Boson

Solo historical walk of the First city of Delhi - Mehrauli, Mehrauli park again, diverse religious places and Forts

---

Check about the previous walk tours here, here, here and here

In my diary, you may have noticed that I was rereading Delhi's history this month. If you tour Delhi alone, read Swapna Liddle. Ofc, there are heritage walks, but the thrill of exploring a place at your own pace is sometimes appreciated alone. Now, I am a person who believes curiosity is the single best thing anyone could aim for and especially by parents who can impart to their children from childhood (Shoutout to my Mom – I love you). If you have noticed my earlier articles, I try to do the same; instead of layering every minute detail myself (There is a lot I have to process during these walks), I give a tidbit. Hence, you pass the threshold of curiosity and go on researching. Many of my friends called me a good salesman in convincing them to use a service or go somewhere, but I disagree as the best salesperson should work much more subtly. However, my curiosity leaks out whenever I talk.

So, I was to go to the booksonthedelhimetro scheduled meet, but I felt this urge to bunk that after rain and go on another historical walk. The problem today is my phone display broke a few days back(I use scrcpy now), so now I have to plan everything before I go, but I am a huge fan of improv behaviours, too. To make matters interesting, I drew a rough Google Maps view of every place I wanted to visit today (around 30) with directions and even public bus numbers for places not connected to the metro. Keeping the spatial view in mind (I recently read in art research that this comes relatively easier for math and sci theory students) of Google Maps satellite view and ticking off places is so astonishing as long as you don't miss the places, recently I was reading Alignment problem of Brian. The two things I still remember in basic reward design are negative feedback and continuous feedback, aka just adding more intermediate places in the map that assure you towards your next goal and also negative places ahead in routes that help you in backtracking when you make a mistake (I only made once today but that is for failing to read a map properly on hostile place). Sorry, the map is personal, and I won't share it as we friends used to love doing graphology in university (The other handwritings you saw on this blog are not original and even deliberately masked) Also, I fucking hated hundreds of mealybugs spread everywhere in the walk from yesterday's rain, I think. AHHHH...

Morning:

Lately, I have felt the zeal to go on spiritual trips, maybe from childhood nostalgia or life crises with age or needing a different timeout. So, today I did add religious places to map – even though I would still lean on science where it supports – and I love juxtaposing things and experiences so that we will cover every religion. The day started with Chattarpur mandir in early morning, early morning temples are different vibe altogether, the design of the temple and surrounding complex is expansive and very much similar to what temples anywhere in India would look like. I then entered Mehrauli, the oldest existing city in Delhi, before Shahjahanabad, aka Old Delhi. If you remember my first walk when all these walks started on happenstance, I have been to mehrauli but it's a short trip with no objective to watch surroundings consciously, besides I was so confused that half the time I have to look at google maps at that time. The hand-drawn treasure map on paper (hey, reused paper) helps – try it. So, this time the sad reality is mehrauli isn't maintained well as the usual Delhi is, there is a stark contrast you will notice whether it is waste or civic sense on one side of Mehrauli. The Qutub Minar side of Mehrauli, where the economy is more fluid, has a different vibe. But I entered from the south, and the first stop was Hauz Shamsi, the oldest rainwater harvest reserve which served the people of that time. There are a lot of emotions you can get from that place, whether it is plastic waste(it's everywhere in today's walk) or history or pathogens of this era. I circled it to enter Jahaz Mahal. There is Jharna nearby, whose route is full of litter. Here is the only time in the day I have to backtrack in failing to read hints (I should draw distance estimates next time), but the place I entered is one of my favourites. Zahaj Mahal. Just as I was looking at its facade, I was lucky that the ASI official unlocked the inside, if I had been early I would have thought the place is restricted. Climbing up to the top of the Hathi gate makes you realise how incredible the weather and view are, and you will wonder about the times of the old and new. No wonder it is a summer palace and distinctly combines multiple styles of architecture owing to its development by multiple emperors. I loved standing here on the canopy and appreciating the day ahead. There is a marbled moti masjid to the left. Next, I walked to Kaki Dargah, one of the oldest Muslim dargahs. His spiritual successor's successor is Nizamuddin Auliya, whose dargah is near one of Delhi's main railway stations. From there, I went to Bahadur Singh's Gurudwara to appreciate Sikhism; both dargahs and Gurudwaras require your head to be covered, but no worries, both these places provide coverings. Walking to Bhool Bhulaiya and appreciating the motifs, whether it is hexagrams you see everywhere today or distinctive changes in architecture, is what you should keep an eye out for—then walking to Yogmaya temple, one of the oldest Hindu temples in Delhi and with the unique festival “Phool Walon ka sair” history still connecting Muslims and Hindus in Mehrauli. The nearby Sai temple (I have been surprised not many are aware of Shirdi Sai in Delhi, who has both Hindu and Muslim followers from his knowledge and service) is quintessentially sai temple by having pot water (I hate plastic water bottles, and you should read wasteland by Oliver, even if you are content on disposing such plastic properly in wastebin the end journey is very bleak). Next is distinctly neo-Mughal architecture imprinted on the oldest St. John's Church. The blackest water of Gandhak ki baoli, again filled with plastics on the way to Mehrauli Park, makes you sad. Enter Mehrauli Park again. I noticed Baoli, Pathan's tomb, Jamali Qamali, and I realised from Liddle that one of the pics I took the first time was of a horse stable. You should get a 360-degree view of the city from the Metcalfe canopy, whether it's a view of Qutub Minar or the park; the place is so cool. The Balban tomb lies to the side. Walking to the boathouse, I realised that to get closer; I had to pay 30 for a ticket; I chose to pass the only place in that area for now – Quli Tomb. Maybe I should have visited for its architecture, but I had this urge to rebel against ticketing for that monument from my last time experience of Purana Qila Lake. Before you judge me hastily, the ticket isn't for ASI but for the horticultural division. So, I exited the park to Enter Ahinsa Sthal, a Jain temple containing a statue of the last Tirthankara. Yeah, read the mythology of all religions. Azim Khan's Tomb is on the back, with a good city view. Next is the Ashoka Mission, a Buddhist place gifted by Nehru himself to one of the Buddhist monks. Very peaceful.

Afternoon:

My favourite lunch was Rajma Chawal, and then I tried a surprising dish that I saw the first time – Moth Chawal, with the same base gravies but a distinct taste. Then walked to Madhi Masjid. Sad to see my phone battery died here, I was listening to Genius of birds audiobook when walking on dull areas, judge me for hypocrite of hating phones but still using it. Also, I recently heard Delhi is the second city in the world to have diverse bird species after Nairobi. Check ebird if you are interested in birds, and read Jennifer's book to see how birds are not dumb. Next walking to Jain Mandir Dadabari, one of the oldest Jain place in Delhi, the temple was built recently though because of some interesting story, and if you have never been to Jain temples, you will notice the first time that there is a mix of gods borrowed from Hinduism too. That is the main message: when you juxtapose multiple spiritual places, you will notice all the architectural influences and beliefs of one another. There was a cute Jain dance going on with cute kids when I visited it. Love them. Now, I should have walked to Qutub metro and gone to Saket, but after drinking water in the Jain temple (I love when these places offer water and the same with some museums), I was back in a walking mood to the Lado Sarai bus stop. I have the bus numbers, and luckily, the right bus stopped just when I went to the bus stop.

Evening:

Deboarding the bus at Tughlaqabad Fort and entering the place in the middle of the brightest sun isn't one of my brightest ideas. But as a human, you also like imparting meaning to random events and creating stories. So, just at the exact time I was roaming the central part of the fort, a large cloud came smiling, holding the umbrella for me, and hey, I got to enjoy a crowd-free experience too because not many in the right mind will enter with the sun at this time. Walking through the Meena bazaar is eerie, and I still fear lurking bats with my encounter in childhood and, recently, David Quammen's book. The fort viewpoint is the best place to stand and appreciate. Just live in the moment. As you read from my last articles, I have lately been trying to strike up a conversation with random people when I felt the urge, and this time, I met cool guys who were working with Tata 1mg. Experiences and stories matter, not all from books. Also, they are fantastic at giving me their water. Oops, I should carry my water bottle and refill to help others. Walking next to Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq's tomb, a unique place with distinct architecture. I struck up a conversation with two art students from Delhi University who were on their walk, and we discussed mihrabs, octagonal designs and domes stability, Cenotaph designs (Male ones have ridges), Corbels and lotus finials. The words help, as James says.

You don’t see something until you have the fitting metaphor to let you perceive it – James Gleick, Chaos: Making a New Science

Next is Kaya Maya Park, then walking to Adilabad Fort and enjoying the sunset view. Finish the day with an excellent, healthy dinner of eggs and Sattu parathas. The day ended with walking almost 20km – Yay, getting near my bucket list Item 32 and also I feel fine after walking even in this climate – in 11hours duration and under 300rs budget with priceless memories. Sorry, there are no pics, but I wanted to share this awesome pic from r/delhi of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq's Tomb sunset, which captures the essential part of life.