City Walk – Lodhi Road, Central Delhi
The tree-lined pathway.
[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]
A great multitude of giant-sized trees gives Lodhi Road its grave dignity. These aged-looking brown trunks bend over the roadside making graceful swaying patterns. The branches expand and bifurcate, frequently diminishing to a twig-like thinness.
The two-mile long Lodhi Road in central Delhi provides one of the most pleasant walks in the capital.
Start the tour from Safdarjang’s Tomb, which was built during the final years of the Mughal Empire. Walk on the paved lane that runs along the road.
This traffic-heavy avenue is the address of high-status institutions and office complexes. However, the noise of cars and bikes fails to intrude into its atmospheric serenity. Here, life appears to move slowly. Men lie asleep on benches. Ice-cream vendors wait patiently for customers. The place exudes a kind of laziness that lingers in our sun-lit courtyards during the winter season.
The scenic Lodhi Gardens is visible from the road. The mausoleum of Muhammad Shah Sayyid, situated inside the park, is one of Delhi’s earliest octagonal tombs.
A right turning leads to the quiet Jor Bagh Market. Its most famous establishment, The Book Shop, is a minute-long walk from the road.
As you stroll, look out for the minimally-designed bungalows of Golf Links on your left. The India Islamic Center lies on the same side, while the India Habitat Center and the Tibet House falls on the right.
The trail turns dramatically wild as you reach Dayal Singh College. The turning to Archbishop Makarios Marg is dense with vines and bushes. From this point onwards a red wall on the left becomes your constant companion. Its higher reaches have been taken over by wet green moss. The wall encloses the grounds of the Delhi Golf Club, and is fortified by barbed wire.
Further ahead, you may chance upon gatherings of beggars and their families. The inhabitants of Lodhi Road, their shanties, camouflaged by trees, face Lodhi Hotel, which is said to have a personalized swimming pool in each room.
The aforementioned hotel stands adjacent to a Lodhi-era tomb, which shares its compound with the Centenary Methodist Church.
The pathway ends at the Lodhi Road flyover.
Where Near Khan Market Nearest Metro Station Jor Bagh Best Time Early evening
Into a green continent
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One of the best roads of Delhi from a driver’s point of view. I always try to take it and its connecting roads, Amrita Shergill Marg and Archbishop Makarios Marg, when I can.
🙂