Hauz-I-Alai

Facts & Figures
Built in	AD 1295
Built by	Ala-ud-din Khilji
Location	Delhi

Lifeline Of Siri Fort
The Hauz-I-Alai or the Hauz Khas pond is an important water work that was excavated by Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji. It was built by Ala-ud-din to overcome the problem of water shortage faced by the people of his capital city of Siri. Although the pond went into disuse after the end of the Khilji dynasty, it again gained importance under Ferozshah Tughlaq. Ferozshah excavated the pond again and built a number of buildings near it, beautifying the entire area around this pond.

Utilitarian And Indo-islamic Style
The Hauz-I-Alai is a piece of utilitarian architecture, which was built to collect and store rainwater for daily usage. The buildings around the pond, which were built by Ferozshah Tughlaq, belong to the Indo-Islamic style of architecture.

Hauz-i-alai
Sultan Ala-ud-din-Khilji (AD 1296-1316) belonged to the Khilji dynasty (AD 1290-1320), which ruled the Delhi Sultanate (AD 1191-1526). Ala-ud-din Khilji wan not only a strong monarch but also a great patron of architecture. He ascended the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in AD 1296 and started building the fort city of Siri. Siri served as the capital of Ala-ud-din Khilji and was the first city in Delhi to be built by the Muslim rulers of India. Ala-ud-din also began to put into shape his grand plans of beautifying the existing Qutab Minar complex. He added the Alai Darwaza, a magnificent gateway with inlaid marble decorations and latticed stone screens that displayed the remarkable artistry of the Turkish artisans who worked on it. He also planned to build the Alai Minar, which was conceived to be taller than the Qutab Minar; however, the construction of this tower was abandoned after the completion of the 24.5-m-high first story.

The reign of Ala-ud-din was marked by constant threats from the Mongols, who descended on the northern part of India in waves. In 1303, the Mongols under plundered Delhi and almost captured it. Meanwhile, Ala-ud-din Khilji was away from Delhi, busy with one of his military campaigns. Returning to Delhi from his Deccan campaign, Ala-ud-din Khilji decided to build a defensive fortress at Siri with strong fortified ramparts and impregnable bastions. It was Delhi's third fort. The construction of Siri Fort and the city within it began in AD 1304. The place he chose was a plain ground three miles to the northeast of Qutab Minar where forces attacking or defending Delhi used to camp.

The fort of Siri was never attacked, but it was laid to waste by later rulers of Delhi who carted off whatever building material they could use for building their own forts. The only major surviving building of Siri is at Hauz Khas (a location in south Delhi) where Ala-ud-din built a vast 50-hectare reservoir called Hauz-I-Alai for the benefit of the people of Siri. It was a fateful moment when the king chose this site to build a tank that was so large that historian Sharfuddin Yazdi is supposed to have said that an arrow shot from one end would not reach the other. Close to Ala-ud-din's capital Siri Fort, the tank contained rainwater that supplied the people with water all round the year. However, with the death of Ala-ud-din in AD 1316, the Khilji dynasty came to an end a few years later and the city of Siri was abandoned. The magnificent pond, enclosed by masonry walls, had dried up and lay almost buried under wild growth and some cultivation.

The history of Hauz-I-Alai does not end here, as it was discovered by Ferozshah Tughlaq (AD 1351-1388), one of the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate from the Tughlaq dynasty (AD 1321-1414). Ferozshah ascended the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in AD 1351. He was a pious, kindhearted ruler and a great builder. He constructed a number of works of public utility like roads, schools, canals, etc. Apart from extending the Tughlaq Empire, Ferozshah built in Delhi the fifth fortified city called Firozabad or Ferozshah Kotla. This capital city of the Tughlaqs was located in the northeastern part of present-day Delhi along the western bank of River Yamuna. The decision to build the capital city near the Yamuna was necessitated because of the scarcity of water faced in the earlier capital Tughlaqabad (located on the rocky terrain in the southeastern part of present-day Delhi).

The discovery of the abandoned pond made Ferozshah proud, as his kingdom was already facing a severe water crisis. Ferozshah is justified in feeling proud, for there was acute scarcity of water at that time, and it is on record that people used to sell water that was collected in the pond. The more enterprising ones dug wells within the pond area to draw water. Thus, assessing the needs of the people, Ferozshah got it excavated, cleaned and filled it with water once again. Hauz Khas at that time was known as Hauz-I-Alai. However, when Ferozshah built a magnificent college at one end, it became Hauz Khas. The irregular pond is enclosed by a boundary of stone and cement.

Important Monuments Near Hauz-i-alai
The pond of Hauz-I-Alai is the only surviving structure from the fort city of Siri. However, there are a couple of important monuments near this pond. The tomb of Ferozshah Tughlaq and the college building constructed by Ferozshah Tughlaq are two important monuments near the Hauz-I-Alai. It might have been a magnificent college building, but because of its ruinous state, it is difficult to tell the arrangement of the rooms.

How To Reach
Delhi is well connected by air, rail, and road with important centers of India. Travelers can reach Hauz Khas Pond in many ways. They can either take local buses from various points within the city to reach this monument, which is located in south Delhi, or, alternatively, they can hire auto-rickshaws and taxis for the purpose. One can take buses from important bus stations like the interstate bus termini at Kashmere Gate and Sarai Kale Khan to reach this monument.