Sheesh Gumbad Photo by Advaeita Mathur, Go!Places intern
Lodi Gardens is one of Delhi’s favourite spots for both exercise and lazing. Nestled in the Lutyens’ Delhi area, this 90 acre expanse of grass, ponds, trees, birds and monuments is is a refuge from traffic, smog and congestion, a jogger’s dream come true.
Sikandar Lodi (died 1517), one of the three major Lodi kings, is buried within these gardens, along with Muhammad Shah (died 1445) of the Sayyid dynasty. Apart from these mausoleums there is a large building called the Bara Gumbad, which might have been a large gateway, and adjoining it is a beautiful mosque with exquisite plaster carvings, and a rest house. Just a few steps sway is another mausoleum called the Sheesh Gumbad, for the colourful glazed-tile work on it. Along with these prominent structures one can find many small, scattered and unmarked mosques and graves all over the gardens.
Though, Lodi Gardens is named after the Lodi dynasty, many of whose tombs are located here, the gardens came about only centuries later. The entire area was previously known as Khairpur village and was well-inhabited as clusters settled around the tombs. This was largely because the area was close to the shrine of the saint Nizamuddin as well as Humayun’s Tomb, which came up decades after the Lodi tombs.
In 1936 the villages were relocated to facilitate the construction of a new ‘Lady Willingdon Park’, designed by and named after the wife of the Governor General of India. It was renamed to Lodi Gardens after Independence. In 1968 the whole garden underwent a new landscaping, this time by American architects Joseph Stein and Garrett Eckbo. Incidentally, Stein was also the designer of a host of other buildings in the vicinity, including the India Habitat Centre and the India International Centre.
Today its location in the Lutyens zone and its importance as a green lung within the city has ensured that it is excellently maintained by skilled and diligent staff. It’s well worth a visit if you are the type who wants to soak in history, not just admire it!
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This is Part 1 of a series of articles on the Lodi Dynasty contributed by a network of experts on the subject. Read Part 2 here.
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