Mehrauli

Tucked in behind the more famous Qutb Minar complex is the village of Mehrauli. At first glance, a ramshackle modern urban village Mehrauli actually contains almost as many INTACH listed buildings (245) as Shahjahanabad (251).

Mehrauli’s archaeological park contains various baolis (step wells), a number of tombs and mosques in a wooded environments, whilst the village itself developed around a shrine to Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (or Qutb Sahib), the second in line of the great Chisti sufi saints (which includes Nizamuddin) and which continues to be much revered today. Mehrauli’s importance grew when the Mughals built a palace by the shrine, to act as a place of retreat from the main city. This tradition was continued during the British period (Sir Thomas Metcalfe converted one of the tombs into his home) and remains true today with the area around Mehrauli a popular site for ‘farmhouses’, as the large walled houses popular amongst wealthy Indians and expatriates are now known.

Mehrauli village is touched by one of Delhi’s oldest standing constructions, the Rajput wall of Lal Kot which dates from 1060. However, the area is quickly being taken over by modern construction and a fast growing population and how long some of its ancient buildings will survive is not clear. Traditions remain strong though, and even in modernising Mehrauli the streets were a riot of water and colours when I visited during the spring festival of Holi in March 2010.