Monuments & Memorials: Explored the Unexplored in Delhi

Red Fort, Old Fort, Qutub Minar are perennial destinations in Delhi, and rarely any Sunday evening is spent without having ice-cream at the India Gate. However, there are some hidden gems in the city that one should explore, soak in, and revel in their forgotten heritage:

1. Roshanara Bagh

The Mughal-style palace garden was designed and commissioned by Roshanara Begum, the daughter of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, in the 1650s. One of the largest gardens in Delhi, today it boasts of a wide variety of native and imported plants, and is a popular site for bird-watching as the pond attracts many migratory birds in the winters. The elite Roshanara Club was founded on these premises by the British, and it is also the birthplace of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

2. Firoz Shah Kotla Fort

Firoz Shah Kotla is the last surviving relic of the Tughlaq dynasty. This sprawling and grand fort will amaze you with its intricacies and numerous peculiarities. There is a baoli (step well), a majestic Ashoka-era stone pillar, and secret cells beneath building platforms.People believe that the fort is home to djinns and those, who harness such beliefs, visit this fort to seek blessings and solutions to their issues every Thursday.

3. The Mosque of Khair-ul-Manzil

MahamAnga, the wet-nurse of Akbar, who later rose to the position of his prime minister, was one of the few women to hold a prominent rank in Indian history. She enjoyed enough sway to commission an educational institution, Khair-ul-Manzil, in 1561. The mosque is a confluence of both Mughal and Sultanate architecture.The gateway of the mosque is made of red sandstone, and the courtyard consists of a stone well and water pitchers for birds. The prayer hall can be reached through five arched openings, which bear inscriptions in Persian. Relics of red, yellow, and blue tiles are still visible in places.

4. Kamal Nehru Ridge

The Delhi Ridge, an extension of the northern Aravalli Hills, provides the maximum green cover in the city and is home to variegated species of birds. The northern part of the Ridge, referred to as Kamla Nehru Ridge, is located near the North Campus of Delhi University, and boasts of monuments from the time of the Tughlaqs to the British Raj. Feroz Shah Tughlaq installed a second Ashoka pillar in this area, along with a hunting lodge, and the Chauburja Mosque.

5. Qila Rai Pithora

Qila Rai Pithora or Lal Kot was built by Rajput king Prithvi Raj Chauhan, who was fondly called Rai Pithora. Some parts of these walls are massive, 5-6 metres wide and the monument once also had as many as 13 gates as entry points to the city. The ruins of the vast fort can be tracedaround areas of QutubMinar, Saket, Vasant Kunj, Mehrauli and Kishangarh. Earlier, Qila Rai Pithora was a city surrounded by fortifications. It is said to be an extension of Lal Kot, which was the first city of Delhi, built in the 8th century by Tomar kings.

6. British Magazine Memorial

The magazine a fort like structure is made of lakhori bricks is the only surviving gate which was used for storing arms and ammunition by the British. Located in the small park in the middle of too much traffic on the main Lothian road near Kashmere Gate, this low vaulted building is steeped in history. Today this site is within the Delhi Technical University campus.

7. ChorMinar: The Tower of Beheading

You read it right. This is really the Tower of Beheading, which is locally known as ChorMinar in Delhi. Of all Delhi attractions, the ChorMinar is often mistaken for an architectural wonder for its holes. It is believed that the tower once housed 225 windows or holes. But they weren’t there for ventilation, actually it these holes where severed heads of criminal offenders were displayed to deter lawbreakers as well as to instil fear among the Sultan’s subjects.