The Gandhi mural and Abdul Nabi's mosque, ITO Crossing, Delhi

Invisible to the steady stream of pedestrians and motorists alike who whirl around it in uncoordinated patterns, an almost unheard of little gem that retains inappreciably little of its original characteristics to reveal its enviable antiquity and modest beauty to the undiscerning is tucked in at the intersection of two of the busiest roads in Delhi and close to one of the most important landmarks in the city’s geography. Ignored by heritage and history enthusiasts who seem to have irrevocably forgotten of its modest existence, Sheikh Abdul Nabi’s mosque, located at the indisputably well-known ITO intersection and shadowed by the towering buildings that house the headquarters of Delhi Police, Income Tax Department and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), was commissioned and christened as his namesake in AD 1575-76 by the "Diwan" (“Supervisor of Accounts”) in the court of Emperor Akbar (ruled AD 1556-1605). The gorgeous mosque, seated with its back to the traffic intersection that is famed for its traffic jams as well as for being a geographical link between different medieval cities of Delhi, has been transformed into one of the prettiest oases that could ever exist in such close vicinity to the bustling intersection indescribably dominated by pollution, noise and an unabated deluge of humanity by Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind ("Organization of Indian Islamic scholars"), one of the oldest and most peaceful Muslim organizations in the country, headquartered in the splendid structure.

Courtyard view, Abdul Nabi's mosque

In the history of Indian freedom struggle, the Jamiat, established in 1919 by some of the most influential Islamic scholars of the subcontinent, was the only Muslim organization that did not align itself with the Muslim League and its unrelenting demand for a separate nation for the Muslim population of the country (later recognized as Pakistan) – following independence too, the Jamiat propounded the theory that by signing the Constitution of India, Muslim elected representatives have entered an agreement (“mu’ahadah”) with the majority Hindu population of the country to establish a secular state and it is the responsibility of all Muslims in the country to honor the agreement. The simplistic, rubble-built mosque of Abdul Nabi, consisting of a large rectangular structure surmounted by a single, plastered over, unproportionally large dome rising from a sixteen-sided drum (base), has been expanded into a massive structure by the Jamiat who have added three wings of triple-floor hostel-like accommodations in front of the mosque creating an enclosed courtyard space in the center. The courtyard, superbly landscaped into a small garden area complete with numerous potted plants, grass-lined cobblestone walkways and fountains brimming with clear water, can be accessed by a flight of stairs emanating from the mosque’s huge front edifice. A gigantic, strikingly handsome screen, composed of stone lattice work (“jaali”) and vibrantly colorful tiles, with three huge arched openings mirroring the considerably smaller arched entrances of the mosque, exists in front of the latter as a modern extension; two sets of thick, towering pillars exist near the older structure supporting the immensely high roof that encompasses the area between the older mosque’s exterior walls and the majestic screens; seminary offices exist along the ground floor.

Unbelievable tranquility in the throbbing heart of the city

The numerous rooms in the wings around the courtyard are sparse and accommodate bespectacled religious scholars with flowing white beards and cataract-veiled eyes – eager to welcome in visitors, they must be at least in their sixties and yet retain jovial smiles, generous talkative attitudes and twinkling eyes. The interiors of the mosque are exceedingly simplistic compared to the modernized exteriors and, except for the marble wall claddings along the base, are close to what Abdul Nabi would have envisioned them as – the large prayer chamber, painted white throughout, has been partitioned into three interconnected sections by means of walls pierced by large arched openings; the central chamber displays squinches along the roof (architectural bridging elements spanning a square chamber’s top corners so as to convert it into an octagonal entity capable of supporting the mass of a giant dome) while the side chambers still retain small, meager floral medallions composed of colorful glazed tiles which, despite their brilliance, appear to be half-hearted attempts at beautification of an otherwise bare structure; a bare line of ornamental arched niches each embedded in shallow individualized rectangular depressions also runs just below the squinches in the central chamber while the squinches themselves are adorned with meager arched patterns and small six-pointed star embossments crafted from stucco.

Clash of eras - The mosque and (background) the headquarters of Delhi Police and CPWD

Abdul Nabi enjoyed Emperor Akbar’s confidence and was sent by him to Mecca in AD 1584-85 to distribute the Emperor’s charity among the poor there, but upon his return he failed to account for the money properly and was imprisoned and executed on charges of corruption and embezzlement of state funds. It struck me interesting that in an unanticipated and unintended artistic decision which would perhaps have been darkly humorous had the correlation between Mahatma Gandhi, the “Messiah of Truthfulness”, and a medieval administrative officer executed for corruption not been subjected to the collective amnesia suffered by citizens of a city that has altogether relegated its intricate history and unsurpassable architectural heritage to a forgotten corner, the recently concluded 2014 Street Art Delhi Festival saw the Delhi Police Headquarters, located immediately opposite and overshadowing the mosque, etched with an impressive, realistic mural of Gandhi, the icon of truth, honesty, non-violence and peaceful coexistence between peoples of different nationalities, religions, creeds, genders and economic realities.

Impressive, right?! All I could say was "Wow"!

The 150 feet high X 38 feet wide imposing mural, dedicated to the city by Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung who inaugurated it, was completed in mere 5 days by Indian graffiti artist Anpu Varkey and German artist ECB Hendrik Beikirch and has since been lauded as a remarkable exemplar of art and a brilliant addition to the city’s streetscape which saw numerous vibrantly-colored and creatively-conceived graffiti patterns and textual messages being painted and splattered in numerous locations, most notably the urban villages of Shahpur Jat, Hauz Khas and Khirki (see links in the end), besides the inconceivably poignant notes blossoming on the walls of the dreaded Tihar jail!

For me, the day wasn’t really going well – a dear friend I just met revealed her plans to shift to Russia permanently and besides the disappointment I did not have a plan on how to spend the rest of the day except roam around in the streets and look at people, buildings and monuments without very much photographing anything in particular – the mosque, with its joyous old men, and the colossal mural opposite, does help uplift the spirits once one decides to just sit down on the stairs and let all worries go and simply adore the artwork and the efforts that must have gone into completing it. For a change, the juxtaposition of the modern and the medieval and the intermingling of the two doesn’t appall me but makes me love this beautiful city just a little more, if that is even possible.

Gandhi

Location: ITO Crossing

Open: All days, sunrise to sunset

Nearest Metro station: Pragati Maidan

Nearest Bus stop: ITO Crossing/Lala R.C. Agarwal Chowk

Nearest Railway station: Tilak Bridge 

How to reach: Buses and trains are available from different parts of the city – the bus and train stations are just a stone's throw away from the mosque and Delhi Police headquarters. If coming by metro, one can avail a bus/auto plying towards ITO.

Entrance fees: Nil

Photography/Video charges: Nil. It is advisable to take permission first before photographing the mosque interiors since it is a seminary's headquarters.

Other graffitis in the city - 

1. Pixelated Memories - Hauz Khas complex
2. Pixelated Memories - Khirki Mosque and village
3. Pixelated Memories - Tihar Jail – Graffiti and Haat

Suggested reading - 

1. Blogs.wsj.com - Article "How Gandhi Made It to Police HQ" (dated Feb 13, 2014) by Aditi Malhotra
2. Civilsocietyonline.com - Article "Splash of street art" (dated March 2014) by Shayak Majumder
3. Rediff.com - Article "Why did the Pak Maulana visit Deoband?" (dated July 18, 2003) by Ehtasham Khan
4. Wikipedia.org - Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind

Mohammad Wala Mosque, New Delhi

One of Delhi’s most beautiful mosques lies hidden from the city’s inhabitants. Close to the Siri Sports Complex (which derives its name from another ruined fortress within Delhi, Siri, subject of a future post), stands the elegant Mohammad Wala Mosque. Literally, its name means “the mosque of Mohammad”, but figuratively, the mosque belongs to no one. The citizens of the city have abandoned it, the Govt. has forgotten it & the large retinue of sportsmen, students & coaches who daily come to the adjoining Sports Complex & Museum ignore it. & yet, left to itself, this magnificent mosque of unknown vintage fends for itself. Perhaps the Govt. is responsible for its present state – after all they were the ones who cordoned it off with fences & iron gates, but then what were they to do?? This mosque is a preserved monument, restored to its pristine state, & if the Govt. can’t earn revenue from it, they can’t let it fall into the hands of vandals & encroachers either. Or perhaps the people of the city – the ones who scribble their names on the walls of these monuments, who smudge paints & graffiti on the fine designs of these structures & especially those who either destroy entire monuments or surgically cleave them to make way for apartments & residential buildings – nightmare for the Govt. agencies responsible for monument upkeep, responsible for it. All in all, this is a precarious situation – all this tussle has held this mosque away from the eyes of the city people (the non-destructive kind). 

The Mohammad Wala Masjid

It is not known who built this mosque, though the architecture is definitely from the Lodi period. The Lodi dynasty ruled over Delhi from AD 1451-1526, more than a century after Sultan Alauddin Khilji built the Siri Fort. The Lodis, in the short span of time they ruled Delhi, faced numerous battles, court intrigues & rebellions by the nobles, before being routed out by Babur (the guy who established the three-century long Mughal rule). The Lodhis did not have any time or resources to build new palaces &/or fortress complexes & had to be content with ruling from the existing power centres in Delhi. But they built a number of tombs, mosques associated with tomb complexes as well as small, independent mosques. The Mohammadi Wala Mosque is an example of mosque associated to a tomb complex. Also it was built right next to the moat that encircled Siri Fort, perhaps at one time it lay just outside the city walls. There is no way of telling since portions of the Siri Fort were either destroyed by subsequent rulers, buried unknowingly when the Asiad Games (1982) Village was built nearby, or encroached upon by locals. The fortress exists only as wall portions & intermittent bastions peeking out in the urban jungle that Delhi has manifested into. Today there is no deep stream flowing within the moat that passed next to the Mohammadi Wala Mosque, nor the soldiers keep watch anymore. The area has been levelled & thorny bushes & tall grass cover the area around the mosque. Vibrantly coloured butterflies & insects flow around in the wilderness. A stretch of the fort’s wall (or what remains of it) runs close to the mosque complex, the bastions have been destroyed & the wall itself is not more than two metres high, at places even lower. Red sandstone plaques installed by Archaeological Survey of India (A.S.I.) detail the mosque’s history & also the site map since the ruins of Siri’s walls & bastion stretch alongside the mosque complex. A few of these plaques are already broken & crumbling to pieces. The mosque complex is enclosed by a rubble wall, the entrance is built of grey Delhi quartzite stone & red sandstone (you too can easily identify these things if you travel as much as I do!!). The iron door affixed to the complex entrance is ajar & unyielding, the half-open doors can’t be made to move in any direction. 

Entrance to the Mosque Complex

As soon as one enters the complex’s stone gateway, one feels impressed at the beauty & magnificence of the mosque. The mosque glints in the harsh sunlight. It once boasted of a large garden & an associated enclosed courtyard. Today the garden is taken over by wilderness, gnarled trees spread their branches along, grass & flowers battle for their existence & nourishment with wild vegetation. In a corner opposite the complex entrance is another smaller entrance, this one is locked & even otherwise gives way to the tall thorny bushes. A few graves lie in the garden, most of them submerged under the sea of this unwanted vegetation. The ones that are visible lie crumbled, shattered by plant roots & falling branches. Here & there can be seen huge mounds of soil & debris. Stones hinder the path, stacks of soft grass slow down one’s progress. It’s a wonder who left them here. 

Afterlife hindered??

The cemented courtyard adjacent to the mosque is empty, a few iron grilles that were meant to barricade the mosques passageways are stacked in one corner. Despite being abandoned, the mosque stands virtually unharmed in any way. Perhaps it has been very recently repaired & restored. But there were no labourers around – the entire place is deserted as if after a holocaust. & the ornamentation alcoves in its walls too are filled with spidery silk & remains of animal waste. The façade of the rectangular mosque, with its three arched entrances & protruding chajja (eaves) looks impressive. The entrances are all equal in size, but the central arch is set in a considerably taller niche. Locked iron doors prevent entry from either of the two side arches, the central door is again struck ajar – one has to squeeze through it to enter the medium-sized mosque. 

The peace & the solitude!!

More doors, this time open, are affixed to the entrances on the shorter sides of the mosque. Medallions made of incised plaster cover the mosque’s interiors – not floral medallions as in most other mosques in Delhi, but medallions covered with calligraphic inscriptions & geometric patterns. The mihrab (the wall indicating the direction of Mecca, faced by Muslims while praying) faces the central arch, & is very simply designed, flanked by alcoves for lighting diyas (earthen lamps). The mihrab’s arch & medallions display more unpretentious calligraphy. Small, perhaps ornamentative, niches form a honey-comb like structure towards the roof. These too are fringed by thin lines of calligraphy. A row of such niches stretch under the dome that rests above the central arch. The interior of the roof is decorated with geometrical patterns, calligraphy & paint bands forming two huge concentric eight-petal stars. Pigeons flutter around, a few swoop down close to my head. Perhaps they too are surprised at the sudden appearance of a visitor. 

& the symmetry!!

Intermittently comes the sound of people chattering & hawkers peddling their wares. Towards the back of the mosque is a street & residential areas. I step out into the adjoining courtyard towards the side of the mosque, there is no one there, but still I feel there is someone nearby. Sound of someone walking comes again & again. Good thing I don’t believe in ghosts & spirits. This courtyard is enclosed by a rubble wall on all four sides, a small opening in the wall leads back to the front garden. Stepping out, I notice that unlike the rest of the old monuments & structures throughout the country, the passageways leading to the mosque’s roof are not grilled here. Perhaps the A.S.I. did not feel the need to bar them since the complex sees so few visitors. I climbed up the narrow staircase, a strange dank smell emanated from the stairs. There were a few alcoves along the walls of the staircase, but this portion seemed to not have been touched during the renovation work (if any took place according to my assumption in the near past). There were spider webs & layers of dust & organic waste smudging the alcoves. I exited the passageway, the severe sunshine again blinding me for a minute. The dome glistened against the blue sky – it was really odd, standing next to a mosque’s dome. I had never before climbed up the mosque. I photographed the dome, the surrounding “gardens” & other compositions.

Its lonely up here..

I could see the road stretch behind the mosque, life seemed to go on undisturbed by my invasion. On the other side, within the larger Siri Fort complex, I could see the fort’s extensive ruined walls extend till as far as I could see. But there was no sign of any life. There ought to be someone here since I could see a water pipe extending along the fort wall. A gardener must be snoozing someone around, the pipe wouldn’t have dragged by itself. I climb down the way I came, again gazing at the mosque & photographing it. 

"To love beauty is to see light" (Victor Hugo)

For more than half an hour, I had the run of the place, photographing it, checking every nook & crevice. I wish all monuments were like that!! But alas, this would not be for long. There have been news reports that the Muslim population of the city led by an organisation called the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind wants all these heritage mosques to be thrown open for prayers. They claim that the Govt. has no right to keep these locked & have taken to forcing their way into these sealed complexes to perform prayers. “Once a mosque, always a mosque”. Although the Heritage & Monuments Notification (1958) states that the national monuments are not to be used for prayers if they were abandoned at the time of Govt. takeover, the A.S.I. along with the National Waqf Board (Custodian of Muslim graveyards, mosques & other religional spaces in the country) & the National Commission for Minorities is looking into the matter. I shudder to think what would be the fate of this serene structure once it is converted to a thoroughfare. Would the gardens give way to residential quarters for the “caretakers”?? Would the walls retain their fine calligraphy?? Or would it be painted over like the mosque in Feroz Shah Kotla or Nizamuddin Dargah?? I hope it would not be painted bright pink & orange like the Tarikh-ul-Islam Mosque in Qutb Complex!! 

Lost & Found

Note – The gate leading inside the cordoned off archaeological complex of which the mosque is a part of is usually kept locked to prevent miscreants & vandals from entering. If such is the case, the keys can be accessed from the A.S.I. custodian in the Children’s Museum across the road. Or you can retrace your steps to enter through a gap in the wire enclosure that encloses the complex as I did. The gap is visible just a few meters from the entrance gate & leads to a portion of Siri walls apparently converted into a small dump yard by the locals. Side step & proceed!!

Location: Siri Fort Complex
Open: All days, Sunrise to Sunset
Nearest Metro Station: Green Park Station
How to Reach: After getting down at Green Park Metro Station walk/take an auto to Siri Fort Sports Complex. Just before the Complex is the Siri Fort Children's Museum. The archaeological area is opposite the Children's Museum.
Entrance Fee: Nil
Photography/Video charges: Nil

Time required for sightseeing: About 30 min

Relevant Links - 

1. Pixelated Memories - Kotla Feroz Shah
2. Pixelated Memories - Nizamuddin Dargah
3. Pixelated Memories - Qutb Complex
4. Pixelated Memories - Tarikh-ul-Islam Mosque