Monuments of Green Park, Delhi

Exploring beyond Hauz Khas Park

Delhi is literally littered with monuments. Tombs and mosque with crumbling domes and minerates can be found in the most unlikely of places including municipality parks and traffic islands.

William Dalrymple, The Last Mughal
…. of the great cities of the world, only Rome, Istambul and Cairo can even begin to rival Delhi for the sheer volume and density of historic remains.

Green Park, an upscale affluent neighborhood in South Delhi is the most unlikely place for historical ruins. Interestingly this posh Delhi neighborhood houses as many as 5 archaeological sites protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Collage of monuments of Green Park, Delhi
Top row left to right: Dadi Poti ki Gambud and Biran ka Gambud
Bottom row left to right: Bara Khamba, Chhoti Gumti and Sakri Gumti

These five medieval monuments share space with high rises and bungalow-like apartments of a posh Delhi locality. All the five sites are located within walking distance and can be combined with a visit to the nearby Hauz Khas Park, housing a medieval tank and several other monuments.

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Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, an ancient observatory

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

An ancient observatory

Jantar Mantars are ancient observatories constructed between 1724 and 1730 Maharajah Sawaii Jai Singh II of Jaipur. A total of five Jantar Mantars were constructed across north India and were located in Jaipur, Delhi, Ujjani, Varanasi and Mathura.

The Mishra Yantra at Jantar Mantar, Delhi

Jantar Mantar literally means a combination of instruments and formulas (jantar = instrument, mantar = formula). Each of the observatories consists of a series of masonry architecture of unique form, each with a specialized function for astronomical measurement.

Bada Gumbad, Lodi Garden, Delhi

Bada Gumbad

Lodi Garden, Delhi

Lodi Gardens (Lodhi Gardens), is an urban open space located at the heart of Delhi. The Lodi Garden covers an area of 90 acres and is located in between the Khan Market and the Safdarjung’s Tomb.

Bada Gumbad (left) and Bada Gumbad Mosque (right), Lodi Garden, Delhi

The Lodi Garden was previously known as the Lady Willingdon Park, after Lady Willingdon, the wife of then Viceroy of India Lord Willingdon (1931 – 36).

Tughlaqabad Fort, the third city of Delhi

Tughlaqabad Fort

The third city of Delhi

Tughlakabad is the most uncompromisingly militaristic ruin in Delhi, perhaps in all India. Ring after ring of rough – hewn stone walls thunder their way across the open plain on the deserted south – eastern edge of the city.

City of Djinns, William Dalrymple

Panoramic views of the bastions of Tughlaqabad Fort, delhi

The citadel of Tughlaqabad stretches over 6.5 km in circumference, the enormous structure complete with battlements and bastions dominate a stretch of the Mehrauli – Badarpur Road.

Teen Murti Memorial, Delhi

A memorial of Mysore, Jodhpur and Hyderabad soldiers of WWI

See also: Compilation of World War Memorials

The Indian Army during World War I contributed a large number of divisions and independent brigades to the European, Mediterranean and the Middle East theatres of war in World War I. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war.

Teen Murti Memorial, Teen Murti Chowk, Delhi

Today numerous memorials of the Indian soldiers in World War I dot the Indian landscape. They consists of well known towering memorials of British soldiers to hidden memorials dedicated to unknown regiments.

Purana Qila, The 6th City of Delhi

Purana Qila

The 6th City of Delhi

Delhi has remained the pivot of north India over a thousand years. The stretch of land bounded by the Aravalli Hills and the Yamuna River enjoyed a strategic advantage linking the north – western mountains to the to the fertile flood plains of the Ganges.

Sher Mandal (Left) Dominates the Purana Qila complex, Delhi

The earliest literary references identify the city with the mythical Indraprastha, the grand capital of the Pandavas, the heroes of the ancient epic Mahabharata. Interestingly in 1911 when the Purana Qila (literally meaning the Old Fort) was being cleared of squatters, officials stumbled upon a village called Indrapat within the fort complex, was it the legendary capital of the Pandavas?

Mausoleum of Ghiyas ud – Din Tughluq, A Fortified Tomb, Delhi

Mausoleum of Ghiyas ud – Din Tughluq

A Fortified Tomb, Delhi

Like a miniature expression of the whole, the tomb is defended on all sides by its own set of machicolated walls, built to keep the Angles of Death at bay; they represent perhaps the most elaborate set of defenses ever raised to protect a corpse.

William Dalrymple, City of Djinns

Ghiyas ud – Din Tughluq Tomb, Delhi

The massive fortified Tomb of Ghiyas ud – Din Tughluq lies in the shadows of the massive Tughlaqabad Fort, also a creation of Ghiyas ud – Din Tughluq. Like an umbilical cord, a causeway once linked the mother fort with the miniature fort like tomb of the emperor.

Coronation Park, Delhi, Site of three Delhi Durbars

Coronation Park, Delhi

Site of three Delhi Durbars

Delhi Durbar meaning the court of Delhi, was an Indian imperial style mass assembly organised by the British at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor ad Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911.

The towering commemorative Obelisk of the third Delhi Durbar, Coronation Park, Delhi

First Durbar (1877): The first durbar, also known as the proclamation durbar, was held in Jan 1, 1877 to proclaim Queen Victoria as Empress of India. It was an initiative of Viceroy of India Lord Lytton (1876 – 80). The Durbar was an extravaganza of pomp and ceremony including a parade on a decorated elephant by Lord and Lady Lytton in the presence of nearly 70,000 people. The imperial gathering consisted of royalty from all the provinces of India and the most senior British dignitaries.

Nicholson Cemetery, Kashmiri Gate, Delhi

Nicholson Cemetery

Kashmiri Gate, Delhi

Although Delhi has been know for its pre Mughal and Mughal architecture and it does have its share of colonial architecture. Lutyen’s Delhi, consisting of the India Gate, Rastrapati Bhavan, Secretariat and the Parliament House, consists of the hub of British colonial architecture in Delhi.

Scattered graves at the Nicholson Cemetery, Kashmir Gate, Delhi

Among the lesser known colonial monuments is the Mutiny Memorial on Delhi North Ridge (Kamala Nehru Ridge) stands out so does the St. James’ Church near Kashmir Gate. Also near the Kashmir Gate lies the Nicholson Cemetery providing an interesting glimpses of Delhi’s colonial past.

The Mutiny Memorial, Kamala Nehru Ridge (North Ridge), Delhi

The Mutiny Memorial

Kamala Nehru Ridge (North Ridge), Delhi

A strange, displaced Gothic spire, illegitimate first cousin to the Albert Memorial, it still stands today above the swirl of domes, rooftops and bazar sacks that is Old Delhi.

William Dalrymple, City of Djinns

Mutiny Memorial, Kamala Nehru Ridge (North Ridge), Delhi

Delhi Ridge, or simply The Ridge, is a an extension of the ancient Aravalli Range and runs through the heart of the National Capital Territory (NCR) of Delhi.

The Delhi Ridge covers a distance of about 35 km and refereed to as the green lung of Delhi and protects the city from the hot winds of the deserts of Rajasthan. It is divided into four zones.

North Ridge or Kamala Nehru Ridge is one of the four zones. It is a hilly area near the Delhi University. It was declared a Reserve Forest in 1915. It initially covered an area of 170 hectares but have now shrunk to 87 hectares, making it the smallest of the four ridge zones if Delhi. (See also: Historic trail along the North Ridge or Kamala Nehru Ridge)

The North Ridge, officially known as the Kamala Nehru Ridge, houses an interesting mix of monuments. Scattered along the forested region of the ridge are monuments ranging from the Tughlaq era right up to  the days of the Mutiny.

The monument that stands out among the monuments of the ridge is the towering Mutiny Memorial. It is located at the site of Taylor’s Battery during the siege of Delhi in 1857. It was built in 1863. The Gothic styled red sand stone tapering tower rises from a two tired platform and looks totally out of place.