Rediscovering History at Mehrauli Archaeological Park and A Giveaway!

Today, I stared at this blank page for more than an hour as I struggled finding a perfect beginning. Then I realised, how can I even try to perfect something that is already in the past? I spent yet another hour trying to sort some stories. Then one more realisation beckoned; that these stories can’t really be sorted. They are not linear in nature and have a life of their own. Some even have alter stories like alter-egos of a disillusioned person. One never knows which one is real and closer to eternal truth and that’s the beauty of undocumented history. It doesn’t make the storyteller all mighty and powerful but lets the listener decide which version they want to embrace. Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of walking the talk with Historian and Author Rana Safvi while re-discovering some of Delhi’s long forgotten monuments at Mehrauli Archaeological Park. She had her way with these crumbling stones narrating their stories to a keen audience who were all members of Travel Correspondents and Bloggers Group.

Ever since I came to know about this heritage walk being organised, I wanted to be a part of it. But, that meant a loss of precious few hours of sleep even though it was supposed to begin at 10 a.m. Not being a morning person, I set up five alarms so that I manage to reach Mehrauli Archaeological Park in time. We assembled at the park entrance and in a few minutes began a tryst with long lost history which I suddenly developed a keen interest in. It was Ms Safvi’s storytelling which touched my heart. I’ve been a non-believer my entire life. I’ve been that person who always questions why one needs to study history. I remember struggling with dates, names and events that happened centuries ago, trying to remember bits and pieces during exam time. Maybe I crossed the line to the other side while listening to her stories. Because they were not just facts or stories, there was logic which stared at me from her narrations, which was kind of missing from the History text books which made me hate the subject while in school.

Mehrauli Archaeological Park is a treasure trove of all things past and it came alive during our walk with Ms Safvi. We crossed ruins after ruins to reach a crumbling structure which was supposed to be Balban’s Tomb. Balban was a clever slave who turned his destiny around and became an emperor, and a really cruel one at that. His elder son Khan-e-Shahid died in a battle while Balban was still alive and this devastated him. He built a tomb for his son and later was laid to rest in the same premises. There were two sarcophagi in this structure but today, no traces of Balban’s. His noble son’s tomb remains. Legend has it that Balban was so cruel that even his tomb didn’t survive after he passed away.

Look closely and notice the arch. This is one of the first true arch’s that was ever built in India. This monument narrating tales of a bygone era made a perfect beginning to our walking-tour and set my expectations for the walk. Ms Rana Safvi’s interesting anecdotes left me wishing for more!

And more is what we got. We traced history’s paths to yet another monument called Jamali Kamali’s Tomb and Mosque. The mosque was a pretty one and easily could be one of the first of it’s kind built in India. Jamali was a sufi saint who was laid to rest at this place. Ms Rana told us interesting tales of those times when these sufi saints used to spend their lives in a room and wished to be buried there after death. The presence of a mosque in the premises supports the fact that a saint needs his place of worship near him.

While Jamali is kind of an open book, no traces of Kamali have been found. He could have been a relative, a friend, a partner or a disciple. Only their souls know why these two were buried side by side, with Jamali’s tomb being in the center ( so we suspect he died first and later Kamali expressed his wish to be buried alongside)

The tomb is decorated with intricate artwork which is now losing it’s sheen. Hence, the tomb is closed for public now a days. But thanks to Ms Rana Safvi for obtaining a special permission for us to witness it in it’s current grandeur. There are traces of Turkish blue tiles in the artwork which makes it all look very pretty.

A very interesting aspect of the tomb that came to light was a kalash that had Allah inscribed on it. There’s a lesson in secularism here which we seem to be forgetting in today’s times when eating habits are enough to judge nationalities. I stared at it for long, and wished for a change. It was a moment which gave me goosebumps and I forgot everything else, including clicking pictures. If only we could rewind time to bring back good things from our past. 

There are some other graves of unknown persons who are believed to be disciples but they could easily be anyone else who wished to be buried in the premises.  Who wouldn’t want a piece of a pretty tomb to rest in?

We then moved to Rajo’n ki Baoli which is a pretty and quite an elaborate step-well. Ms Safvi very interestingly compared the baoli’s tattered walls to Facebook, both offering people a place to hang out. I could not stop wondering at this amazing comparison and once again her instantly transported us to a bygone era which kind of came alive in our conversations. I walked the length breadth and height of the baoli, located the source-well, climbed up the roof and clicked a lot of pretty pictures. But, there is something about this place that breaks my heart. Let me know if you locate  what this could be  in the following pictures.

Our last stop for the walk was Muhammad Quli Khan’s Tomb, called Dilkusha Complex. Quli Khan didn’t interest me much but the tomb did, because of a very interesting nugget of information which came from Ms Safvi. This tomb was bought by a Britisher,  Thomas Metcalfe and he converted the complex into a residential property with bedrooms surrounding a dining room made on top of the tomb, and the tombstone serving as a dining table. Dilkusha Complex was used as a summer house by the Metcalfes and many a honeymooning couples rented it out for their special times. Now, I can’t comprehend why someone would want to stay at a tomb for their honeymoon, but that was a bygone era and maybe it was what people did. But, I know that in today’s times AirBnB could make a fortune out of this idea. After all renting a tomb for a honeymoon could be the next big thing after underwater hotels. So much for modern houses and every effort that goes into building them. If  only one could just pick a pretty tomb and re-do the interiors.

Maybe it passed as a honeymoon destination because of the view of the Qutub and the proximity to this yet another legendary monument that Mehrauli has to offer. Or maybe because Dilkusha Complex had it’s own private river side and a billiards room.

With that breathtaking view of the Qutub Minar, our walk came to an end. But, the journey continues with Ms Rana Safvi’s book Where Stones Speak  which she patiently signed for all the members of the group. For the first time in my life, I am looking forward to walking through History,with this book.

And, at the end, I have a little something for you. If you’ve survived this long post, I guess you too love history or are interested in walking tours like this one. GPSMyCity has kindly offered to give-away the codes for the full version of their amazing City Walks App to my readers. I have had the pleasure of using the free version while my stay at London and I must say, I craved for more. All you need to do is to subscribe to Direct Dil Se and first ten subscribers will get a fully loaded version of the app for the city of their choice. Go ahead, enter your emails and lose yourself without getting lost!

P.S. We lost our way while trying to find out the exit gate and chanced upon this mesmerizing view of the Qutub, with hundreds of roses overlooking the monument. 🙂