It’s not every day that you come across evidence that ties together different pieces of Delhi’s history. Yet, the image of the Bara Gumbad (literally ‘big dome’) in Lodhi Gardens above does just that. The crowd in the photograph is from a 1936 event marking the inauguration of "Lady Willingdon Park"—the name by which the gardens were known at the time.
Lord Willingdon was the Viceroy of India from 1931 to 1936 and inaugurated ‘New Delhi’ just before the end of his tenure. His wife, the Vicereine, Lady Willingdon, undertook her own construction projects, including the creation of Lady Willingdon Park in 1936. What’s less known is that the land for the park was taken from the residents of Khairpur, a village that was evicted to make way for the new park. I have a few more images from the inauguration below. They show a receptive crowd, either exploring the area in and around the Gumbad or waiting eagerly for the Viceroy and Vicereine's speeches. One presumes that the latter was infused with anecdotes of Delhi’s ancient past and the preservation attempts that culminated in the park’s creation. Interestingly, the power of photography lies in its ability to both illuminate and obscure - nowhere in these pictures is there a hint of the violent eviction of Khairpur's residents.
After India gained independence in 1947, the name "Lady Willingdon Park" was scrubbed out and the gardens were renamed "Lodhi Gardens," after the Lodhi Sultanate, which ruled Delhi in the Medieval era. However, this name is a bit of a misnomer, as the area contains tombs from various periods of Delhi’s history, not just those from the Lodhi era. Despite this, the name stuck, and today, in an era dominated by concrete, the Lodhi Gardens serve as a green haven for Delhiwallas.
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