A sufi shrine's special day. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] During the day, the marble courtyard stays sparse, serene, and silent. At night, it darkens, growing more silent. Tonight (March 18) will be an exception. The courtyard shall stay awake with crowds, bright lights, and musical qawwalis. The Sufi shrine of Hazrat Chirag Dehlavi is today celebrating the 688th urs, or death anniversary, of its saint--in Sufism, a mystic’s death is not mourned but celebrated, marking his union with the beloved, who is God. Despite its status as an important centre of Sufism, the dargah in south Delhi rarely draws throngs of pilgrims or tourists. Maybe because it is not easily approachable, ensconced beyond a dense warren of houses, shops,

Martyr's chamber. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Consider the sixth Mughal emperor. He ill-treated his elderly father, executed his older brother, and was greatly intolerant to his people, especially those not sharing his Islamic orthodoxy. While the infamous Aurangzeb lies buried far from Delhi, a few of the material remains of his time subsist in our city. Such as the Sheesh Mahal monument in Shalimar Bagh where he was crowned as emperor some 350 years ago, and the icy white Moti Masjid he later built within the Red Fort. That said, one Delhi monument that singularly conveys a truer appraisal of his era barely hints of being an important monument. It is very small, not imposing at all, and isn’t

A Sufi occasion [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is the city of Sufis. It is known as ‘Bais khwaja ki chaukhat’, the threshold of 22 Sufis. To understand the soul of this city, you must make a pilgrimage to a shrine six hours away in Ajmer, Rajasthan. It is devoted to Sufi saint Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, and today the Dargah is celebrating the saint’s 813th Urs. (The death anniversary of a Sufi saint is not mourned, but celebrated. Urs means “wedding” in Arabic and it symbolizes the union of the lover with the beloved, who is God.) Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti occupies a principal position in Sufism, the mystical aspect of Islam. He established the Chishti silsila (order) in the subcontinent;

A hyperlocal music society. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] This bhajan mandli is their circle of sacred music. Every year, during the nine holy days of Navratri, the ladies jointly offer devotional bhajans at the community temple. “We pray, we observe fast, we sing for each of the nine roop of Maa Shakti,” says one of the ladies. The 20-member music group all live in the same apartment complex in Ghaziabad’s Vasundhara, and the temple is located beside the complex’s gate. All the members are busy homemakers, says a lady, and “we’re all close friends.” One remarkable aspect about the bhajan mandli’s bhajans, explains another lady, is that “they have come down to us from our mothers, who received them from

Saqlain & Chand. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Tonight (3 September, '24) Delhi’s most famous sufi shrine will host poetry-filled musical qawwalis until the morning. It is the 810th Jashn-e-Wiladat, or birthday celebrations, of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulya, whose grave constitutes the historic dargah’s heart. Now see the photo of the two qawwal singers snapped in the shrine’s courtyard a week ago. Chand Nizami, right, might be more familiar because of his appearance in a chartbuster film qawwali (you know which!). While the much younger Saqlain is the third son of the greatest qawwal of our times. The two are rarely sighted together. Maybe because they belong to rival qawwal clans. That said, Saqlain’s Nizami Khusro Bandhus and Chand’s Nizami Bandhus

Shrine to Saturday. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Once upon a time, very long ago, a Walled City gali was home to a community of citizens called dakot. They workshopped Shani Dev and would ask for dakshina, or donations, as an offering to the said divinity. (A quick Google search describes a ‘dakot’ as a “person who accepts the offerings forwarded on Shani Dev.”) At some point in unrecorded past, they left the lane. All that remains of them today in the Walled City is the name they gave to the street—Gali Dakotan. Where did they scatter? All across Delhi traffic lights, any commuter who has to be out on a Saturday, or Shaniwar, is likely to come across a person carrying

Living with the dead. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The midnight moon is shining upon the land beneath, but the land has its own lights. On this night of Shab-e-Barat, a special occasion in the Islamic calendar (commemorated about a week ago), the dead in the city’s graveyards are being visited by their living relatives, as is the tradition. The Panj Peeran Qabristan—graveyard of the five gurus—in central Delhi, beside Lodhi Crematorium, is also packed with hundreds of citizens pacing up and down the ubar-khabar mud tracks. The sights are surreal, dream-like, truly unforgettable. Some graves are crowded with people, but some have only a single visitor. Some graves are lit with a dozen candles, but others have just one.