My mother loves all things Historical and Archaeological and though we live in Delhi, we have seen hardly any of the historical sites of the city. So this time for my Mum's 60th birthday, as a treat we decided to take her to the Lodhi Gardens where we would get a chance to see some beautiful architectural structures, enjoy a lovely walk in the beautiful garden (a rarity in itself in a city like Delhi believe you me!!!) followed by a lunch in Lodi - The Garden Restaurant of increasing popularity and gorgeous food! And it turned out to be a day to remember for all of us!
I will admit that though the monuments in the garden complex were pretty fascinating, I paid more attention to the garden, the birds and the walk around the place, and I loved every minute of it!
Lodhi garden is a walker's delight in a big concrete city. It gives one the feeling of being out there in the "fresh" air (well as fresh as it can be given its location!) and a feeling of being one with nature. It takes you away from the daily hustle and bustle of life and for a few precious hours makes you forget the city that will inevitably surround you once you step out of the garden.
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| A Small Section Leading Up To Muhammad Shah's Tomb |
We chose a Sunday to visit the place, but if you like solitude and can take the time out from work, visit the Lodhi Gardens on a non-holiday weekday. That way you will be able to take in the natural beauty and not worry about the throngs of people, all looking to escape the city! Of course, the one thing you cannot avoid are the couples locked in passionate embraces in all the nook and crannies the garden provides, trying to get those few precious moments away from people they hope to avoid and keeping out of sight as well as they can! But then again, that is just a part of living in a big Indian city.
The Lodhi garden claim to house a large number of birds. I managed to see only 3 or 4 varieties of birds including the parrot, eagles, geese and a couple of other birds commonly seen in the area. I suppose you will have to make the effort to visit the garden early in the mornings to have a better chance of seeing more varieties of birds. I plan to visit the Garden again as soon as I can manage to wake up early enough. I will definitely do a follow up post on whether I managed to catch sight of any of the birds advertised in the garden.
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| The Parrot (If You Can Spot it!!!!) |
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| The Sun Peeping Out From The Canopy Of Trees |
It was a real pleasure to visit the enclosure that housed the ducks and the geese. Artificial though it seemed, it felt good to get an opportunity in a city to observe the behavior of these birds up close. Caution to parents planning to visit with their little children - please don't leave your toddlers to run amok in the geese cage! Both have a tendency to scare each other silly, thereby creating chaos and confusion and frankly destroying the blissful peace otherwise enveloping the casual observer of nature!
Definitely worth a visit is Sikander Lodhi's Tomb, if for nothing else than the delightful garden they have maintained inside the tomb complex. They do have some of the most beautiful and exuberant flowers in the complex. I would have liked to show you more pictures of the flowers but they also feature people who might not appreciate a mention on my blog!!!!
I do not want to sound as if I am not giving the monuments their due credit. They are rather interesting and definitely worth a visit. Here are pictures of a few of them. Again, please note that I had a very cursory look at the monuments as it it was one of those days when I was more in the mood for a walk than for History.
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| Carvings Inside A Mosque |
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| Some carving Outside The Mosque Near The Bada Gumbad |
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| The Bada Gumbad |
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| Muhammad Shah's Tomb |
What was interesting about visiting Lodhi garden in a Sunday was the view of Humanity one got while walking down one of the several walking paths made in the garden. It was nice to see families coming out to spend time together in the outdoors rather than sitting at home watching television or stuck to their mobile phone. It was heartening to hear people laugh out loud and have fun. It was a joy to watch children running around and watching adults act like children while playing cricket with them. We were also treated to a group who decided to sing the afternoon away which surprisingly coincided with a couple of people who brought their guitars along. All of it created a wonderful atmosphere of which I was lucky to be a part on in these busy times.
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| Strumming The Guitar On A Lazy Sunday Afternoon |
Lodhi gardens also boast of a small bonsai section that is rather interesting for those who like these kind of things!
The ,lunch at the Lodi - The garden Restaurant was scrumptious to say the least! The offer European, Mediterranean and Lebanese cuisines - all very well prepared be it beef or sea-food or vegetarian. The staff is very friendly and helpful. I would love to go there again, the food was just too good! To add to all the AWESOME food is the ambiance. They have outdoor seating. But if you want to stay indoors, they even have an area that has glass walls so that you can enjoy the sights of natural beauty in the Garden while sitting inside. A truly beautiful place!
All in all, the day was a great success and we all went home feeling rather pleased with life. I leave you with a few more random pictures of the Lodhi gardens....
