Ugrasen ki Baoli

 Delhi Heritage  Trail  : 25

        Ugrasen ki  Baoli

      This stepwell in the heart of Delhi near Connaught Place on Hailey Road is an example of water conservation in the good olden days. This Baoli or stepwell was supposed to be constructed by the legendary  Agarwal  communitiny king Agrasen. It was renovated by the rich Agarwal community people during Tughlak period  in 14th century.

        The stepwell is 60 meter long and 15 meter wide. One has to climb down 108 steps made of rock stones to reach down below were a circular well filled with water is there.  It is a three storeyed structure with arched  cubicles on either side. The place is a refuge for Bats and as you go down an eerie silence occupies the place and it is cool down there too.  It is said that it is a haunted place  after sunset and people don't dare to venture. Mostly youngsters can be seen hanging around this place.

         It is a  heritage site under Archaelogical Survey of India.

Malai Mandir , R K Puram

    Delhi Heritage Trail 24

     Malai Mandir, R K Puram

  This is a nearly 50 year old  South Indian Temple in south Delhi in R K Puram area.   Ramakrishna Puram was developed as a residential locality in  south Delhi in 1960s with the construction of staff quarters for the Goverment servants of independent India.  The bureaucracy of independent  India  at senior and junior levels was dominated by Madrasis and Bengalies. A good number of south indians (majority Tamils) settled here in the quarters allotted to them in 1960s.  The temple arose out of their religious needs.

        The foundation stone of the Temple was laid in Sep 1965 by Shri Bakthavatsalam the then Chief Minister of Madras state in the presence of Shri Lal Bahadur Sastri the then Prime Minister. Out of the donations given by philonthropists snd common man the Murugan Sannidhi on the hillock was constructed  and Kumbabhishekam done in June 1973.  It is a coincidence that Murugan temples many of whom are in hills/mountains is built on a small hillock here in Delhi too.  The shrines on the basement of Karpaga Vinayagar, Sundareswarar and Devi Kamatchi were added in 1990 and Navagraha Sannidhi in 1995.  The Moolavar Swaminatha Swami is in a standing pose as in the Temple of Swamimalai near Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu and hence the Temple is also called Uttara Swamimalai.

     The temple has a vibrant system of festivals all through the year including  Kanda Shasti, Thaipusam, Navarathri, Vaikasi Visakam and Adi Krithigai.  The devotees of the Temple among others include those from South, North and even Sikhs.  It is a symbol of Dravidian Temple architecture in this part of India.  The temple is well maintained and has a beautiful hall called Adi Sankara Hall for discourses/music programmes inaugurated in 1997. Certainly  a good place for the teeming South Indians to reinvent their culture / practices.

St.Stephens Church, Chandni Chowk

 Delhi Heritage Trail : 23

        St. Stephens Church , Chandni Chowk

        This is perhaps the second oldest church in Delhi constructed around 1862.  Will be surprised to know the establishment of a Christian  church  in Mughul Delhi. The British  started occupying  Delhi in 1803

after the  Battle of Delhi in September 1803 which  was fought  between  British  and Maratha confederacy led by Daulat Rao Scindia under whom the Moghul Shah Alam II was hostage.  The battle was fought in the  Trans yamuna area of present East Delhi in Patparganj village. The British  won the  battle against the Marathas who were more used to  guerilla  warfare. From that year the British began to  stay put in Delhi with  a senior  general  as Resident  and a retinue of his servants. Churches were began to  construct  for  their religious requirements. 

     St Stephens church was constructed around 1862 by the  Anglican  society . It is a large Romanesque  Church with  arcades on either  side and intricately carved  sandstone columns that line the facade. It is on Church Mission Road . The  colour of the church is said to symbolise the  blood of  St . Stephen the first Christian martyr and patron saint of the city. The  circular stained glass is the  one of its kind in Delhi. It has ceiling of semi circular  roof adding to its divinity. 

       The church  is a heritage  structure  as well as an active church  under  the  Church of North India, Delhi diocese. The St.Stephens College  established in 1881 and St. Stephen Hospital established in 1885 are group of institutions under the  church administration.

Safdarjung Tomb

 Delhi Heritage Trail 22

         Safdarjung Tomb

        This is one of the last Mughul grand edifice built around 1754 when the Mughul  empire was in shambles and king was loosing his powers and authority. The red sandstone monument is entered through an ornamental double storied gateway  which is quite lavishly decorated with its arched first floor still retaining the original Mughul paintings. The mausoleum is at the centre with gardens called char bagh on all its four sides giving it a grand look.  It resembles Humayuns Tomb built two centuries earlier but can never be compared with it.

     Safdar Jung  was the Governor of Awadh and was later Prime Minister under Mohammed Shah the Mughul emperor (1719-1748). The tomb was built by his son Nawab Shuja ud Dowlah as a mark of respect in his memory. The Tomb is described as the last flicker in the dying lamp of Mughul architecture in Delhi. The nearby Safdarjung Enclave is upper middle class locality and the old Safdarjung Airport is also nearby.

Flag Staff Tower

 Delhi  Heritage  Trail : 21

         Flag Staff Tower

        The area to the  north  of  Shahjahanabad  (old Delhi)  was where the British who occupied Delhi around  1803 had their  residences in the  middle of 19th century.  This area was the  former Cantonment  now called  Civil Lines. It has more than hundred year old  beautiful colonial  buildings.  This  was the  posh area of Delhi  before  independence and even now has lavish  independent bungalows maintaining  it's character. 

         The  Flag Staff Tower  is in the midst of Kamala Nehru  Ridge in Civil  Lines .  It was a signal  tower  erected in 1828 in Gothic  architecture  with castellated  parapets.  The ridge  in those  days as seen  in the  old  photograph was a barren land with low scrubs  and the  tower was the  highest point in the  ridge and signals  were  sent without  hindrance.  The  afforestation of the  ridge started around  1910 and it is now a thick  urban forest.  One  should  be  careful  with the monkeys which are  in good  numbers  and everyone walking/jogging  in the  forest has a stick in the  hand to protect themselves. 

           The  Flag Staff Tower is more famous for  it was here on 11th May 1857 when the Mutineers captured  Delhi  many  of  British residents of the  Cantonment took refuge waiting for  the  reinforcements from  Meerut. I tried to take the photograph more or less from the same angle it was taken 160 years ago.It  has a spiral staircase inside to the top.

Old picture :  Felice Beato

Lahore Gate

Delhi Heritage  Trail : 20

         Lahore  Gate

      A beautiful view of the Lahore gate facing  Chandni  Chowk around 1858 with  dwellings occupying the  open  space  outside. This  is the  main gate of Red Fort  through  which  the  Moghul  emperors in their  caparisoned elephants  and  their attendants used  to  come out of the  Fort on important  occassions.

      The  Chief architect was Ustad Ahmed Lahori of Persia.  The  work was began  in 1638 at a supremely  auspicious  time selected  by astrologers.  Since the  gate led to  the  road  to  Lahore  it was called Lahore  gate.  The  protective  bastions  around the gate were constructed by Aurangazeb during the life time of his father. The  dwellings in front of the gate  were removed in the first decades of 20th century  to make way for the present open grounds. 

Old Pic courtesy   :  George Beresford

Lodhi Gardens and Tombs

Delhi Heritage Trail 19

         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.