Sarai Kale Khan
Sarai Kale Khan is a neighborhood located in the South East Delhi district of Delhi and a major multimodal transport hub offering convenient transportation options, between Delhi Metro’s Pink line, nearby Sarai Kale Khan ISBT, semi-high-speed RRTS station, the planned high-speed rail and the adjacent Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station.
History
The name Sarai originates from the era of Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri, who established a network of paved roads, with roadside inns known as serais placed every twelve miles to accommodate travellers. The area around Sarai Kale Khan hosted a caravanserai for travellers and caravans along the royal route connecting the Mughal imperial courts and Chandni Chowk in Shahjahanabad to their retreat in Mehrauli, about 32 km away.This sarai was named after Kale Khan, a Sufi saint from the 14th–15th century, whose resting place, along with that of another prominent Sufi saint from Delhi, is now located within the Delhi Airport complex, marking it as a historical site for travellers' respite.
Another theory speculating the origin of the suburb's name stems from Kale Khan's Gumbad, a structure from the Lodi era located in the Kotla Mubarakpur Complex in South Delhi. According to an inscription on the mihrab inside the tomb, it dates back to 1481 AD. This other Kale Khan was a courtier during the reign of Sultan Bahlol Lodi.
Nawab Faizullah Beg, son of Nawab Qasim Jan—a courtier during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II —was also a courtier during the reign of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. He built a complex that later became known as Ahata Kaley Sahab, christened after a saint called Kaley Khan who resided there for a time and after whom the area was subsequently named. The complex was later acquired by Bunyadi Begum, poet Mirza Ghalib's sister-in-law, and housed the poet after he was released from debtors' prison.