Lodi Garden Monuments

INTRODUCTION

Lodi Garden, located on Lodi Road between Safdurjung’s Tomb and Khan Market in south Delhi, covers an area of 90 acres and is dotted with beautiful monuments and tombs, belonging to the Sayyid, Lodi and Mughal dynasties.With its undulating walking paths and jogging tracks fringed with ancient trees, colorful shrubs and flowering plants, the garden’s historical past is evidence of how the city’s present encompasses within itself a rich past.

Till 1931, these tombs, mosques and other structures stood in what was then called the village of Khairpur, on the outskirts of New Delhi. In 1936, the villagers were moved from Khairpur and a garden was laid out with native and exotic trees and plants around the monuments. It was then called Lady  Willingdon Park, after the wife of the then British Viceroy. Post-Independence, it was more appropriately renamed Lodi Garden and was redesigned in 1968, by J.A. Stein, an eminent architect, who was also involved with many other buildings around the Lodi Garden complex. Some of the buildings are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India and others by the State Department of Archaeology, Delhi.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND







Muhammed Shah belonged to the relatively short lived Sayyid dynasty which lasted from 1414-1451. One of the few architectural remains of this period is the tomb of the third Sayyid ruler, who ruled from 1435-1445.  It has some distinctive features of its time – an octagonal plan, corner buttresses, decorative plaster finish, corbelled doorways and chhatris on the roof.  The graves inside are those of Muhammed Shah and probably other members of his family.

ELEVATIONAL DETAILS & ORNAMENTATION

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

LOCATION





The Bada Gumbad Complex is located in the central portion of the Lodi Garden and includes the Bada Gumbad, a Mosque and an arched pavilion known as the Mehman Khana. The area was developed as the 'Lady Willingdon Park' in 1931, as part of the city of New Delhi.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND





This imposing building which is believed to be a gateway because of the absence of any grave, dates from the time of the Lodi dynasty (1451-1526 AD).The monument was constructed during the reign of Sikander Lodi, the son of Bahlol Lodi, who ruled for twenty-eight years from AD 1489-1517. His empire extended from Punjab to Bihar and he built his capital at Agra.

LAYOUT



'Bada Gumbad' literally means the building with a big (bada) dome (gumbad). Its entrance is accentuated by a flight of steps rising up to a height of approximately 4 m from the ground. Towering up to approximately 27 m and measuring 19 m x 19 m, this structure is one of the biggest and the finest examples of the Lodi-period monuments in Delhi.

The structure shares its plinth with a Mosque and a Mehman Khana (guest house), often also referred to as the arched pavilion.

All four sides of the structure are open and it differs in this respect from other monuments at the Lodi Garden in that the mihrab (the arch on the western wall which indicates the direction of prayer) is absent.

ELEVATIONAL DETAILS & ORNAMENTATION

Black marble has been used on the spandrels of the arches. The iwans contain the arched entrances with brackets on architraves. The brackets in red sandstone provide contrast and ornamentation on the massive structure.

The second image shows a decorative kangura or merlon pattern on the roof edge.

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

This mosque, built at the same time as the adjoining Bada Gumbad, is a fine example of the decorative technique of incised and painted limestone plaster used in the Lodi period.  Other distinctive elements are the jharokhas and corner turrets reminiscent of the Qutub Minar. An inscription over the southern mihrab (the arch on the western wall which indicates the direction of prayer) dates it to 1494.  In the courtyard in front of the mosque is a mound of rubble which was probably a grave platform.

The five-bay mosque measures 25m by 64m. The three central bays are roofed with squat domes while the two end bays have vaulted roofs.

ELEVATIONAL DETAILS & ORNAMENTATION

Facing the mosque is an arched pavilion that was used as a guest house or 'Mehman Khana'. The building has arched compartments and is similar in scale to the mosque, minus the domes and the ornamentation. The front facade has three large arched openings between the two smaller ones on the extreme left and right. Red sandstone has been used in the spandrels of the arches.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND



The Sheesh Gumbad (or 'glass dome', called so because the dome and parts of the facade were once covered with coloured glazed tiles), faces the Bada Gumbad. Home to several unidentified graves, it has been claimed to be the tomb of the first Lodi emperor Bahlol, who died in 1489.

LAYOUT

The Sheesh Gumbad has a square layout like the other Lodi tombs. It measures 17m on all sides, with a hidden staircase along its western wall that leads to the terrace above. Its western wall contains a mihrab, and the other three sides have three openings each - a central doorway flanked by two arched openings to admit light and air.

The central tomb chamber measures 10m on all sides and has several graves.

ELEVATIONAL DETAILS & ORNAMENTATION

Architecturally, the Sheesh Gumbad follows the pattern of the other Lodi tombs with a 'double storeyed' appearance, but differs from them in its ornamentation. Topped by octagonal minarets in the corners, the exterior divides itself into two storeys with the help of a projecting horizontal cornice. One can see the remnants of the former elegance of the structure in the turquoise and cobalt blue tilework on the facade.

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Sikandar Lodi is known to be the second and the most significant ruler of the Lodi dynasty and ruled from 1489 to 1517. His tomb lies about 250m north of the Sheesh Gumbad.

ELEVATIONAL DETAILS & ORNAMENTATION

Above-left: Carved red sandstone decorative bracket on the doorway



Above-right: Kalash detail carved into the doorway

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

This eight-pier bridge ('Ath' meaning 'eight') was built during Akbar's reign by Nawab Bahadur, to span a tributary of the Yamuna that probably met up with the Barahpula canal further south. The stream must have dried up at some point and part of it has now been replaced by a man-made reservoir.

This beautifully curving bridge built diagonally across the stream was originally known as  'Khairpur ka Pul' after the village of Khairpur in which it was located.

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS



Each of the eight piers supporting the seven arches of the bridge is nearly 2m in thickness. The central arch is the largest, and the others decrease in span from the center. The bridge spans a total length of 40m.

WALL GATEWAY AND MOSQUE

This small complex built during the late Mughal period consists of a tri-arched entrance gateway (above left) and a small mosque (above right) enclosed within a small garden.

The double storeyed gateway was finely plastered over Lakhori brick masonry (a Lakhori brick was slightly thinner and longer than a regular brick), and topped with a brick vaulted roof.

The single chambered mosque is rectangular in plan and crowned with three brick domes, with a courtyard on its eastern side.