Monsoon festival to be held in Delhi’s Mehrauli
The three-day-long festival is going to be held at Mehrauli’s Jahaz Mahal between August 30 and September 1.
In a first, the Delhi government will organise a monsoon festival in the national capital. The three-day-long festival, to be held at Mehrauli’s Jahaz Mahal between August 30 and September 1, will include heritage walks, dastangoi (Persian style of storytelling), and a fete at Aam Bagh with folk music (such as Malhar and Kajri), art, as well as delicacies savoured in the monsoon such as tea, pakoras and sharbat.
According to experts, Mehrauli was popular in the Mughal era as a monsoon destination, as it has several water bodies that would fill up, as well as gardens and mango orchards that would turn greener during the rain.
The move is also part of the tourism department’s strategy to push Mehrauli as a tourist destination. The department has also tied up with civic agencies to spruce up historical water bodies in the area, such as baolis and ponds, to attract more tourists.
“Mehrauli is home to a large number of monuments and archaeological ruins. However, most tourists only visit Qutub Minar. The area, including Mehrauli village, houses old baolis and is a treasure trove of heritage,” said a senior officer of the tourism department.
“We have asked the Sahitya Kala Parishad to help organise the festival and artists for the cultural performances. The idea is to put Mehrauli on the tourist map of Delhi,” said Manisha Saxena, secretary (tourism), Delhi government. A full-fledged plan for the festival will be ready by the end of July, she said.
Swapna Liddle, a historian, co-convenor, INTACH (Delhi chapter), and one of the experts contributing to the planning, said, “It is the first time that such a festival will be held in the city. People must look at Mehrauli beyond the Qutub Minar.”
“The last Mughals, including Bahadur Shah Zafar, would visit his summer palace, Zafar Mahal, during the monsoon. Also, Phoolwalon ki Sair (“procession of the florists”—an annual celebration by the flower sellers of Delhi) used to be organised in the monsoon during the Mughal era,” she added.