Lodhi Gardens

An atmospheric Mohammed Shah Sayyid's tomb on a foggy morning

 I've briefly mentioned Lodhi Gardens already: it's a fairly large public park about a kilometer from my favourite hotel in Delhi, and a wonderful spot for a walk, not least because so many other people enjoy being there, and there's so much going on inside: it's very good entertainment!  Some areas of the park are open lawns, while other parts are quite densely treed.  There's a small lake and a number of monuments.

Old and new signs to the gardens

When I'm in Delhi I've been trying to walk a circuit or two each morning - it takes me about 30 minutes to do a lap of the park at an easy pace.  Lots of people walk, jog or (occasionally) sprint along the track which winds around the park's perimeter, past the remains of several tombs and mosques.  People in Delhi wear a variety of clothes to take exercise: some people very seriously put on the latest sporting clothes (including headbands, water bottles, and all manner of accessories!) and walk verrrry slowly around.  Some people wear street clothes (plus/minus sneakers) and zoom round barely making a sweat.  Most people seem to wear some variation on normal clothes - there are lots of women in shalwar suits with sneakers, which always strikes me as a bit incongruous.  I think it's because it's a less elegant look than is customary for Indian women.  

The jogging track - and the dirt track next to it, which I think would be much more comfortable than concrete to run on

There are many groups of people participating in yoga sessions, and quite often solitary people meditating or doing their own static exercises.

What a fantastic setting for a yoga class!!  In winter I noticed the participants put groundsheets underneath their yoga mats

In the seating areas groups of old men congregate, as they do the world over!

Early morning gossip session

The buildings date from a period within the Mogul rule, when an Afghani dynasty, the Lodhis, ruled much of northern India and neighbouring regions.  When the park was created, in 1936, it was called the Lady Willingdon Gardens, but was renamed Lodhi Gardens after Independence in 1947.

Mohammed Shah Sayyid's tomb

The palm lined pathways surrounding the tomb

The first monument I come across on my circuit is the tomb of Mohammed Shah Sayyid, the last of the Lodhi rulers.  His tomb is flanked by straight palm-lined paths which are very elegant; almost like small avenues.

The Shisha Gumbad...the remaining glass tiles are just about visible as a horizontal line above the middle arch

Facing each other nearby are the Boda Gumbad (big dome) and the Shisha Gumbad (glass dome), on which the very last remaining glass tiles with which it was adorned can just still be seen.

The Boda Gumbad - the attached mosque is up the stairs to the right

Detail of the intricate stone carving on the mosque attached to the Boda Gumbad

Sisha Gumbad is a tomb while the Boda Gumbad is the gateway to a small attached mosque, on which very delicate intricate carvings in the stone are still clearly visible.

Rambling rose garden with mosque and yoga class in background

Nearby there is a rose garden (surely British, not Mogul!?!) and the remains of a much more decrepit, smaller mosque.  The garden and mosque are surrounded by a crumbling boundary wall and this part of the park has a very peaceful, gentle air.

The tomb of Sikhander Lodhi

Walled courtyard surround Sikander Lodhi's tomb

The last building I come to on my circuit is the tomb of Sikander Lodhi, which is set apart within a walled courtyard.  Most of the gates up to the ramparts are locked, but there is one which has been forced open.  From the top of the wall there's a good view over the nearby tracks.

One of the dastardly locked gates to the ramparts.  Why have ramparts if you can't visit them?

Success!  Ramparts achieved!!

There's a lot of wildlife in the park: tiny squirrels boldly dart everywhere; and semi-wild dogs roam the garden.  They seem very tame and don't interfere at all with the leashed dogs who often accompany their owners (or dog walkers).

Squirrel!  They don't stay still for long...

...unlike the wild dogs, which don't move very often, but who seem quite happy to peacefully ignore humans

There are heaps of birds: from parrots, on specially built feeding stations to Birds of Prey taking advantage (or trying to!) of the squirrels and other small animals on the lawns.

Parrots at one of their feeding stations

BoP (centre, towards the top of the picture) hunting above the lawns

In the lake there are geese and ducks - and a fountain!

That's a very nice bridge to pause on and Think About Life for a few minutes

View from the bridge back towards the fountain

I think many people drive to Lodhi Gardens to walk: the areas around the entrances are crowded with cars, while the busy bustle of the park itself is in contrast to the streets between the park and my hotel, which are eerily quiet in the early morning.

Cars jam packed around the entrance gates...

...but very quiet streets on the walk back to my hotel