Jahaz Mahal and Hauz-e-Shamsi unsung fort, signs of neglect

Quest aims at stirring awareness and opinions. Today, when all that children see are shopping malls and cineplexes, we at The Indian Express want to show a completely different picture of this city to them. Delhi has changed beyond nostalgia and recognition since Independence. How many of these kids know of the ‘Seven Cities’ of Delhi or the stories of the pigeon fliers of Old Delhi?

The idea behind such an activity is to create awareness about the various structures and monuments that the students do not know about. This is a specially designed programme, which will help the students appreciate the rich culture and background of this city. In association with INTACH and ASI, this is a small effort on our behalf to depict a phase of our national life and the decay of a whole culture, a particular mode of thought and living. The visit is followed by the students sending in articles, pictures, poems, paintings, and collages to express their experiences about the heritage walk.

We invite schools to be a part of this Express Group initiative. For queries mail to heritagewalks@expressindia.com

Near qutub, another beauty
Our school was taken to visit the historic monument of ‘Jahaz Mahal’. I am writing to seek the cooperation of my countrymen and the government to take more concerted steps towards the preservation of lesser known monuments which depict our rich past and culture. I was particularly pained to see the Jahaz Mahal in a totally neglected state. People were misusing its outer walls to run small business shops. Street kids were using it as their playground, some anti-social elements were seen gambling there and indulging in activities not conducive to the maintenance of the monument. The monument was practically in ruins and badly needed urgent repairs to restore it to its original shape and glory.

It is sad that while marching towards a more modern society, we are ignoring our history and historic buildings. These historical monuments are treasures of our culturally rich past. Through this write-up, I seek to make people aware of the state of such monuments, and to also urge the government to do all that is required to maintain such monuments. We can also assist the Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage to renovate and preserve such monuments.
RAGHAV MENDIRATTA VII-A

Informative walkathon
A few days ago, we were informed that we would be taken for a heritage walk to a historical place in the city. We were very excited about the trip.

We were taken to Mehrauli village, which was a very long way from our school. When we finally reached the place, we found a small fort and a tank beside it. Our guide from Intach told us about the fort, whose name was Jahaz Mahal. It was a very old fort. When we went inside, some students immediately started taking taking pictures of the fort. There were stairs leading to the basement and to the rooftop. We first went to the rooftop — from there we could see far-off places.

Then we went to the basement, which was hollow so that in case of a flood in the area, the water would not be able to reach the fort. This showed the architectural excellence of India long ago.

We were then taken to the tank. The guides told us about the history of the tank, called the Hauz-e-Shamsi. Our guide told us that what remains of the tank is only one–fourth of the original pond. Our guide then took leave from us and we also thanked him for giving us valuable information about the fort. It was a very informative trip.
TUSHAR BHATNAGAR VII-A

Journey to the forgotten past
I got an opportunity to visit Jahaz Mahal, a long-forgotten monument tucked away in the vicinity of Qutub Minar.

It took us an hour to reach our destination from our school. We were very excited about the trip. There were guides who provided us valuable information about the place.

Jahaz Mahal was built in the 16th Century during the Lodhi period in Mehrauli, Delhi.It is located beside Hauz-e-Shamsi, a tank built by Iltutmish. The building is so named as it was built to resemble a ship floating on s waterbed, but the water has dried up and the tank is blocked and full of weeds now. It has a rectangular courtyard in the centre with arched chambers on the sides, beautifully decorated with several designs. The main feature of the palace is its intricately carved chhatris and domed pavilions ornamented with blue tiles. The guides even told us that the blue tiles were brought to India by Muslims. This trip has given us great knowledge about our heritage and was a mesmerising experience.
ANOUSHKA KAUSHIK VII-D