Deer Park, Delhi

Teeming with a much admired variety of flora and fauna , one of Delhi’s largest green lungs and a delight for nature enthusiasts and joggers alike, the aptly named Deer Park in Hauz Khas has endeared itself amongst heritage lovers for another reason – the thickly forested, almost pristine grounds present to visitors a feast of monuments that remains hidden behind multiple layers of foliage and is reached by following a labyrinthine trail convoluting and turning over itself throughout the massive park – in fact, it is the sheer frustration at being repeatedly brought back to the same point by the slithering, sneaking maze-like pathway and the mind-boggling confusion about finding the correct way in the vast, unmanageable park that might prove a hindrance (if you do consider these one) to locating all three medieval tombs within the complex – but then it is the thrill of discovering these forgotten beautiful structures through veils of vegetation and a complexity of trails that drives the enthusiasts and the curious to explore this hidden magical nook in the heart of the city. The park promises to present to visitors the momentary surreal feeling of awestruck surprise at the sight of a marvelous centuries-old structure that just might peep out all of a sudden through thick layers of vegetation and a tangle of branches and vines or behind vibrantly colorful swings or even amidst unbelievably large mounds of dead and dry gnarled wood! For couples, the park is a heaven, one of the last remaining bastions where young lovers can meet without being judged, disturbed or subjected to moral policing by the older generations and right-wing brigades, though of course, there might be a few lonely, frustrated guys lurking behind a tomb or a tree and sneaking up on couples and clicking them while they get physical.

At Deer Park

It was a particularly sunny summer afternoon when I visited the park and the adjacent Hauz Khas complex (check Pixelated Memories - Hauz Khas Complex) – the trees seemed parched, the concrete felt as if it would melt under the fiery onslaught and the air itself struggled to escape the scorching clutch of the sun – the park’s huge trees, with their wide spread of branches and dense foliage, conspired to keep the sun from showing its dreaded face to those who were seeking asylum under their wild expanse, thereby providing much appreciated relief to humanity and wildlife. But as evidenced by the presence of scores of couples who throng to the park at all times of the day irrespective of blistering sun or drenching rain, love knows no bounds! It has been often observed that all medieval structures – be they tombs, mosques, pavilions or palaces – tend to be considerably cooler than the surrounding environments as a result of location-specific architectural practices, honed over centuries of construction, employed in their building – it is therefore no surprise that the tombs within the park become a refuge during the daytime for dreary visitors, tired couples, heat-struck rodents and hassled birds. Though at all times the park remains threatened by vandals and deranged lovers who take to monuments to vent their emotions, be it love or anger or frustration, and often leave behind irritatingly disgusting love letters or abuses, such elements are more active during the day when the crowd is relatively less and thoroughly dispersed and there is little suspicion that anyone can go about such anti-social, anti-heritage activities diurnally – the few guards on duty have it real rough, having to patrol such vast space and managing undisciplined, and in all probability uneducated, louts and vandals who are adept at badmouthing and harassing at the slightest pretext – despite my rants against the poor state that the government has subjected the monuments to, I do feel bad for the guards. 

Nothing stimulates an adrenaline rush like a friendly fight!

True to its name, the park has enclosures that house rabbits and deer and there are ponds where duck and geese waddle about in enjoyment. The deer are a real delight (probably apparent from the large number of photos I clicked), there are so many of them, and a few look suberbly majestic with their striking horns and chiseled bodies. Incidentally, it was much later that I found out about the monuments in the park, it was the deer I first read about it in a newspaper article, that’s what piqued my interest – who would have thought there are deer roaming about in a public park in Delhi! One can also spot rare avian visitors if one is observant enough – there are lapwings, peacocks, parrots, pigeons, mynas and occasional terns.

Of the three tombs within the park premises, the largest is Bagh-i-Alam ka Gumbad (“Tomb within the garden of the world”), a beautifully adorned, medium-sized tomb that seems to be a favorite with visitors, enchanting them with its modest blue tile work and exquisite multicolored medallion art on the interiors, and also attracting couples to its deep recessed alcoves where one can hope to shut out the world while embracing one’s beloved. Along the tomb is a beautiful rubble masonry wall mosque with thick turrets and a leaf-covered and bird dropping-drenched cemetery – look out for more couples in the hollow turrets, I found it amazing how people can clamber into such narrow spaces! Nearby stand the Tohfewala Gumbad (“Gifted tomb”), an unidentified tomb whose interiors are exceptionally well maintained even though the exteriors appear all run-down and crumbling, and Kali Gumti (“Little black domed structure”), another unidentified structure whose purpose for construction is unclear but whose nomenclature is arrived at after considering the organic mortar finish applied to its round dome that has taken a blackish hue over time. You can look up these structures here – Pixelated Memories - Bagh-i-Alam ka Gumbad, Pixelated Memories - Kali Gumti and Pixelated Memories - Tohfewala Gumbad.

Majestic - Bagh-i-Alam ka Gumbad

The park has been modeled by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) into creating a space to keep the local residents physically fit through the utilization of several simple exercise regimes along a fitness trail and the employment of info boards to guide and explain exercises to the visitors – the exercises are numerous and jocularly interesting, thanks in part to their naming and also to the strange set of accompanying instructions, take for instance “Jumping Jack”, “Balancing Beam”, “Straddle Walk”, “Spinal Exercise”, “Knee Bend” – it is another matter that rarely do people follow these instructions, nor are there many visitors, except couples, to the park except during early morning and evening.

Over the past few years, the park has been in the news for all the wrong reasons – official apathy, poor conservation-restoration of monuments, poor horticultural maintenance, lack of control over vandals and unruly elements, unclean animal enclosures straddled with garbage and polybags, maintenance-related issues and garbage dumping – at least the park was actually clean the day I was there – there weren’t any heaps of garbage, nor any disturbing elements, though yes, the issue of defacement and spoiling of public property, monuments especially, is glaringly rampant in the park premises; the park trails were being relaid with brick red soil and the guards were actually going about and looking after the property. Public facilities are another issue – though there are water coolers near the entrance gate, they seemed to be in a disgusting state of maintenance (the basin hasn’t been cleaned in ages, the taps do not close properly and are forever dripping thereby leading to moss deposits along the basin walls and overspill along the tiled walkways, the perennially filled basins have been taken over by hornets and one has to hope for their mercy while edging closer for a sip). It would take some time for Delhi to get its act together, the city is after all aiming for a UNESCO World Heritage City status, but at least it’s a start – in a city where parks, wetlands and forest covers are rapidly diminishing and children have to come out to play on streets for lack of proper parks and sporting facilities, such a vast green space is truly an unexpected delight! 

Look at those horns!

Location: Hauz Khas
Nearest Metro station: Green Park

How to reach: Walk/take an auto from the metro station to the park.

Entrance fees: Nil

Photography/Video charges: Nil

Time required for sightseeing: 45 min

Relevant Links - 

1. Pixelated Memories - Bagh-i-Alam ka Gumbad
2. Pixelated Memories - Hauz Khas Complex
3. Pixelated Memories - Kali Gumti
4. Pixelated Memories - Tohfewala Gumbad

Suggested Reading - 

1. Deccanherald.com - Article "City-bred make a plea for their deer" (dated July 25, 2012) by Baishali Adak
2. Hindustantimes.com - Article "Garbage and apathy choke Hauz Khas deer park" (dated July 07, 2014) by Ritam Halder
3. Livemint.com - Article "Delhi’s Belly | Gangnam, DDA style" (dated Jan 11, 2013) by Mayank Austen Soofi
4. Thehindu.com - Article "Deer Park to get another chance" (dated Dec 26, 2008) by Bindu Shajan Perappadan

Kshitish's Durgapur

The last post I put on was shared from my cousin’s photo-blog & it’s been more than a week since I myself wrote anything. I haven’t grown lazy over the past few days (ok, a little bit), but the main reason to be blamed for this lack of activity is the internet connection at my college. We are provided with high-speed internet connectivity & LAN inter-connectivity & I spend my entire days surfing the internet for reading material & history stuff like an addict. Hence, the dereliction of duty towards this blog. Thursday was a holiday, it was celebrated as the Hindu God Krishna’s birthday throughout the country. Had I been back in Delhi I would have gone to the temple nearest to my house & taken photographs of the proceedings & celebration. But Janmashtami (as the occasion is called in Hindi) is not celebrated with the same pomp & gaiety in Bengal. Oh! How I miss Delhi!!

My friend Kshitish (who has become a fixture in this blog’s posts, in terms of new ideas & topics for photography) suggested we visit the nearby rural/semi-urban areas of Durgapur (that’s where my college is situated, some 3 hours from Calcutta). I was baffled – to a Delhiite, the entire Durgapur is semi-urban!! So we decided for a photo walk at 6 in the morning. Sadly neither of us woke up at the decided time & 4 hour later while brushing our teeth we were still discussing where to go. The sun was up high & it was getting real hot & sticky humid & we decided to convert the photo walk to a photo motorcycle ride (if there is any such thing). We borrowed a rickety motorcycle - that stopped more than it ran - from a friend (no names – he would flay us if we say anything about his bike) & off we were. Wandering here & there through parts of the city we had already seen, still confused about where to head. For the uninitiated, Durgapur is one of the most planned cities of the country, boasting of 2 national resources – the Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP as it is called) & your truly’s college (wonders of wonders!!). There are wide roads, boulevards, public parks – but the city planners could not change the rural nature of the township & there are no large malls (except one) or markets (again except one) or for that matter, any other spot of historical or national importance. So phut-phutting our way around, Kshitish decided that we should stop at a tea-shop & have some cigarettes & then continue from there on foot. From one tea-shop to other, we wandered & talked to people. Actually, Kshitish talked to people. I somehow could not open up to strangers as he does. & while he talked, I photographed birds. & dogs. & goats. & more birds. I am posting a picture I clicked (& we all liked) – the bird is called “Lali” in Hindi. I couldn't find its English nomenclature.

Lali Bird

At a small run-down tea-shop we met an old man selling lottery tickets. The guy used to work at DSP for more than 40 years & considers himself a “Sarkari Aadmi” (Government Official). He did indeed tell us that the lottery tickets are all sanctioned by the Sikkim Govt. & thanks to him several people had earned a lot of money. So Kshitish made him pose with a “V for Victory” sign to show his happiness over helping others rake in heaps of cash!!

The king-maker - Lottery ticket seller

The shop owner was a middle-aged lady with a pale face, jet-black hair & was very shy by nature. In fact Kshitish had to coax her to get a photograph clicked. & oh she was so jubilant when I showed her the photograph in my camera. Perhaps this was the first time she has been clicked. It should have been obvious to us, we are in Bengal, one of the poorest states of the country, where millions starve everyday & Calcutta boasts of Asia’s largest red-light district.

Lady in orange - Tea shop owner

Next we headed to a nearby temple, where I was handed dates as Prasad (offering) & allowed to click pictures of the beggars. The beggars too were very happy on being clicked, & wanted me to take more photographs of them while the priests tried to shoo me away. The beggars & truck drivers lying here & there seemed wasted with liquor & disease. It was very moving & I guess any sane person would have felt pangs of pain at the sight. Though most Indians have seen so much of poverty & deprivation that they have become numb to it & don’t even spare a second glance – leave alone some coins for the poor, or even sympathy!! The beggars did ask me for money when I was done & though several of the books & guides or even photography tutorials would tell you never to give money to beggars while in India, it is very difficult not to do so after seeing their horrible conditions & many-a-times, disfigured or amputated bodies.

Withered & wasted - A beggar

While I was at the temple (yes I was alone there & my poor communication skills made sure that the priest finally shouted me out of his premises – I sometimes feel like a foreigner in my own country!!) Kshitish went to a small school next door. While the entire country celebrated a vacation on Janmashtami, the kids & teachers had gathered at the Govt. funded school for the mid-day meal. It is a scheme started by the Govt. sometime back with the aim of providing nutrition to the poor & needy children & decrease the school dropout rates by providing free food to all kids who have enrolled themselves in the educational institutions. Besides this the scheme has also helped bring down the barriers of castes & religion in certain parts of the country by seating the kids together for meals without any distinction (special attention to “certain parts”). The kids were all the more eager to get themselves clicked & literally clambered all over me & Kshitish. It was so much exhilarating & at the slightest indication of a picture being clicked, they would all gather together in a tight group lest someone remained out of the photo.

The eyes say it all..

I could only take very few “portraits”, the rest are all more of group photos with everyone pushing everyone else to get in the frame. I was shoved & pulled & made to get down on my knees to show the photos to the kids & I actually enjoyed it (ok, one part of me was afraid that I would break the new camera!! My heart stopped pounding every time someone took the camera from my hands!!). But the kids looked so innocent & cute & their eyes sparkled to show signs of mischief, & the way they all laughed at each other’s photos (or may be at my photography) was so refreshing, & their curiosity heart-warming. Half an hour later, I had to literally shake all the little ones off myself in order to get up. We didn’t want to leave, & the kids too didn’t want us to leave, but the school was in progress & though the teachers had been so very cooperative with us, we didn’t want to waste the class hours & left again on the phut-phut motorbike which roars when starting. The kids all ran out to the front porch of the one-room school to bid us farewell & their “byes” could be heard even though we had covered some distance between ourselves.

Sparkling white - One of the kiddos

It has started to drizzle softly & we were enjoying the sudden change in weather (Durgapur is like that only – one minute sunny, the next it’s raining) & the cool breeze, & decided to head back home. In one of the alleys, we saw a small structure composed of stitched cane & woven bamboo, kind of like a glorified hut. Several young men had assembled there for a friendly match of carom in the amazing weather & over shared cigarettes & discussions about college life, we took several shots of the players & their endless games.

Let the games begin..

Returning to the college, I began thinking that Durgapur is a much better place then I used to think it was. Kshitish made me see a new, beautiful township full of beaming people eager to share their stories, happy in the confines of their own small worlds - contented might be the word to describe them – quick to form bonds over cups of steaming tea & cigarettes, ready to leave the tasks they have at hand to welcome you to their shops & schools. Perhaps this is the real India & I am actually a tourist in my own land. I have to see a lot now & waiting for the next Durgapur tour & have a feeling that I will miss Durgapur (& Bengal as a whole) a lot when I leave for Delhi for good.

It's not a Pokemon, you know..