City Faith – Ladies Are Allowed Inside, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah Faith by The Delhi Walla - July 30, 2010July 30, 20107 Defying the repulsive tradition. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The shameful thing about Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah, one of Delhi’s holiest Sufi shrines, is that women are not allowed inside the chamber where the 14th century saint lived, died and was buried. They may pray outside the door to the tomb, or cling to its walls, or sit in the courtyard but they cannot enter into the tomb. Why? “According to Islamic law, women are not allowed near graves,” says Altamash Nizami, a dargah caretaker. If that is the case, then why are women permitted inside the tomb of Khawaja Gharib Nawaz, a sufi shrine in Ajmer, Rajasthan? “The tomb hall in that shrine is very big and so there is
Sign of the Times – Terror Attack in Data Darbar, Lahore’s Sufi Shrine Faith General Photo Essays Travel by The Delhi Walla - July 2, 2010July 2, 20104 Requiem for the dead. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] On the night of July 1, 2010, three suicide bombers struck in quick succession at the Sufi shrine of Data Ganj Baksh, or Data Darbar, in Lahore, Pakistan. 35 people died, 175 were injured. The Delhi Walla considers the courtyard of this dargah as his home. I have spent a night there. May the loved ones of the dead find comfort in Daata Saheb's love. Maula Mere Maula Maula Mere Maula Maula Mere Maula Maula Mere Maula Maula Mere Maula Maula Mere Maula Maula Mere Maula Maula Mere Maula Maula Mere Maula
City Faith – Shah Farhad’s Sufi Shrine, Bagicha Peerji Faith by The Delhi Walla - June 10, 2010June 11, 20102 Death is beautiful. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The aroma of freshly cooked mutton biryani is wafting in the air. The old woman in white is whirling round into a blur. Two boys are lighting candles. Qawwals are singing. Children are running around. Women are talking. It's a joyous mood. Tonight (June 9, 2010), the sufi shrine of Hazrat Shah Farhad in Bagicha Peerji, near Pratap Nagar Metro station, is lit up with electric lamps. It is Shah Farhad’s Urs, his 286th death anniversary. He died on 25 Jumada al akhira 1135 Hijri; in 1723 AD. In Sufism, the death of a saint is celebrated as the occasion when his soul gets freedom from the body and is united with that
City Culture – How I Got Drunk and Lost My Virginity in Nizamuddin Dargah Culture Faith by The Delhi Walla - May 28, 2010May 28, 20109 Trance music in Delhi’s most famous sufi shrine. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Every Thursday evening music lovers gather at Nizamuddin dargah, the shrine of Delhi's 14th century sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. They wait for the Nizami Khusro Bandhu, a family singing here since 750 years, to settle down with their harmoniums and tablas. As Ustad Meraj, the senior qawwal, leads the singers into sufi love songs, the mood goes electric. More exciting than ticketed concerts, you sit right alongside the singers and watch their eyes popping out, arms slicing the air, and faces dissolving into momentary madness. Beware, you too could end up possessed in a feverish frenzy of longing and sensuousness. This is an incredible out-of-the-body experience. It
City Monument – Gurudwara Seesganj, Chandni Chowk Faith Monuments by The Delhi Walla - May 19, 2010February 1, 20120 Holy and serene. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Not as open and airy as Bangla Sahib gurudwara in Connaught Place, Seesganj Sahib is as serene as any spiritual destination should be. It was built in memory of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh guru, who was beheaded here on the orders of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1675. A three-storeyed rectangular building off the main street of Chandni Chowk, the gurdwara adds to the multi-religious character of Old Delhi's popular shopping district, which also has a mosque, a temple and a church. The chaos of the bazaar disappears as you enter the short flight of stairs and reach a hall that hums with the devotional hymns of raagis, the musicians who sing in front
City Faith – Urs, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah Faith by The Delhi Walla - April 4, 2010May 23, 20105 Celebrating the saint's death. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Saturday evening, April 3rd, 2010. The sufis are celebrating the death anniversary of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi’s 14th century sufi saint. On this day, he married his lover. That is, the saint’s soul united with his beloved, the God. Urs means ‘wedding’ in Arabic. The dargah’s dome is lit up with electric bulbs. Its courtyard is crowded. After the prayers, there will be nightlong qawwalis. Special food stalls have been set up around the lanes leading to the shrine. Some pilgrims are wearing yellow-colored pointed caps; yellow is the favorite colour of the saint. Families are lounging around the dargah’s several graves. The pankhawallas are fanning the pilgrims. One of them has
City Music – The Real Sufi Stars Culture Faith by The Delhi Walla - February 27, 2010May 23, 20103 The qawwals of Hazrat Nizamuddin. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is amusing to see Delhiwallas scramble for pricey tickets each time a 'big' sufi music star such as Abida Parveen or Kailash Kher lands in the town for a concert. People can always go each Thursday evening (6.30 pm) to the 14th century shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in south Delhi. It's spine-tingling music there and it's free. As the dargah’s in-house qawwals break into sufi love songs, the mood goes electric. As exciting as ticketed concerts, you sit right alongside the singers and watch their eyes popping out, hands slicing the air, and faces dissolving into momentary madness. These qawwals — almost two dozens are present at any given
Photo Essay – Basant Celebrations, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah Culture Faith Photo Essays by The Delhi Walla - January 19, 2010May 23, 20103 Colour me yellow. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] On January 19th, 2010, the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya was all yellow. It was the eve of Basant Panchmi, the day that marks the arrival of spring. Hence yellow, the colour of the energy-giving sun. The shrine’s qawwals (singers), who were wearing yellow scarves, offered yellow mustard flowers on the grave of Delhi’s 14th-century sufi saint. Later, they sang the Hindi qawwalis of Amir Khusro, the Persian poet believed to be the originator of Hindustani classical music and who was also a great disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin. Seven centuries ago, Khusro had worn yellow to bring a smile to Hazrat Nizamuddin’s face, who’d been grieving for his nephew’s death. The tradition
City Monument – Birla Temple, Mandir Marg Faith Landmarks Monuments by The Delhi Walla - January 16, 2010May 23, 20107 The land of Vishnu. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Spread over seven acres, Shri Lakshmi Narain temple, popularly called Birla Mandir, is a dense neighbourhood of gods. A world in itself, it is a land of plenty. It has shops, phone booths, photo studios, a dispensary and a dharamshala (guesthouse). It has streams, fountains, bridges and rocks. It has papaya, cheer, mango, ashoka, ber, tamarind, guava and neem trees. It has a lion, elephant, crocodile, camel and hippopotamus. But it’s the brick-red temple tower (165-feet high) that takes the breath away. While the presiding deity is Vishnu, Birla Mandir advocates the philosophy of monotheism and is open to all faiths. Built by the industrialist family, the Birlas, it was inaugurated by
City Faith – Muharram & Christmas Culture Faith by The Delhi Walla - December 25, 2009May 23, 20108 Mourning and celebrating. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is December 24th, 2009. Late night. A few people — some of them historians, diplomats, designers, actors — are driving to Nizamuddin East, a neighbourhood near Humayun’s Tomb. The same night, a larger crowd, more varied, is heading to an address in Lodhi Road, a highway near Humayun’s Tomb. The former will attend a soazkhwani majlis. The latter will attend a midnight mass. At author Sadia Dehlvi’s apartment. At the Centenary Methodist Church. The occasion is Muharram. The occasion is Christmas. Some are in skullcaps. Some are in Santa caps. They will mourn. They will celebrate. They will commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad. They will commemorate the birth of