Climate change is a pressing contemporary issue impacting access to clean water across India. World Monuments Fund's (WMF) pilot project, Rajon ki Baoli, aims to serve as a model for the 'Conservation of Historic Water Systems' around the country in response to these impending issues. 

In order to generate awareness about Mehrauli's remarkable water heritage among a wider audience, a series of online public lectures are being launched by WMF's affiliate in India under this project. By initiating larger conversations about the geo-technical, architectural, social and cultural aspects of Delhi’s water heritage, the initiative aims to contribute substantially to a global public discourse on the historic significance of water in the preservation of heritage.

The first of this series of lectures is titled "Dilli ki Killi: The life and times of Mehrauli". This talk is being led by Madhav Raman, an architect, urbanist, and individual seeking sustainability across various registers including resource management and market forces. 

The settlement called Mehrauli is known to have existed for at least 1000 years (if not more) and has seeded the many other cities of Delhi. The original "Purani Dilli", Mehrauli, in many ways is unique and very different from all the others. Yet its story is connected through the ages with all the other cities of Delhi. Madhav's talk tells the story of these connections of water (hydrology), land (geology) and people (culture). It will race the history of Mehrauli, from its origins as a Rajput outpost under Jain influence, to its significance as an Islamic foothold on the subcontinent, to its popularity as a salubrious urban retreat and finally its importance as an archaeo-ecological anchor to modern New Delhi.