The majestic buildings that dot the capital Delhi’s landscape and the modest streets that run through its center all shout about untold tales and sing about the histories that have been forgotten.
And while you look at them through the metro windows or include them in the background of your selfies, all they are pleading for is your ear to listen to their stories of triumph and sorrow. It’s interesting how these memoirs’ fascinating fables are intertwined with the etymology of their nomenclature. Exploring their names reveals some amazing chapters!
Barakhamba
A short distance from the Dargah of Nizamuddin Auliya in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin Basti is the extravagant Barakhamba tomb, whose noble builder chose to omit a name in favor of leaving the structure unidentified.
The architect of the monument is lost in the annals of history, and it is the design of its construction that gave it its name. The name Barakhamba, which literally means “twelve pillars,” refers to the total number of pillars that make up the tomb.
Sarai kale khan
One hundred years ago, Sarai Kale, a Sufi saint, lived in the broad lanes of this South Delhi stretch, shining in the cheery gleam of the bright day. Around the 14th or 15th century, if you had strolled by this area, the former village’s winding lanes would have sung you tales of his devotion and bravery.
The area was originally known as “Kale Khan ki Sarai” because Kale Khan was kept here; the word “Sarai” literally means a rest house for caravans or travelers. Later, Sarai Kale Khan was used as a short form of the name.
Khooni Darwaza
The history of this location, which the emperor Sher Shah Suri so lovingly constructed in the 1540s and now only whispers the rumors of its ghost stories, is painted in red.
The three princes of the Mughal dynasty, Bahadur Shah Zafar’s sons Mirza Mughal and Mirza Khizr Sultan, and grandson Mirza Abu Bhakt, were shot at close range while barefoot right here in the middle of the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg on this archway during the First War of Indian Independence in 1857. Then their remains were exposed to the public.
This gave it the unfortunate name, along with a few other heartbreaking incidents it played host to.
Dhaula Kuan
Have you ever known that there is a 200-year-old white well nearby that gave the area its name while making all those swanky turns on the Dhaula Kuan roundabout, which boasts of its size?
This old water well with white sand is located in a garden by the side of the road leading to Palam Airport. Additionally, the term Dhaula Kuan refers to a white wall that marks this location’s history, just as Dhaulagiri means “white mountain.”
Shah Alam II, the Mughal emperor of India, is thought to have built the well in the late 18th century. It now stands there with a broken ladder amid the sounds of the town, praising the masonry of the time.
Chandni Chowk
The splendor and wealth of the nation and its capital during the Mughal era are proclaimed by the very nomenclature of this location. Shah Jahan’s favorite daughter, Princess Jahanara, created and built Chandni Chowk, also known as Moonlight Square, in the middle of the 18th century. The market complex had a square-shaped pool in the middle of it, and the water glistened in the moonlight. And in this way, Moonlight Square’s name came to be the ideal choice.
Back then, a stroll through the bazaar would have revealed an amazing scene where even the shops were arranged in the shape of a half-moon! There is another version of the story that claims the name refers to the wealthy silver traders who made the bazaar famous, and that Chandni Chowk has become somewhat twisted over time.
Panchkuiyan Road
There were five wells close to the location of what is now the Ramakrishna Ashram Marg Metro station not too long ago when Delhi’s underground water table was adequate (paanch kuye in Hindi, corrupted in use as Panchkuian).
An entry gate with exposed bricks and peeled lime plaster is on the southwest side of the traffic intersection close to the Metro station, giving the impression of being in a fort.
It has a sign directing people to the entrance to the public school for the blind. The dilapidated gate opens to a sizable area that leads to a dargah that is encircled by a sizable cemetery.
Connaught Place was built in the 1920s, and after Independence, the area underwent rapid change. One well was located right inside the entryway that resembled a fort, and another, which is still present but covered, is located inside the dargah grounds.
There were three wells close to the location on the curvy road, which is now a busy intersection.
The wells, which are thought to date from the Mughal era, provided water until the 1960s or so before being removed for road widening.
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Tees Hazari
There are a few stories behind this intriguing name.
The term Tees Hazari is derived from Tees Hazar.
For his environmentally conscious daughter Princess Jahan Ara, Mughal King Shahan Jahan planted this Garden with 30,000 trees, according to Stephen P. Blake in his book “Shahjahanabad: The Sovereign City in Mughal India.” The majority of the trees were Margosa (Neem) trees.
The word “tees Hazari” is derived from the fact that 30,000 havan Kund shraddha was organized here to achieve peace after 30, 000 soldiers died in the 1857 Sepoy mutiny, according to RV Smith in his book “The Delhi That No One Knows.”
