Going to Hauz Khas village was one of the things I was really looking forward to on my Delhi trip. Luckily it wasn't far from Apartment 18. I was definitely more interested in Hauz Khas village, for all the cutesy & quirky cafés & shops, but the rickshaw guy dropped us right near the entrance of Deer Park so we decided to take a stroll there.
The entry is free, just when you enter the gate you see a sign pointing to the lake with ducks (the lake is actually the revived Hauz Khas royal tank, dating back to the Mughal period) & a little forward the sign pointing to the deer park. All of the signs are in Hindi, so even I took a little time to read them. The park is very green & pretty clean too. The pathways are well paved & nice to walk on.
Many people go there to jog, but we also saw some suspicious looking couples & suspicious looking groups of men, & so keeping in mind that it's Delhi & we were just two women (dad stayed home that day) we avoided the very lonely looking paths.
This sign says Hiran Park, which translated means Deer Park. All translating credits to mom, I sadly suck at Hindi.
When we entered the lane that was supposed to be a deer park, we were sad to see an enclosure with piles of deer feed & water containers, but not a single deer in sight. Had they migrated somewhere deep into the enclosure, away from prying eyes?
Anyway we kept walking & right away turning a bend (& encountering a very creepy old man), there they were!
This was one especially curious, she came right near the mesh so we could easily touch her (but we didn't).
As I said earlier, there were a lot of deer but the double layered mesh made photography pretty difficult.
An Indian palm squirrel (thanks you for the corrections, friends!)
The amount of foliage in the deer park meant there were a lot of squirrels as well as rarer birds. One thing I have to say about Delhi in general, though is that there were many chipmunks, even in the more metropolitan areas.
Part of Hauz Khas complex
Then we went to the Hauz Khas complex which houses an Islamic seminary, a mosque, a tomb and pavilions built around an urbanized village with medieval history traced to the 13th century of Delhi Sultanate reign. It was part of Siri, the second medieval city of India of the Delhi Sultanate of Allauddin Khilji Dynasty (1296–1316).
The monuments are in pretty good shape, but it's disappointing to see a drab modern residential complex just meters away from the wall.
In my next posts you'll see some lovely places I visited in Hauz Khas village.
Looks like such a lovely place! There's a place near us with deer and I love going to see them. Also, I think that's a chipmunk and not a squirrel! Cute all the same :)
ReplyDeleteOh my... didn't realize the smaller size & stripes meant they're chipmunks (I've only seen chipmunks in India, no squirrels). Thanks Michelle.
ReplyDeletelovely pictures , I have been to this place when i was visiting india a few years back
ReplyDeleteBikram's
I never knew The Deer park has Deers.
ReplyDeleteWow that looks like such a great place! Lovely photos!
ReplyDeletewhat a sweet spot to enjoy.
ReplyDeletebut what a juxtaposition too! creepy men and sweet tender deers.
Good to see you enjoyed Hauz Khas Village. It's one of the most upscale shopping,art and culture n hangout destinations in my city. Didn't U go explore the eateries? There are book cafes,old world ones and theme ones.Lovely restaurants with authentic Sushi, French etc cuisines. The best part is the art scene. i and my husband go there for the sheer artistic aura of the place, especially the numerous lil private galleries where painting and performing art shows of some form or the other is forever on.
ReplyDeleteDid U explore the underground parts of the old madrassa? It's lovely n very exciting! U can find a lot of Hauz Khas village pictures in my FB page if U're interested
And Hey! That's not a chipmunk. it's the Indian palm squirrel.You identify it by the three dark stripes on it's fur. It's practically everywhere in Delhi, like our peacocks and peahens!My dogs love chasing them when they come to explore the plants on our balcony!The way they are always happily frolicking around, they make me feel all is right with the world :)
Looks like such a fantastic place! Love the photos! Of course the animal ones are my favorite! So adorable! Great post!
ReplyDeleteRebecca
www.winnipegstyle.ca
Well now you do.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mon. :)
ReplyDeleteIndia can be like that.
I did explore the eateries. In fact I'm blogging about the first one in the next few minutes & the second one tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI didn't explore the complex much. There was a time when archaeology interested me a lot, not anymore, sadly. We just popped in took in the view & popped out. Thanks for that, I shall correct it now. And I completely agree.
That castle is amazing!
ReplyDeletexo Jennifer
http://seekingstyleblog.wordpress.com