“The world speaks of the Qutub Minar and the Taj Mahal,” Shah Umair shares, adding, “but I want to tell the story of the unheard monuments, the ones that no one writes poems about.”

And so Umair, a Kolkata boy, would make frequent trips to Delhi where he would pursue this passion.

“I began reading books, gazettes, and papers that could offer some insight into how the city was built, as well as the stories that lurked behind the stone facades,” he says.

Here are a few monuments that he shares more about.

1) Bridge by Firoz Shah Tughlaq “This structure was built by Tughlaq, who did a lot of conservation work in the Mughal era,” says Umair.

“He repaired the Qutub Minar, re-excavated the lake of Khilji, and brought two Ashokan Pillars from Meerut and Haryana to the capital because he thought that they were an important piece of history.”

2) Shalimar Bagh Through his research and books, Umair learned that this Mughal garden in North Delhi was constructed by one of Shah Jahan’s wives. It was also the place where Emperor Aurangzeb was crowned.

“It was the first time that a Mughal King was crowned in a garden instead of at the Red Fort. Along with being a sacred space, the garden was also where Indian wives of British presidents lived,” he says.

3) Roshan Ara Tomb and Garden Shah Jahan’s daughter Roshan Ara was an important figure in Indian history. “She was powerful and constructed many structures in the city. She built this garden as a pleasure place for herself,” Umair shares, adding that she was also buried here.

4) Kalan Masjid The mosque was built in 1387, 300 years before the city of Shahjahanabad was established by Shah Jahan.

It is said that this mosque is the principal mosque of Firoz Shah’s city, Firozabad, and is one of the northernmost of the seven great mosques built by Firoz Shah Tuglaq’s prime minister, Khan Jahan Telangani.

5) Rajon ki Baoli “The concept of a baoli is where people can come to drink water. This act of serving people long after you are gone earns you their blessings. It makes it easier for a person to attain an afterlife,” Umair explains.

“Initially called ‘Daulat Khan’s Baoli’, the name soon changed with time as certain workers known as raj mistris began working here. Hence the baoli started going by the name of ‘Rajon ki Baoli’.”

6) Vasant Vihar “The area in which it is situated is the only surviving and revived garden out of the 1,400 gardens built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in Delhi,” Umair shares. “The grave inside the tomb has not been identified.”

The story goes that the tomb complex was encroached upon as a camping place by Partition refugees who had been living here for more than three generations.

7) Madhi Masjid The 14th-century mosque has been fortified through the Mughal era, Umair points out. “Since Mehrauli was in the bordering town of Delhi, it had to be guarded during the Mughal invasion. When one sees the structure, one can notice that the tiles are preserved till today, as is the paint.”

8) Qudsia Bagh “Qudsia Begum — wife of Muhammad Shah Rangila laid out a beautiful garden complex adjoining the west bank of River Yamuna,” Umair notes.

Later, the palace complex was used by Shah Alam II to imprison Ghulam Qadir, and in 1857, the palace was heavily damaged by the army and the mutineers during the revolt, which eventually ended the Mughal Empire.

9) Tughlaqabad Fort It is said that Delhi is made up of seven cities, and King Tughlaq wanted to make a new city fort in a way that the Mughals couldn’t surpass, says Umair. So he started constructing this township of Tughlaq.

However, at the same time, Nizamuddin Auliya was constructing his baoli. Due to the worker shortage, Tughlaq asked for the fort to be made first and the baoli later.

The workers would secretly work at night in an attempt to make the baoli and when Tughlaq found out, he was enraged. He stopped the supply of oil in the area, and legend has it that Auliya began to burn lamps of water at the construction site for the workers.

10) Tomb of Iltutmish “Everyone goes to the Qutub Minar,” says Umair. “But even though the tomb is in the same complex, people bypass it. But it is beautiful.” He says every inch of the monument is engraved with Islamic inscription. “In contrast to many tombs that have domes, this one does not.”