Lodhi Gardens and Tombs

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         Lodhi  Garden and Tombs

       Situated in the heart of  Delhi  at an 80 acre expanse the  Lodhi  Gardens is the  green  heart of Delhi and a place of  leisure for the elite Lutyens Delhi. A morning walk in the garden takes you to a different world. The  garden  they say is home to  a myriad  of birds including  Cuckoos,  Black Myna,  Woodpecker,  Hornbills and House  Sparrows. The different sounds made by  these birds combine for  a early morning Raga to be enjoyed. You can see a group of middle aged   Ladies and Gents  practising yoga to commands from their master and a lonely old man laughing out loudly and continuously to  relieve his stress.

          The present  Garden  was once a village  called Khairpur and home  to  Tombs of the  15th  century  rulers of Sayyid and Lodi Dynasties of Delhi.  They erected  beautiful  tombs where  the  Sultans including  Mohammed Shah  Sayyid (1434-1445) Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517) and a host of their nobles  are interred. The  present  gardens were developed around  the  Tombs  by evicting  the  villagers  of Khairpur in 1936 when  New Delhi  was being developed during the Governorship  of Lord Willingdon.  It was again redeveloped in 1968.

Red Fort (Lal Qila)

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             Red Fort (Lal Qila)
   
        This more than 300 year old  was built by Shajahan since he  wanted to shift the capital  from  Agra  as it was overcrowded.  The construction started around  1638 and was completed  in the  year 1648. Compared to  Agra  Fort  Lal Qila or Red Fort  is not  that  grand. Over a period  of time  due  to invasion of  Nadir  Shah in 1739 and after  the  Sepoy  Mutiny  in 1857 many of the grand buildings inside the Fort were demolished. The  British  built  many barracks in the Fort after demolition of the  old buildings after 1857 which are out of place in this heritage site. Only a very  few 17th century  buildings are left in the  Fort like Meena Bazar, Naubat Khana, Diwani-i-Am, Diwani-i-Khas, Rang Mahal, Zafar Mahal, Moti Masjid, Khizri Gate.  These buildings are maintained well by the ASI.

Meena Bazaar:  This Bazaar was an exclusive retail bazaar  which was frequented  in 17th and 18th  century  by the  Moghul nobles of the  Fort

Naubat Khana :   This was also called  Drum House  were  the  Musicians of the  Fort played whenever there was an occasion or when  the  King was moving in or out of the  Fort

Diwani-i-Am :   The hall of public  Audience where the King met common people to hear their grievances.

Diwani-i-Khas:  The marble hall where the king  met the important nobles.

Zafar  Mahal :  This was built by last Moghul king in 1842 where he used to sit hours together  for writing poems.

Moti  Masjid : The  private  masjid of Aurangazeb

Rang Mahal :  The place of entertainment.

Khizri Gate  :  This was  the  underground  gate from Yamuna through which Shajahan entered the Fort in 1648 after its completion for the first time.  This is also the gate through which Bahadur Shah Zafar  II escaped on 20th September 1857 from the Fort to be caught 3 days later at Humayuns Tomb  by Major  Hudson.

At James Church Copper Ball

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         The Copper Ball and Cross in St James  Church, Kashmere Gate

       This  Copper Ball  and Cross were  originally  at the  top of the central  dome of St . James  Church,  Kashmere  Gate. During the Sepoy  mutiny  of 1857 the  church  was heavily damaged when the rebels and British  had to  resort to  do or die battle  in nearby  Kashmere  gate. The  Copper  Ball was severely  pierced  and damaged by the  bullets and after  the  mutiny they were  reconstructed and every effort was made to  maintain  the original  shape. Many of the  British  Officers and soldiers who lost  their lives during mutiny lie buried here including British Commissioner of Delhi at that time  Sir  William Fraser.