grave is a small but beautifully decorated mosque, & on the east is a pavilion that might have housed holy men/scholars/attendents attached to the mosque..to the north of this group of buildings is the Shish Gumad,a tomb of some unknown but probably important person. Continue Reading This Post

The area that is now known as Lodi Garden was part of the village of Khaipur in the early 20th century. The villagers were relocated by the British and the space was landscaped into a garden named Lady Willingdon Park. It got its present name after independence & the garden was redesigned with Japanese collaboration in 1968. We began our walk from gate no. 1& moved towards the octagonal tomb of Mohammed Shah. The tomb was built by Alam Shah in Mohammed Shah’s memory. From this building we moved in north-west direction towards Bara Gumbad. It is a tall imposing square building with a disproportionately high dome. It is probably a gateway to the grave of an important person. On the west to the grave is a beautifully carved mosque and on the east is a pavilion that might have housed learned men, holy persons or attendants. The entire structure was built during Sikander Lodi’s time. Right opposite to this complex, towards the north is the Sheesh Gumbad, another Lodi period building. Continue Reading This Post

A perfect Saturday evening in Lodi garden, we began the walk from gate no. 1 of the park walking towards Mohammad Shah Sayyid’s tomb. The tomb is now fully restored, all thanks to the preparations for the Commonwealth games this winter. This is the only Sayyid building in Lodi garden. Historians often club Sayyid and Lodi reigns together; as a result people often are not aware of Sayyids ruling in north India. The next stop was the Bada Gumbad with its beautiful Lodi period mosque. The plaster decoration is exquisite and covers almost every surface of the mosque. Right opposite is the Shish Gumbad, a square, Lodi period tomb. We then walked towards Sikander Lodi’s tomb. True to his name, Sikander Lodi is known for his military exploits and his tomb resembles a mini-fortress. Walking around the athpula, the 16^th century bridge, we reached some late-Mughal monuments, a mosque and a garden pavilion. We finished the walk near a 14^th century turret. It was probably part of an enclosure wall which no longer exists. This is probably the earliest surviving ruin in the Lodi garden.

(posted by Rajesh Ranjan & Kanika Singh, team members, Delhi Heritage Walks)

Lodi Garden Heritage Walk