 A delight of joggers, picnikers and those wishing to romance with their friends or fiancees, Lodi Gardens is a huge area which has room for all kinds of people. The gardens are laid out around the enchanting and extremely beautiful tombs of the Lodi and Sayyaid sultans who ruled Delhi and the north of India in the 15th and 16th centuries.Where the gardens are now, there used to be a village which was relocated in 1936.It was at that time called Lady Willingdon Park and in 1947 it got its name Lodi Gardens. It underwent further landscaping with the addition of cemented paths and railings in 1968 under the supervision of J.A. Stein and Garrett Eckbo. It has five imposing structures, the tomb of Mohammed Shah (1444), the tomb of Sikander Lodi built in 1517, Athpula, Bara Gumbad and Masjid built in 1494 and the Sheesh Gumbad. The tomb of Mohammed Shah is also called Mubarak Khan ka Gumbad. (Gumbad means an elevated structure from the ground level where the tomb is constructed).It was an enclosed tomb with an octagonal chamber where lie the graves of Mohammed Shah and his relatives.It has stone protrusions along the arches of the verandhas and sloping buttresses and bouquets along the corners of the octagonal protrusions.The tomb of Sikander Lodi of the Lodi dynasty has close resemblance to the tomb of Mohammed Shah, while the Athpula is said to have been built during the time of the Mughal emperor, Akbar.The bridge its name from the eight piers that it boasts of. The bara(meaning big) gumbad and masjid resembles some of the tombs in the Qutab area of Delhi and the masjid adjoining it has minarets that can be seern in the imposing Qutb Minar.The arched entrances have bays with an open court linking the various structures in the masjid. The sheesh gumbad has well-decorated tiles in two shades of blue which give it the appearance as if it is glazed.
Location: Lodi Road
Timings: 6 am to 8 pm |