Lodi Gardens (Hindi: लोधी बाग़, Urdu: لودھی باغ) is a park in Delhi, India. Spread over 90 acres (360,000 m2), it contains, Mohammed Shah’s Tomb, Sikander Lodi’s Tomb, Sheesh Gumbad and Bara Gumbad, architectural works of the 15th century Sayyid and Lodis, a Pashtun dynasty which ruled much of Northern India during the 16th century, and the site is now protected by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).
The gardens are situated between Khan Market and Safdarjung’s Tomb on Lodi Road. It is beautiful and serene, and is a hotspot for morning walks for the Delhiites.
The path from the tomb leads towards the recently created butterfly conservatory, beyond which is the Bada Gumbad complex and the Shish Gumbad. The Bada Gumbad complex consists of a massive gateway topped by a huge dome (which gives the building its name, literally, big dome), a grave platform, a mosque, and a couple of rooms opposite the mosque. The Bada Gumbad mosque is particularly notable for its fine plasterwork decoration. The Shish Gumbad which stands facing the Bada Gumbad gets its name from the blue tile decoration on its façade, which shines like a mirror in the sun; shish means mirror and gumbad is dome. Both monuments are similar in design which is typical of architecture under the Lodi Sultans.
The next stop on our walk was Sikander Lodi’s tomb. The tomb is one of the early garden tombs of India and resembles a mini fortress. The tomb is an octagonal in plan, surrounded by a garden which is then enclosed within an enclosure wall complete with bastions and battlements. A little further is one of the surviving medieval bridges in Delhi, the Athpula built in the 16th century during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar. A couple of late Mughal monuments stand in close proximity to each other. One is a garden pavilion and other is a small mosque probably meant for private use. Both these were restored a few months ago before the Commonwealth Games and look particularly beautiful when illuminated. Our heritage walk ended at the stand alone turret a few yards ahead.
History
Sheesh Gumbad viewed from the rear arch of the Bara Gumbad
The tomb of Mohammed Shah, the last of the Sayyid dynasty rulers, the earliest of the tombs in the garden, was built in 1444 by Ala-ud-din Alam Shah as a tribute to Mohammed Shah.
As there is little architecture from these two periods remaining in India, Lodi Gardens is an important place of preservation. The tomb of Mohammed Shah is visible from the road, and is the earliest structure in the gardens. The architecture is characterised by the octagonal chamber, with stone chhajjas on the roof and guldastas on the corners.
Another tomb within the gardens is that of Sikander Lodi, which is similar to Mohammed Shah’s tomb, though without the chhatris, it was built by his son Ibrahim Lodi in 1517, the last of Sultan of Delhi from Lodi dynasty, as he was defeated by Babur, First battle of Panipat in 1526, this laying the foundation of the Mughal Empire. His tomb is often mistaken to be the Sheesh Gumbad, and is actually situated in near the tehsil office in Panipat, close to the Dargah of Sufi saint Bu Ali Shah Qalandar. It is a simple rectangular structure on a high platform approached by a flight of steps. The tomb was renovated by the British, and an inscription mentioning Ibrahim Lodi’s defeat at the hands of Babur and the renovation was included in 1866.
In the centuries, after the 15th century Sayyid and Lodi dynasties, two villages grew around the monuments, but the villagers were relocated in 1936 in order to create the gardens. During British Raj, it was landscaped by Lady Willingdon, wife of Governor-General of India, Marquess of Willingdon, and hence named the ‘Lady Willingdon Park’ upon its inauguration on April 9, 1936, and 1947, after Independence, it was given its present name, Lodi Gardens.
Later, it was re-landscaped in 1968 by J A Stein, who also designed the adjacent India International Centre, along with Garrett Eckbo,[6] during the time Stein also made a glass house within the park. A British-period gateway, is still being used as an entrance that once welcomed visitors to ‘Lady Willingdon Park’.
Mohammed Shah’s Tomb
In the middle of the gardens is the Bara Gumbad (“Big Dome”), it consists of a large rubble-construct dome, it is not a tomb[citation needed] but a gateway to an attached a three domed masjid (mosque), both built in 1494 during the reign of Sikander Lodi, there is also a residence surrounding a central courtyard, where the remains of a water tank can be seen. Opposite the Bara Gumbad is the Sheesh Gumbad (“Glass dome”) for the glazed tiles used in its construction, which contains the remains of an unknown family, this was also built during the reign of Sikander Lodi.
Lodi Gardens – a green haven on Lodhi Road
Further into the gardens, are remains of a watercourse connected to the Yamuna River to Sikander Lodi’s tomb. This tomb still has the battlements enclosing it. Nearby to Sikander’s tomb is the Athpula (“Eight Piered”) Bridge, the last of the buildings in Delhi, built during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar, it contains seven arches, amongst which the central one being the largest.
Since 2005, INTACH and Archeological Survey of India (ASI) organize heritage walks for students and general public within the park area, which has become a favorite with morning walkers and yoga enthusiasts. It is also a popular picnic spot for the residents of New Delhi. INTACH has made available a small booklet, offering information about park’s history, and the monuments, birds and trees within the complex. In 2009, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) awarded the restoration project of five monuments with the garden in phases to and INTACH Delhi Chapter, starting with the Bara Gumbad, Shish Gumbad and Mohammed Shah’s Tomb, after conservation report for the sites were being prepared since 2007. The MoU of the Rs 1 crore, first phase of the project funded by Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) was signed in 2005, initiating the process of conservation in which structural work began in 2009.
