The beautiful Delhi instant.

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]

It is later afternoon. The Delhi Walla is in the tomb of poet Mirza Ghalib. It is in Central Delhi’s Nizamuddin Basti, which is home to the dargah of Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.

Until a few years ago, the tomb was visible from the adjacent street that teems with pilgrims, flower sellers, beggars and goats. It was restored in 2009 by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in partnership with Archaeological Survey of India and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

Before the restoration, the boundary wall was not as high. Cats clambered down from the surrounding butcheries to snooze beside the poet’s tomb… but I see a cat(!) She is sleeping.

Otherwise, the place is empty.

Now, a man enters. He walks into the poet’s grave chamber. He joins his palms and murmurs a… prayer perhaps. He sits down on the marble floor and arranges the flowers on Ghalib’s grave. He holds the tombstone in his arms and sings a verse by… Ghalib, perhaps.

A few minutes pass.

Now, he gets up and leaves.

The place is again empty. Except for the cat. She is still asleep. It is a beautiful moment.

Where Ghalib’s Tomb, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Time 9.30 am to 5 pm Nearest Metro Station Jangpura

Ghalib’s pilgrim

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Related posts:

1. City Monument – Ghalib’s Tomb, Nizamuddin Basti
2. City Monument – Ghalib’s Tomb Restoration, Nizamuddin Basti
3. City Landmark – Ghalib Academy, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti
4. City Moment – Dua e Roshni, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah
5. City Moment – The Woman’s iPad, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah

This entry was posted on March 5, 2013 at 2:33 PM and is filed under Moments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.