Delhi-the City of Capitals - is littered with monuments. Some are well known. Countless others lie unseen. Symbols of a vivid past & present indifference.
Here are 15 #DelhiMonuments that deserve a dekko.
1. Chhota Batashewala
This is one of the 6 lovingly restored monuments by the Agha Khan Foundation and located inside the dlightful Sunder Nursery.
The collapsed dome and the verdant setting lends an ethereal quality to this palace.
Why is it called Chhota Batashewala? Well, there's a Bada Batashewala next door.
2. Khooni Darwaza
Built by Sher Shah Suri, also called Kabuli Darwaza. This innocuous looking Gate on Bahadur Shah Zafar Road hides a gory past. This is where Dara Shukoh’s head was displayed and where Maj Hodson murdered Mughal Emperor’s sons in 1857.
3. Ugrasen ki Baoli
Said to date back to the Mahabharata period, this architectural beauty hides in plain sight in central Delhi just off Hailey Road. 108 steps lead to the water, and the serene stones attract a lot of young crowd.
4. Zafar Mahal
Located In Mehrauli, this eponymous palace was the last monument of the Last Mughal Bahadur Shah Zafar. Still contains his would-be grave patch. Alas, the unfortunate last of the Mughal sovereigns was destined to breath his last in faraway Rangoon, where he was exiled by the British.
A distraught Zafar lamented from Rangoon:
‘Kitna badnaseeb hai Zafar, dafan ke liye, Do gaz zameen na mil saki kuu e yaar mein’
5.A tale on 2 pillars and an edict on rock - Ashoka the Great in Delhi
Ashoka is India’s unmatched iconic emperor who left his imprint on stone. He is not however, usually associated with Delhi.
Few know thus that there are not 1, not 2, but 3 Ashokan sites in Delhi. Two of his pillars, and one rock edict.
Two Ashokan pillars were brought to Delhi by Firoz Shah Tughlaq. The one in Kotla, his Capital is better known and was lugged from Ambala. Another one, brought from Meerut lies in the North, opposite Hindu Rao hospital.
An Ashokan edict lies unseen, unheard in East of Kailash, south Delhi; discovered by a building contractor. Here Ashoka proclaims ‘exertion in the cause must endure forever’. Alas, Delhi has forgotten the gentle emperor that speaks amidst its ruins.
6.Razia's Place
The first and only woman ‘king’ of Delhi, Razia is more famous for the eponymous film starring Dreamgirl Hema Milini and a boot-polish painted Dharmendra. In real life she lies forsaken next to Turkman gate.
Visiting her, you could almost hear ‘Ae Dil-e-Nadan..’
7.Daadi-Poti Makbara
Like many of Delhi’s monuments, we don’t know if and which grandma-daughter combine lie here, but a quaint enough site, just off Aurobindo Place market.
8.Banda The Bahadur
Delhi has a host of sites associated with revered Sikh Gurus, but few know of this Gurudwara in memory of the first Sikh military leader who took the sword to the Mughals. It was here in Mehrauli that he was martyred.
9.A memorial to 1857
It’s gothic features immediately mark it out as a creation of the Empire. Built in 1863, it commemorates the ‘Mutiny’, an indelible chapter in the history of this charismatic city. The memorial was rededicated in 1972 to the real martyrs of 1857. You can find this on the north Ridge.
10.Chor Minar
Yes, not Chaar (4) but Chor Minar, this is a light house like tower with 225 holes, erected by Alauddin Khilji to display the heads of thiefs. Not quite a romantic hangout, but an interesting piece of medieval history. Located in Hauz Khas.
11.Sher Shah Gate
Located next to Delhi High Court on Mathura Road is this majestic Gate built by the ultimate ‘what-could-have-been’ Emperor - Sher Shah Suri, one of medieval India’s most under-rated rulers.
12.Sheikh Yusuf Qattal’s Tomb
This elegant and photogenic 12-pillar pavilion with intricate lattice work would have been a tourist attraction in any other major city. Located close to the impressive and equally forgotten Khirki mosque near Saket.
13.The abode of the Bard of Ballimaran
Urdu’s poet laureate Ghalib’s haveli, best described in the words of Gulzar:
Isee be-noor andheri see gali qaasim se
Ek tarteeb charaghon ki shuru hoti hai
Ek quran-e-sukhan ka safa khulta hai
Asadullah Khan ‘Ghalib’ ka patha milta hai.
14.Sheesh Mahal
No, this is not where Anarkali pirouetted.
Tucked away inside Shalimar Bagh, NW Delhi this is a forlorn, beautiful monument with an interesting past. Built by Shahjahan as a country house, this was the site of Aurangzeb’s first coronation.
15. Another Qutub Minar?
In the north-west corner of Delhi, in the village of Hastsal stands this remarkable ‘Mini Qutub Minar’, a hunting lodge tower built by none other than Shah Jahan.
Known locally as Hast Minar, it is so densely hemmed in by houses that you can’t spot it from 10 feet away.
This is a partial list for sure. There are countless other monuments all over Delhi that the city remembers no more, hiding in them countless stories and memories that deserve a better audience.
Delhi folks should explore more and conserve better.
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