Colonial Delhi: A tour of the events 1857

Although control of Delhi did not officially pass to the British until after the Uprising of 1857, which started in Meerut and spread to Delhi, they had a strong presence within the walled city, Shahjahanabad, prior to that time.

Hidden at different places in the labyrinthine streets of Old Delhi are marks of the colonial rulers, built long before they assumed that title.

The area surrounding the Kashmere Gate - one of the 14 gates of Shahjahanabad and named after the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan who built it in the 17th century - has a number of British remains.

To get here, take the Yellow Line on the underground towards Vishwavidyalaya and exit the station at Kashmere Gate. Turn left and cross the road and enter a graveyard called Nicholson's Cemetery.

Here lies the grave of General John Nicholson, the man who organised and led the storming of Delhi in 1857. He was fatally wounded and died nine days after. This is a quiet and peaceful cemetery and a stroll around reveals the graves of military officers, their wives and children, and American missionaries.

Returning to the station and walking away from the Interstate Bus Terminal comes the Kashmere Gate, now retaining nothing of the splendour it once boasted. It used to be a magnificent entrance through which the Mughals passed through on their way to spend their summers in Kashmir. Today, the gate is buried in weeds, but looking closely, one can see marks of the British attacks on the city in 1857.

This is also where the interestingly-named Lothian Road, which connects Kashmere Gate to the Red Fort, begins. Up until the 1920s, this was the smartest shopping area for Europeans in Delhi and although the buildings are nearly collapsing now, a glance at the shop fronts reveals some of the elegance and grandeur the street once saw.

At the top of Lothian Road is St James's Church, the first Christian Church in Delhi, built in 1803.

The church is open to visitors from 08:00 to 17:00. The gate is often locked but there is a bell to call an attendant who will open it. Yellow and white, the church has some beautiful lawns, and stepping inside, one can see tablets dedicated to British families who were killed in 1857.

Further down Lothian Road is the Old Residency Building.

This was the home of the first British resident in Delhi, Sir David Ochterlony, who lived here from 1803 to 1825. But the building, which is now the office of the Department of Archaeology of the Delhi Administration, is older than that.

It was originally the library of Dara Shikoh, the son and heir of Shahjahan, and was built in the 1620s.

Today it is located in the complex of the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, and is not visible from Lothian Road, so visitors who are interested in seeing it must head to the University and explain their intentions to the security guard at the gate before they are allowed to proceed inside.

A few minutes' walk after the Old Residency Building come the ruins of the British magazine. Located right in the centre of the road, it is a ruin today because it was deliberately blown up in 1857 by Lieutenant Willoughby, the commander-in charge, who feared that the rebels would take over the magazine.

There is a grey obelisk near the ruins called the Telegraph Memorial, standing on the site of the telegraph office where two signallers, on the morning of May 11th 1857, were trying to work out why the telegraph lines to Meerut weren't working. It was only later in the day they found out why and subsequently fled the office.

At the end of Lothian Road is the Lothian Cemetery, where members of Delhi's Christian community were buried from 1808 to 1867. A huge Celtic cross dominates the centre, shadowing the unnamed graves of those who were killed the events of 1857.

The cemetery was once green and peaceful, but today a railway line runs behind it, destroying its serenity.

Aditi Charanji