This walk was special: we had a family with two kids for company. The best part was the involvement of the kids…they tried to understand what they were looking at, had loads of questions about everything and also information & opinions to share with everyone else. In fact, the walk started with a rapid fire question round by the younger one, Sankalp. The fun was that the discussion was never limited to Lodi Garden or its monuments alone, but also soccer, butterflies, animation, movies, birds…..

The conservation work at Muhammad Shah’s tomb seems almost complete. They have started working on the other monuments in the park. We also managed to locate the butterfly conservatory…the interesting thing about this is that most people have read about it and are expect something totally different to what they see. The conservatory is a patch of land fenced off from people…Everyone thought it would be something more jazzy. A guest thought that it would be a covered space. Continue Reading This Post

The crowds at Chandni Chowk are an amazing sight, even on a Sunday morning when the market is officially closed. We were overwhelmed by the hustle-bustle of the people and traffic. From Digambar Jain Lal Mandir till Gurudwara Sisganj there were cars lined all along the road-of devotees to the Jain Mandir, Gauri Shankar temple, Central Baptist Church and Sisganj Gurdwara. Friends who visit the area are often surprised to find places of worship of all faiths so close to each other. But perhaps it is not such an unusual thing in the closely knit urban population as in our Purani Dilli. The walk covered the main street of Chandni Chowk and along with the important historical landmarks an added attraction was the food available all along. The permanent shops like Dariba’s jalebiwala, Haldiram’s and paratha shops in Parathewali gali and Chaina Ram’s had started the day’s preparations. Small hawkers selling treats like Daulat ki chaat, kulchas and chholas and freshly prepared kachoris. Continue Reading This Post

We started a bit later than the decided time: no one reached on time as no one seemed to know where the place was. Add to it the traffic jams in south Delhi and the result was a delay of good forty minutes. In fact, the first person to reach could do so only because he rode a bicycle and not a motor vehicle! Everyone complained that there is no signage to direct visitors to the park, until one of us pointed out the broken sandstone slab with the park’s name on it, lying on the ground. It was unanimously decided that this was in keeping with the ‘archaeological’ nature of the park and promptly stopped complaining!

A patch of land near the meeting point has been recently excavated. This is adjacent to Balban’s tomb. They have discovered a stone floor, a few cell-like structures and some graves. A couple of months back, this space was completely covered with vegetation and rocks. Now it is just ruins and heaps of mud. It is amazing to see how archaeological excavations alter an area. Continue Reading This Post

The weather these days is excellent, neither too hot nor too cold and the evening of 24^th was perfect to be walking around the Lodi Garden. The major buildings in this garden are from the Syed and Lodi period, with some Mughal structures. We entered from gate number one, taking the path straight ahead. Turning left from where the path ends, we walked towards Mohammad Shah’s tomb. The tomb is undergoing conservation work and was looking all pink!!!! (see picture). Guess, that’s what happens to recently conserved buildings! The landscaping of the park is well done, so the monuments are especially highlighted. The tomb on a raised mound and its surrounding area lined with pine trees looked lovely. We then walked back towards the Bara Gumbad. The mosque in the Bara Gumbad complex is exquisitely carved. We were in for extra entertainment, as a fashion shoot was underway at the mosque. We all forgot the heritage part for a moment and happily stared at the model who was dressed in a pink and purple western gown. Continue Reading This Post

A walk in Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad) was organized for IIT Delhi Alumni on 11 October. The weather was excellent and old friends getting together looked ready to enjoy themselves. The walk began with a round of introduction and Kanika Singh, the walk leader explained the places we were going to see. We started a little after 9.00 am and Chandni Chowk, the main street was already beginning to get crowded. The flower-sellers were busy selling marigold and dhatura (a poisonous weed) to visitors to Gauri Shankar temple. Food shops had started their business, their kachoris, samosas, jalebis and lassi were extremely tempting. Shahjahanabad is wonderful precisely because it combines food with history like no other place. We entered into Parathe wali gali and glanced at photographs of former Indian Prime Ministers eating at the famous shops in the gali. Except, someone noted that Nehru seemed to be eating rice and not parathas! The shops at kinari bazaar were starting their day’s business of selling goats and other embellishments for clothes and decorative items. Continue Reading This Post