India, May 22 -- Such an unbearably hot summer noon. Lodhi Garden is understandably deserted, except for a few romantic couples (of course!). Plus, a young man in shorts, strolling leisurely. And two friends sitting on the grass-Vaishnavi is singing a song, Shristi is her solo audience-see photo. Then, there are the uniformed guards on duty.

In summer days, the lawns of Lodhi Garden continue to be picturesque, but not hospitable. The burning air might as well boil a pot of moong dal. This, naturally, becomes an opportunity to skip the lovely outdoors and re-examine the interiors of the sprawling park-that is, the stone monuments dispersed across the garden. These ruins, anyway, came up first, the landscaped garden around them arrived muc...