Bhuli Bhatiyari Ka Mahal ‘Hunting Lodge to Haunted Palace'

A 14th century palace is listed as one of the most haunted places in Delhi! There are numerous recorded narratives and first hand experiences behind this story. Incidents of people being scratched or a strange lady making an appearance in the photographs that have been clicked, surface every now and then. There are also numerous accounts of many security guards quitting their jobs due to such inexplainable incidents. All this has made this palace a daunting monument to visit. It definitely is not for the faint hearted!

The Bhuli Bhatiyari ka Mahal, was built by Feroz Shah Tughlaq during the 14th century as a hunting lodge. Nestled in the Aravalli hills, this hunting lodge is surrounded by dense forests that form a part of the central ridge in Delhi. There are numerous stories that talk about how this hunting lodge became a haunted place. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in his book Asar-us-Sanadid mentions two legends that revolve around this monument. The first one goes back a long time ago when a saint named Bu Ali Bhatti is said to have occupied the palace and hence the palace got a distorted version of his name. The second narrative that Sir Syed mentions is about Bhuli Bhatiyari being named after a ‘forgetful’ and ‘simple’ female inn-keeper who lived there.

Today, this Mahal is associated with paranormal activities and is believed to be haunted by a female spirit. This belief is supported by popular narratives - one talks about a woman named Bhoori from the Bhatiyar tribe who lost her way in the forest and remained trapped in the deserted palace. Yet another story is about how Feroz Shah had imprisoned one of his queens who had been unfaithful to him. She is said to have died in the palace, though there is no trace of her remains. She is now said to be haunting the palace in revenge.

However, a security guard who has been manning the premises of the palace for the past few years simply smiles and rubbishes all these tales of supernatural beings. According to him, in all his years as a guard at this palace, he has never come across any paranormal incident.

Today, the place is in shambles and the structure is in total ruin, and to top it all there is a strange air to the place. The fact that you cannot enter the premises post sundown, does indicate there is a mystery behind this monument.