Hauz Khas Complex - The Village

The Village

The Hauz Khas village which was known in the medieval period for the amazing buildings built around the reservoir drew a large congregation of Islamic scholars and students to the Madrasa for Islamic education. A very well researched essay titled “A Medieval Center of Learning in India: The Hauz Khas Madrasa in Delhi” authored by Anthony Welch of the University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, refers to this site as “far and away the finest spot in Delhi not in the ingenuity of its construction and the academic purpose to which it was put but also in the real magic of the place”. The present status of the village also retains not only the old charm of the place but has enhanced its aesthetic appeal through the well manicured green parks planted with ornamental trees all around with walk ways, and the sophisticated “gentrified” market and residential complexes which have sprung up around the old village. The tank itself has been reduced in size and well landscaped with water fountains. Welch, elaborating on the present status of the place, has said:”A centre of Musical culture in the 14th century, the village at the Hauz Khas had regained this erstwhile role in an unexpected guise." The village structure that gloriously existed in the medieval period was modernized in mid 1980’s presenting an upscale ambience attracting tourists from all parts of the world. The village complex is surrounded by Safdarjung Enclave, Green Park, South Extension, Greater Kailash. There are some of the India's most prestigious institutes situated in the neighbourhood including Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, National Institute of Fashion Technology, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences.