A curious bunch of history enthusiasts gathered early on Sunday morning outside the ruins of the Old Fort or Purana Qila. For the more touristy kinds, Purana Qila is synonymous with boating and an adjoining zoo, but those who had gathered for a history walk hosted by 'Safarnama,' had gathered for a different purpose. They wanted to understand if the tale of the Mahabharata, dating back to 600 BCE had its origins, as claimed in the Purana Qila.
A curious bunch of history enthusiasts gathered early on Sunday morning outside the ruins of the Old Fort or Purana Qila. For the more touristy kinds, Purana Qila is synonymous with boating and an adjoining zoo, but those who had gathered for a history walk hosted by 'Safarnama,' had gathered for a different purpose. They wanted to understand if the tale of the Mahabharata, dating back to 600 BCE had its origins, as claimed in the Purana Qila.
The walk hosted by two history enthusiasts - Aakriti Suresh (21) and Annapurna Menon (21) answered many questions. The mound facing Sher Shah Mandal, which is a library built by the Mughal emperor Humayun, houses many a secret. "Since 2010 until very recently, this very piece of land on which we stand has unearthed many artefacts after excavations," said Menon.
"Pottery from the period of the Janapadas has been found in the Purana Qila, taking the habitation of this place back to 600 BCE. The mound from under which the pottery was excavated belongs to Janapada or the kingdom of Indraprastha," she added.
Current day locations in Delhi NCR like that of Vaishali, Saket and Kaushambi have derived their nomenclature from the ancient Janapadas.
Menon also mentioned that during the rule of Mughal emperor Akbar from 1556 CE to 1605 CE, noted historian Abul Fazal in Ain-E-Akbari mentions that an ancient city of Indraprastha is located on the city where Akbar's father Humayun had built his kingdom.
Adjoining the museum of the old fort is the Kuntidevi Temple. The temple, which pays an ode to the mother of the Pandavas – Kunti, is masked by dense foliage. The plaque on the Shiva and Durga temple reads that it was renovated by Pandit Gyasi Ram Bharadwaj in 1915. Bharadwaj's descendants who currently reside in the temple of the Old Fort ruins, legally own the temple property. The ruins are a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
"With Safarnama, we are trying to conduct walks for people, by moving away from what they already know and introducing enthusiasts to lesser known titbits of history by bringing in references found in ancient and modern history and archaeological literature," said Suresh.
"Our walks are theme-based. This is just our second walk. We started in September with a walk around Shahjahanabad or Old Delhi, but there was a twist. We focussed on the Begums of Old Delhi and looked at monuments from the perspective of the lesser known stories of influential women who lived in and around them. Going forward, we may have a Sufi Walk in store for those interested in the near future," said Suresh.
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