As the heritage enthusiasts met at the gate of Deer Park in Hauz Khas village, we formed an interesting group of professional/amateur photographers, architects, journalists, IT and management professionals and of course an historian..I started the walk with an introduction of the structures constructed by different dynasties that take us to Delhi of 13th/14th century. first structure of our walk was the Hauz Khas, a water tank constructed under the royal command of Alauddin Khilji in early 14th century,it was probably intended to supply water to the gardens and fields around Siri Fort and also way of collecting rain water.However after Alauddin’s death the hauz was not maintained, it was then restored and brought back to use by Firuz Shah Tughluq in mid 14th century..when he came to throne ,was a middle aged man and understood the need of creating public utility works, (a lesson from history for our elected leaders). 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

Visitors to the Hauz Khas heritage walk are often surprised. They hardly expect such a grand monument complex lying just behind the designer shops & studios in Hauz Khas village. These are remains of a 13^th century tank and madrasa complex built in 14^th century. Parts of it were inaccessible because of some fresh digging. The tank was built by Alauddin Khalji for his capital city of Siri and madrasa was built by Firuz Shah Tughluq. Standing among the halls and rooms of the madrasa one gets a view of the tank and also the munda gumbad, a ruined pavilion just beyond. The complex also has the tomb of Firuz Shah himself, a large and impressive building. The ceiling hof the tomb has beautiful incised & painted plaster decoration. The first storey of the madrasa have very small rooms. There is a larger gateway (now closed) which could have been the original entrance to the complex. Close by is a residential unit which now houses the ASI office. There are number of pavilions which are tombs, probably for people associated with the madrasa. Continue Reading This Post