Once a bastion, now missing landmark

Several places across Delhi have undergone drastic changes over the decades. But in case of Mori Gate — one of the 14 gates of the circuitous city wall around Shahjahanabad — the changes have been so radical, physical and demographic, that very few people from the area are aware of its past.

Several places across Delhi have undergone drastic changes over the decades. But in case of Mori Gate — one of the 14 gates of the circuitous city wall around Shahjahanabad — the changes have been so radical, physical and demographic, that very few people from the area are aware of its past.

HT Image

Mori Gate main road cuts the Nicholson Road — it runs parallel to the city wall here — a few metres south of the eponymous bus terminus. This junction was the spot where once stood the Mori Gate, now a dilapidated bastion. This was similar, albeit smaller, to the Kashmere Gate, a few metres away. There is a huge dhalao on its northern side and vehicles parked around it.

“There is this Mori Gate main road, Mori Gate bus terminus and also the Mori Gate tonga stand. Ironically, the Mori Gate itself is missing,” rued Pravin Kumar, who runs a shop at this junction.

Located on the missing portions of the wall near this junction and surrounded by small houses is the most noticeable change: a south Indian Periyemari Amman temple.