DELHI

The assembly hall, or Majlis Khana
Hauz Khas
Back to School
As far as oases go, Hauz Khas is tough to beat. A green
lung, away from the noise and dust of the city, with
historical structures to boot and a water body to calm
the soul – all in the heart of south Delhi.
The opening credit should go to Alauddin Khilji (1296 – 1316)
who built a private reservoir when making the new city of Siri
in the early 14th century – the name means special (Khas) tank
(Hauz), made specifically for royal use. He called this reservoir
Hauz-i-Alai, and it had a capacity of about 800 million litres.
The following act starred Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351 – 1388)
who set up a Madrasa (an educational institution) called
Madrasa-e-Feroz Shahi – and established Delhi as a great seat
of learning. And the present day authorities deserve a pat on
the back for landscaping the area to make for fun outings.
The Madrasa served as a university of its time. The teachings
included Arabic, the Koran, Muslim Theology, Philosophy and
Law. It attracted scholars from as far as Central Asia to study
and teach. Persian was studied by nobles but usually through
private tutors. Citizens pursuing commercial professionals
went to their own schools where they were taught in their
vernacular languages like Hindi and Urdu.
When you explore the buildings, allow your imagination to go
back in time and visualize students pursuing academics in the
many chambers of the Madrasa. The buildings were said to
have been covered with white plaster at the time, and painted
in bright colours with golden domes. A large hall, a majlis
khana, was used as an assembly hall. Firoz Shah decided to
build his own tomb at the intersection of the two wings of
Metro: Green Park (a 20-30 minute walk from there or a quick rickshaw ride)
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