After an extremely humid day which reminded me of my hometown (not in a positive way), Delhi had witnessed a pleasant morning yesterday. The grey clouds hovering in the sky and smattering of raindrops provided a perfect backdrop for a journey to the past – at a place which once apparently housed a thousand- pillared palace, and is now home to ruins of forts and tombs, narrow paths flanked by tall blades of grass, rubble, rocks and stray dogs.
This was a part of Jahanpanah, the fourth mediaeval city of Delhi, built by “mad king" Muhammad Bin Tughlak around 1326-27 by enclosing within its walls the areas under the first and second cities of Mehrauli and Siri. The walls and some other parts of its ruins are now found strewn over the present-day Saket and nearby areas. The complex we went to lies behind Sarvpriya Vihar club and comprises a few structures, the prominent of them being an octagonal two-storeyed edifice known as Bijai Mandal. The site may have housed the “Hazar Sutoon” (1000 pillars) hall described by Ibn Batuta in his travelogue, but no remnants of it can be seen now. However, Bijai Mandal offers a panoramic view of some localities of south Delhi. Amidst the cardboard-box buildings nearby, one can also spot the Tughlak-era Begumpur Masjid.
The Begumpur mosque and the ruins of Muhammad Bin Tughlak's citadel came alive with narration and performance by Nitika Arora of Darwesh heritage walk group, seamlessly binding together the stories of many eccentricities of the monarch. A genius ahead of his times who wanted the best for his subjects or a cruel king whose decisions led to immense suffering for his people? The questions remain. But it is a slice of history which cannot be ignored and this is a site where the echoes of a bygone era can still be heard, despite the signs of modern ailments like littering, and use of the ruins as personal letter pad and private space for intoxication.
This was a part of Jahanpanah, the fourth mediaeval city of Delhi, built by “mad king" Muhammad Bin Tughlak around 1326-27 by enclosing within its walls the areas under the first and second cities of Mehrauli and Siri. The walls and some other parts of its ruins are now found strewn over the present-day Saket and nearby areas. The complex we went to lies behind Sarvpriya Vihar club and comprises a few structures, the prominent of them being an octagonal two-storeyed edifice known as Bijai Mandal. The site may have housed the “Hazar Sutoon” (1000 pillars) hall described by Ibn Batuta in his travelogue, but no remnants of it can be seen now. However, Bijai Mandal offers a panoramic view of some localities of south Delhi. Amidst the cardboard-box buildings nearby, one can also spot the Tughlak-era Begumpur Masjid.
The Begumpur mosque and the ruins of Muhammad Bin Tughlak's citadel came alive with narration and performance by Nitika Arora of Darwesh heritage walk group, seamlessly binding together the stories of many eccentricities of the monarch. A genius ahead of his times who wanted the best for his subjects or a cruel king whose decisions led to immense suffering for his people? The questions remain. But it is a slice of history which cannot be ignored and this is a site where the echoes of a bygone era can still be heard, despite the signs of modern ailments like littering, and use of the ruins as personal letter pad and private space for intoxication.
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