Mutiny memorial: An 1857 monument in Delhi.

It was a strange day, particularly because the weather was pleasant. And it was Delhi.

Of course, this meant it had to be taken advantage of, so my mother and I set off to see the historic sites of the ridge.`

The ridge is a geographical feature to the North West of Delhi. During the seige of Delhi by the British in 1857, they had set up camp on this ridge. Later, a memorial, known as mutiny memorial was built on it, and a little later, it was declared a protected forest area. Known now as the Kamala Nehru ridge, it houses an observatory, army guard houses, a walking track, the mutiny memorial - and an Ashoka pillar(brought there by Feroz Tuglaq).

Stretching from Lala Hardev Sahai Marg, all the way past the Legislative Assembly complex, to the highway on the other side, and the North campus of Delhi university,with the Dr Karnwal road running through it, it encompasses many acres, it provides much needed green cover to the capital. (which has always shocked me with how green it is, in comparison to many other cities in the country. )

Taking the metro, we got off at Pulbangash metro station, and walked across the road, into the ridge.

The moment you step onto Dr Karnwal road, the drop in temperature is visible, as the road begins to slope upward. Rising up, it goes past a park, and all the way as far as the eye can see, with trees hanging overhead all around. 

As we walked, a Gothic spire suddenly rose out of the trees in the distance. As we got closer, we realised what it was - the mutiny memorial. 

The gate was closed, but a security guard came and opened it for us. Rising up, about 34 metres high, stood the memorial.
Right at the base, was a board, set up by the ASI, detailing the structure and history of the memorial.
This was where Taylors battery was situated, during the seige, at that very site, it says, and the pillar built in 1863.
 At the base of the turret itself was a plaque put up by the Government of India in 1972, as way of explanation in 4 languages, Hindi, . Its walls bore record of all the casualities the British sustained, European as well as Indian, and a message in four languages: English, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi, commemorating their victory as well as mourning their losses.
Location: Mutiny memorial

The mutiny memorial

The locked door leading into the turret

The security guard and a dog

We looked around for a while, as friendly dogs lazed around, enjoying a rare pleasant afternoon. 

As we were about to leave, we asked the guard about the Ashoka pillar. He confirmed that it was there, but he said the gate was always locked - but if we wanted, he would come with us, and we could jump over the gate. My mother was in no mood for such tricks, and we returned to Pulbangash, to go back to where we were staying.