Lodhi Gardens 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.
About Lodhi Garden
Lodi Garden in Delhi is the combination of picturesque gardens and the 15th and 16th century monuments. It possesses gems like the tomb of Muhammad Sayyid and Ibrahim Lodi and is quite famous among the morning walkers of the nearby South Delhi area. In British times, the park was called Lady Willingdon Park. In 1968 the garden was re-landscaped to its present condition by J A Stein and Garrett Eckbo.
The garden has been carefully kept and it offers rejuvenating experience to the visitors. The tombs in the garden enhance the experience. The tombs are the integral part of the garden and are as famous as the garden itself. The garden is very popular both among the young and the old. One can travel to Lodhi Garden Delhi for a refreshing stroll or just to take a sun bath in winter.
Tombs in Lodhi Garden
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’.