City Faith – Chehlum Procession, Matia Mahal
End of a mourning. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is chehlum, the ceremony commemorating the 40th day after the death anniversary of the Prophet Muhammed’s grandson Imam Husain Ibn Ali. Centuries ago, he and his 72 followers…
Photo Essay – Khawaja Moinuddin Chishty, Ajmer Sharif
The holy land of sufis. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The final days of 2011 have ended on a happy note. The Delhi Walla was in the sufi pilgrim town of Ajmer. 400km west of Delhi, it is…
City Faith – Hanukkah Evening, Paharganj
The Jewish festival of lights. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] 27 December, Tuesday, 7 pm. It was the final evening of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd…
City Faith – Christmas Traditions, Nizamuddin West
Bhajans and rotis from Jharkhand. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A day before Bada Din, a day also known as Christmas, The Delhi Walla met a migrant from Jharkhand, eastern India, who left her land to make a…
City Faith – Agha Shahid Ali’s Poetry, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah
Qawwali at Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia’s Dargah. [Poem by Agha Shahid Ali; photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] I Between two saints, he shares the earth, Mohommad Shah “Rangeele,” (evoked in Paluskar’s khayal) The beggar-woman kisses the marble lattice, sobs on Khusro’s…
City Faith – Laddu Shah’s Dargah, GB Road
A historically unimportant sufi shrine. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] An obscure sufi shrine, the dargah of Imam Ullah Shah urf Laddu Shah Baba consist of a small dark chamber. Situated in GB Road, Delhi’s red light district,…
City Culture – The Sufi Music Crisis, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah
The struggle for the soul of qawwali. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Dama dam mast qalandar. Qawwali, Islam’s sacred Sufi music offered in the shrines of the Indian subcontinent, is facing a moment of unease. It is best…
City Faith – Urs Celebrations, Khawaja Qutub Dargah
Delhi’s oldest sufi shrine. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Reached via the congested bylanes of Meharuli, south Delhi, the shrine is entered through a broad uncovered pathway. Outside an old red mosque, sit the dargah qawwals. It’s a…
City Season – The Basant People, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah
The yellow of the spring. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Every year as winter gives way to Delhi’s short spring spell, the Delhiwallas mark the shift in season by offering yellow mustard flowers at the shrine of Hazrat…
Photo Essay – Hazrat Nizamuddin’s Birthday Celebrations, Nizamuddin Dargah
Night of the committed devotees. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The 796th birthday of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, the 14th century sufi saint of Delhi, was celebrated on the night of February 1, 2011. Forgetting their professional rivalries, musicians…
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