Moti Masjid, Mehrauli, Delhi

“The Urs of Khuld Manzil (Bahadur Shah I) is celebrated on the 23rd day of Muharram-ul-Ihram. His grave is situated beside the grave of Hazrat Qutb-ul-Aqtab (Hazrat Bakhtiyar Kaki). His Begum, Mihr Parwar, with the help of Hayat Khan Nazir, starts the arrangements for the decoration of lamps [at the grave] a month in advance. Chandeliers of all kinds are hung and the artisans from the royal house come and give the lamps the shape of tree which when lighted put to shame both the Cyprus and the boxwood trees. When the place is fully lighted, it dazzles like sunlight and overshadows the moon. The sun realizing its unimportance sets and does not show its face before dawn. The towers of lamps throw lights as high as the sky. The bungalows in every lane shine as bright as the Valley of Tur.

Hand in hand, the lovers roam the streets while the debauched and the drunken, unmindful of the mushatsib (police officers), revel in all kinds of perversities. Groups of winsome lads and novices violate the faith of the believers through their unappreciated acts which are sufficient to shake the very roots of piety. There are beautiful faces as far as the eye can see. All around prevails a world of impiety and immorality in different hues. The whores and lads entice more and more people to this atmosphere of lasciviousness. Nobles can be seen in every nook and corner, while the singers, qawwals, and beggars outnumber even the flies and the mosquitoes. In short, both the nobles and the plebeians quench the thirst of their lust here. But however, it is in one’s welfare and prudence to ignore these immodesties” 

– Dargah Quli Khan, "Muraqqa-i-Dehli"

Pearlesque - Shah Alam Bahadur Shah I's Moti Masjid

Prompted by the requirement to impress upon his subjects, through the patronization of majestic architecture, his assertion of power and rule, but reined in by the depleting financial reserves that were a legacy of the numerous territorial wars initiated by his father in the flanking regions of his empire, the authoritative Mughal Emperor Shah Alam Bahadur Shah I conceived and commissioned in Mehrauli a beautiful little white marble mosque closely modeled on his father’s private mosque within the breathtaking Red Fort palace – both regal mosques were christened “Moti Masjid” (“Pearl Mosque”) due to the shimmering pearlesque marble ornamentation, but the choice of nomenclature significantly helped underline the continuation of the regal lineage and influential spiritual authority. The selection of location was also natural – his predecessors were devotees of the venerable saint Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer (Rajasthan) but Bahadur Shah I couldn’t pay obeisance to the former’s hallowed tomb because of fierce political disturbances in different parts of his vast territory and also because the area between Delhi and Rajasthan was being gradually subjugated and controlled by terrible Jat brigands – the sacred dargah (tomb complex) of Hazrat Chishti’s spiritual successor, Hazrat Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, was the obvious alternative for regal pilgrimages that were meant to be the means of establishing his political and religious sovereignty (refer Pixelated Memories - Hazrat Bakhtiyar Kaki's Dargah). The private mosque, situated immediately next to one of the entrances of the dargah complex, is seated on a high platform and consists of a single large chamber accessed through three arched entrances (but the staircase for the central entrance is missing). The rectangular chamber is surmounted by three bulbous onion domes which are further outlined by well-defined floral finials – the strikingly flawless curves of the domes and the neat beauty of the finials testimony the unparalleled skill of the craftsmen who chiseled the marble in such striking manner so as to give even this small structure a regal touch.

Domes and towers - View from the terrace of the adjacent Zafar Mahal palace. The three pink-white onion domes are of the mosque while the larger dome surmounted by the golden finial is the tomb of Hazrat Kaki. The massive tower in the background is also part of the dargah complex.

The central entrance is set in a larger rectangular embossment projecting from the mosque’s front façade and flanked on either side by a slender pillar that appears to have been neatly severed near the top. Two additional wings, also composed entirely of marble, exist on either side of the mosque and rectangular entrances mark their presence on the exterior, but inside these are in continuation with the prayer chamber and the only feature distinguishing them is that the connecting wall is pierced by rectangular openings instead of the cusped arched openings that connect the rest of the prayer chamber to its segments. The ornamentation, both on the outside and inside, is elegantly minimal – in fact the only embossment seen on the entire exterior surface is in the form of small marble flowers marking the apex of each of the entrance arches. A line of kanguras (battlement-like ornamentation), dexterously sculpted and defined as fine adornment, runs along the roof but appears to be broken in certain places, either by preference or as a result of later damage cannot be judged. The marble interiors of the domes are chiseled to imitate floral medallions encompassing the entire concave surface and supported by numerous ornamental inverted triangular brackets while the floor is uniformly lined with extremely thin black marble strips to generate a pleasingly ornamental pattern of numerous rectangular prayer mat outlines. Two massive and extremely thick columns emerge from the corners of the enclosure at the junction of the mosque compound and the dargah complex and lend a solid, masculine character to the otherwise fine yet dwarfish mosque; one of these colossal columns is anchored to the crumbling rubble walls and has to be perpetually supported by external scaffoldings to prevent it from collapsing. Fixed below a line of elaborately sculpted inverted floral motifs in the walls of the enclosure surrounding the mosque are rusted iron rings that must have once supported the luxurious red awnings with their gold and silver brocades while the emperor was present at the mosque. 

Minimalistic! - Closer view at the decorative and architectural features of the mosque exteriors

Considering the sanctity accorded to the hallowed vicinity of Hazrat Kaki’s dargah, when Bahadur Shah I passed away at the end of his short and tempestuous five-year reign (1707-12 AD), he was buried by his wife Bibi Mihr Parwar in a graceful white marble tomb open to the sky (“muhajjar”) immediately adjacent the mosque. The muhajjar is located within the premises of Zafar Mahal (subject of a later post) on a considerably higher land segment such that its top is just slightly lower than the mosque’s roof – a few steps away from the muhajjar, an arched entrance leading to a short narrow staircase provides access to the mosque enclosure. The construction of the exquisite muhajjar was guided by financial reasons as well as the religious belief that graves should be exposed to rain and dew as a mark of humility towards the creator. Seated on a slight platform, the rectangular tomb is enclosed by marble panels and intricate lattice screens (“jaali”) and adorned with ornamental fluted columns depicted emerging from lotus flowers and culminating into acanthus flower motifs. Also buried adjacent to Bahadur Shah I in the same muhajjar were later Emperors Shah Alam II (ruled AD 1759-1806) and Akbar Shah II (ruled AD 1806-37). The brothers Rafi-ud-Darjat (ruled February-June 1719) and Rafi-ud-Daulah (ruled June-September 1719) were also laid to eternal rest just outside the muhajjar along one of its shorter sides – though their nominal reigns were brief and unheralded, they were accorded the honor on account of their being supported by the powerful nobility.

Regal cemetery - The rectangular enclosure where several members of the Mughal royal family are interred

Bahadur Shah II “Zafar”, the last Mughal Emperor (ruled AD 1837-57) also wished to be buried within the prestigious muhajjar and even earmarked a patch of grassy tract as his final resting place but his desire was never fulfilled since the British East India “trading” Company arrested and exiled him to Myanmar following the 1857 War of Independence/Sepoy Mutiny of which he was the proclaimed leader-instigator. Zafar was left lamenting his situation thus –

“Lagta nahin hai jee mera ujare dayar mein, Kiski bani hai alam-e-na paayedar mein

Bulbul ko paasbaan se na saiyyad se gila, Qismat mein kaid likhi thi fasal-e-bahar mein

Keh do in hassraton se kahin or ja basen, Itni jagah kahan hai dil-e-daghdar mein

Ik shaakh-i-gul pe baith ke bulbul hai shadmaan, Kaante bicha diye hai dil-e-laalazaar mein

Umar-e-daraz maang ke laye the char din, Do aarzu mein kat gye do intezaar me

Din zindagi ke khatam hue sham ho gyi, Faila ke paon soyenge kunj-e-mazaar me 

Kitna hi badnaseeb hai Zafar, dafan ke liye, Do gaz zameen bhi na mili ku-e-yaar mein”

(“I am lonely in the city, barren and dead, But who has prospered in this transitory world?

The nightingale complains about neither the guardian nor the hunter,

Fate had decreed imprisonment during the harvest of spring

Tell these longings to go dwell elsewhere, What space is there for them in this besmirched heart?

Sitting on a branch of flowers the nightingale rejoices, It has strewn thorns in the garden of my heart

A long life I besought, received four days, Two passed in desire, two in waiting.

Life comes to an end, dusk approaches, I shall sleep, legs outstretched, in my tomb

How wretched is Zafar! For his burial not even two yards of land were to be had in the land of his beloved.”)

Mosque interiors

As mentioned in the “Muraqqa-e-Dehli”, Bahadur Shah I’s “Urs” (death anniversary of revered Sufi saints – many of the later Emperors were well-versed with Sufi philosophy and accepted spiritual disciples) used to be celebrated with much grandeur and festivities till the advent of British colonial rule. Bahadur Shah II’s Urs is still celebrated in Myanmar, though at a very subdued scale.

Location: Adjacent to Hazrat Kaki's dargah, Mehrauli
Nearest Metro Station: Qutb Minar
Nearest Bus stop: Mehrauli Terminal
How to reach: Walk from the bus terminal to the dargah complex (approx. 10 min away) or take an auto from Qutb Minar/Saket metro stations (charges approx Rs 40). The mosque is located towards the back of the complex but is accessible only from within the adjacent palace Zafar Mahal located besides it.
Entrance fees: Nil
Photography/Video charges: Nil
Time required for sightseeing: 20 min
Advisory: Since the dargah complex and the mosque are religious shrines, it is advisable to be properly dressed, especially for women. Both men and women visitors are required to cover their heads with handkerchiefs/skullcaps/dupattas.
Relevant Links -

1. Pixelated Memories - Hazrat Bakhtiyar Kaki's Dargah
2. Pixelated Memories - Red Fort

Suggested reading - 

1. Jhss.org - Article "Imperial architecture in the later Mughal period: Consideration of site" by Savita Kumari

Unmarked Ruins, Mehrauli, New Delhi

In a city as old as time itself, it isn’t very difficult to come across remains of a world struck in a different time frame, one that is several centuries, if not millennia, behind. Delhi – “a city of cities” – was destroyed 7 times in the near medieval history & each time it was rebuilt, rising up like a phoenix from its own ashes. It has been claimed that Delhi is the city of djinns – the djinns do not like to see their city destroyed & therefore ensure that the city is revitalized after each bout of destruction. Yet unlike other places across the globe, Delhi never totally evolved into a modern mega-habitat, instead it lives on with its past – at times nurturing it to claim large swathes of land as well as popular perception. In almost every corner of the city one notices relics of the past – cultures practised as they were in the ancient past, trade taking place as it would have occurred in the court of some maharaja or sultan, & most importantly the ruins that seem to grow out of anywhere & everywhere in the city. While some parts of the city mutate into glass & cement megaliths, several still retain their medieval look & character.

This is what I spotted..

However the concept of a “City of cities” needs a bit of explanation here – as a new fortress was built by a new dynasty/ruler, the older fortress was abandoned but the city around it continued to live on. The court & the whos-who shifted with the ruler to his new abode, but the traders, merchants, artisans & craftsmen, peasants etc stayed back. The new city was referred to as “Delhi”, while the older ones came to be known as “Old Delhi” (till the British formalized this system to name their Indian capital “New Delhi”). This way several separate fortress-citadel complexes continued to mushroom side by side, & today we have seven major citadels (Lal Kot, Siri, Tughlaqabad-Adilabad, Kotla Feroz Shah, Dinpanah, Shahjanabad, New Delhi) & a small capital (Kilokheri) still in existence. These constitute Delhi’s history starting from somewhere even before 1000 BC when it was still ruled by Rajput Hindus, & the last is still the seat of power of Indian democracy.

Told ya, these ruins come out of nowhere!!

The oldest of these settlements – the Lal Kot in modern-day Mehrauli – was the bastion of Tomar Rajputs who ruled from the fertile plains of Punjab to the arid regions of Rajasthan & Central India. Prithviraj Chauhan aka Rai Pithor, the hero celebrated in bard songs & popular lore, expanded Lal Kot to a mega-citadel & renamed it as Qila Rai Pithor (“Rai Pithor’s Fortress”). Soon afterwards, in AD 1192 India was invaded by the Islamic armies of Muizuddin Muhammad bin Sam aka Muhammad Ghuri. Several generations down the line, Mehrauli was abandoned & Siri became the capital of “New” Delhi. Mehrauli was relegated to the status of “Old” Delhi, even though the city was abandoned, people from all streams of life kept settling in Mehrauli. Its abandonment did not stamp out its existence, it only lost its status of being the royal fortress. Till as late as late 19th century, Mehrauli buzzed with life – its inhabitants included not only peasants & merchants, but also courtiers, princes & army generals. The later Mughal rulers established their palaces & pleasure gardens & built their tombs in Mehrauli.

Blossoming amidst ignorance 

It was the war of 1857 that changed it all – the Indian sepoys in service of the British East India Company clashed with their superiors, great bloodshed accompanied by loss of life & livelihood on both sides followed. The British ran down the country, Delhi was laid to waste – after about a thousand years of its existence, Mehrauli was finally abandoned!! The palaces were ruined, the gardens destroyed, tombs & mosques were brought down &/or taken over. People stopped settling in Mehrauli, residents left out in droves – the first city of Delhi soon turned into a graveyard of ruins, a mish-mash of temples, tombs & step-wells.

The Qibla Wall

It is no wonder that even though Mehrauli was abandoned 150 years back, it soon started repopulating after the British departed from the country & the heart-curdling partition of India to carve out Pakistan & Bangladesh brought in a new wave of refugees from the other side of the border. As Mehrauli grew again with the rest of Delhi, it still retained its ruins in its bosom, often hiding them behind thick vegetation, at times covering them over & over with a blanket of earth. Across the service lane that connects the precariously constructed tomb of Azim Khan (Refer Pixelated Memories - Azim Khan's Tomb) to the Gurgaon-Badarpur highway, exist several ruins that are yet to be excavated. There is perhaps no record of these ruins in Government documents, they are exposed eternally to the wrath of nature & the (at times greedy, at times needy) encroachment of man. The ruins make their presence known by appearing before seekers just like Delhi’s resident djinns – I noticed them as I departed from Azim Khan’s Tomb. Across a wire fence that itself was torn & discontinuous, rose a pillar that resembled a Kos Minar to some extent. The Kos Minar were milestones – tall conical structures topped by a roundish knob, some even 30 metres high – placed by the emperor Sher Shah Suri across the Grand Trunk Road that he built to connect Bengal to Peshawar (Pakistan). Around the pillar existed wall portions & chambers – broken, run-down & desolate.

What fruit is this??

As I wandered into what looked like a dense forest in the middle of Delhi, I could clearly make out a Qibla wall that stretched from this pillar. A Qibla wall is an open structure, sort of like a wall existing independently, that indicates the direction of Mecca (West for Indians). The Muslims face the Qibla wall while offering their prayers. Thick trees rose like giants around the short wall & spread their arms to block out the sky, creepers hung down the branches to curtain the ruins, thorny bushes jutted out of the ground making passage extremely difficult. With birds, butterflies & huge mosquitoes for company I progressed to take in the entire scene – the Qibla wall & the said pillar, a few graves resting on the ground & a whole lot of vegetation hiding the rest of the view. Despite having stood ignored for centuries, the Qibla wall looked beautiful – its decorative indentations & alcoves preserved unnaturally. It must be centuries old, its architecture & ornamentation was simplistic (reminiscent of late-Tughlaq - early-Mughal architecture, but I am not qualified to date it) – a huge tree almost a 100 year old rose near its centre. The graves however were in a bad condition – their history forgotten, portions crumbling & tall grass growing out of them – they presented a sorry state of affairs.

In a "grave" situation

A strange, in fact dreadful, howling woke me out of my photography bout. The source of the sound seemed so near, yet it was not visible. Was it a djinn warning me to return to the modern world?? Awake from my revelry, I decided to at least inquire about the source of the sound. Across swathes of thickly vegetated land & over a thin track that meandered deeper into the forest still, I came across a row of chambers, almost in their original condition, except of course for their blackened walls & spider silk-filled alcoves. Further still was a deep gorge – a dog reared to its puppies in a corner of the chasm. It was the dog growling, its barks muffled by the long distance & echoed by its underground residence. It ran away on noticing me – further inspection revealed that it was rearing its offspring in a chamber that had caved in & turned into a pit. The surroundings of the pit were high mounds of soil & I assume that there existed adjoining chambers too but they got buried over time. More such chambers were visible around, a few could be distinguished because the soil around them had eroded to reveal buried arches that formed part of the chamber’s entrance. A few chambers could only be distinguished because parts of them had collapsed along with the debris & vegetation that covered them & the holes thus formed revealed their interiors.

One of the chambers, now buried under earth & vegetation

All of a sudden I felt I had been transported to a different era altogether – this was my discovery, my Harappa. & then it was time to leave behind my Harappa – it was uncharted territory & I was afraid to go further deep into the vegetation for fear that I might lose my way. Of course now I realize I was being stupid, I just had to trace the track & follow it to the end, but since I diverted away from the track so many times in order to photograph the structures & the vegetation, I felt I won't find it again. As I returned, I noticed the spider silk & the creepers that enveloped the trees & the surrounding chambers, & they assured me that they will hide my treasure from man’s greed till the next time I could return to take full stock of their existence. I now wait for the next time..

Hiding a treasure

Location: Mehrauli
Open: All days, Sunrise to Sunset
Nearest Metro Station: Saket
How to Reach: After getting down at Saket Station, one can walk to Lado Serai Bus Stop. Buses are available from different parts of the city for Mehrauli & one can alight from the bus at Lado Serai stop itself. The Lado Serai stop is situated at a crossroad & Azim Khan’s Tomb is visible behind the trees & the traffic.Enter the service lane leading to Azim Khan's Tomb, the ruins are situated just a few metres before the tomb on the other side of the road.
Entrance Fee: Nil
Photography/Video charges: Nil
Time required for sightseeing: About 30 min
Relevant Links -

1. Pixelated Memories - Azim Khan's Tomb
2. Pixelated Memories - Feroz Shah Kotla
3. Pixelated Memories - Tughlaqabad Fort