The Sacred Heart of Delhi
A Guide to Nizammudin Basti
Delhi gets a bad reputation amongst travellers, who tend to see it as a grotty urban jungle. But having lived in the city for over twenty years now, I can safely say that it is so much more.
Instead I'd argue that Delhi is one of those handful of cities, along with Rome, Cairo and Istanbul, that is just infinite in the layers of architecture, history and culture.
Delhi was once one of the great pilgrimage sites in the Islamic world. Its also a centre of pilgrimage for Hindus, who see it as the site of the legendary city Indraprastha, as well as Sikhs, who mourn their gurus here.
For centuries caravans of pilgrims trekked across the deserts of Rajasthan or the scrub of the Doab for just a glimpse of this glittering city.
Many of the cities that tourists flock to, such as Jaipur, were literally built to mirror the opulence of Delhi. After all Delhi has been the centre of power in North India under numerous dynasties, from Rajputs, to Slaves, to Afghans, to Mughals, to the British.
Today so much is lost, but so much still remains. Every neighbourhood is dotted with old tombs, and amidst the urban sprawl are no fewer than seven nature reserves- one of which is actually home to leapoards!
And so today I've decided to write a little something about Nizamuddin Basti - the ultra congested urban village, just opposite the Humayun's Tomb world heritage site - which is home to more beautiful monuments than most cities.
The Shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya
The story begins, of course, with Nizamuddin himself.
Nizamuddin Auliya was born in Baduan, Uttar Pradesh around 1238 AD, when Delhi only Queen - Razia Sultan - was in power.
At the age of 21, he travelled to Pakistan's Ajodhan and became a disciple of Baba Farid, who named him his heir. Nizamuddin then came back to Delhi, and started residing in a chilla in Ghiaspura, today behind Humayun’s tomb.
Nizamuddin saw seven kings on the throne, and though he never was involved in the politics himself, the Monarchs were great admirers of his with the exception of Ghiasuddin Tughlaq.
Mohammed Bin Tughlaq, Ghiassudin's son, built Nizamuddin's shrine soon after his death.
For almost a thousand years since, the shrine of Nizamuddin has been the spiritual heart of Delhi.
It was the birthplace of Qawwali music, a centre of learning, and a solace to thousands of devotees seeking union with the divine
So sacred was this shrine that virtually every Delhi nobleman wanted to be buried near it. As a result you can find the Lodi Garden tombs and Humayun's Tomb all packed into such a small area.
The Oldest Functional Mosque in Delhi
Directly opposite the Nizamuddin shrine is the Jamat Khana Masjid, the earliest mosque in Delhi that continues to be used for worship.
It was built by Khizr Khan, son of one of the most controversial figures in Indian history - Allaudin Khilji.
Khilji expanded his uncle's Sultanate far to the south of Delhi, exploiting the religious fervour of his Muslim officers, and plundering many of the great Hindu temples in order to fund his campaigns.
By 1306, he had also decisively beaten the Mongols on the banks of the river Ravi.
To top of an already insane life, he then annexed half of South India, survived an assassination attempt by a Mongol leader, and then went on a campaign of ethnic cleansing - massacring 30,000 Muslim Mongols who had settled in his kingdom.
By the time Khilji died, his family had made a lot of enemies. His son Khizr Khan lasted barely a decade before he was murdered. Little survives of his legacy, except for this rather stunning Mosque in Nizamuddin
Some decades later, Muhammad Tughlaq added side-chambers to the mosque in order to expand it to accommodate the increasing number of devotees
The Man Who Invented Qawwali
A few metres away from the shrine is another extraordinary place: the Tomb of Amir Khusrow, the first great poet of the Hindustani langauge.
Khusrow embodied the cultural mixing of 13th century India. He was the son of an Indian mother and a Turkic refugee who fled the invasions of Ghenghis Khan.
After his mentors died whilst fighting the Mongols, Khusrow poured his grief into writing poetry.
This gained the notice of several others, including Nizamuddin Auliya of whom Khusrow became the greatest disciple.
Amir Khusrow then laid the foundations of Hindustani music, by bringing Persian and Sanskrit modes together into a unified whole. He is credited with inventing Qawwali, Tarana, Trivet and even inventing the Sitar.
Perhaps most extraordinary of all, was the way that he combined Persianised Old Hindi with Arabic and Sanskrit (all three of which he was fluent in).
The result was called Hindavi, basically the ancestor of Modern Urdu and Hindi For his achievements, he was nicknamed the Tuti-i-Hind, or Parrot of India.
The Telugu Prime Minister of The Delhi Sultanate
Inside the Nizamuddin Basti, encroached on all sides, lies the first Octagonal tomb in Delhi: The Tomb of Mala Yugandharudu.
When Mohammad Bin Tughlaq captured Warangal in 1323, he took over the Governorship of what became the new province of "Teling" (Telangana) in the Sultanate.
Mala was commander of Warangal fort and converted to Islam, changing his name to Malik Maqbul.
He later fled to Delhi when the Tughlaqs lost Warangal, Maqbul earned the trust of Muhammad bin Tughluq and later of his successor Firoz Shah Tughlaq and became the Vizier - or Prime Minister- of the empire.
His son Junan Shah, succeeded him and embarked on a building spree in Delhi, constructing seven mosques, as well as his father's magnificent tomb, the first octagonal mausoleum in the city. Only the tomb of Shah Rukn-i Alam in Multan predates this octagonal mausoleum in the subcontinent.
Nizamuddin's Kalan Masjid - pictured here - was also part of Junan Shah's massive mosque building spree, which resulted in 7 great mosques in Delhi. He died soon afterwards, captured and executed during a war over succession.
Built in the 1370s, the mosque finally fell onto ruisn eight centuries later, during the 20th century. More recently, it has been revived by the local community, who established a Madarsa here. Unfortunately, the right intentions were combined with the wrong skills, causing fatal damage to the structure.
The Arrival of the Mughals
One of the earliest Mughal tombs in existence lies in the middle of an unsuspecting roundabout in Nizammudin.
A few decades ago, Sabz Burj was converted into a Police station, and the painted interior was plastered over.
The plaster was only removed a few years ago, when conservationists from the Nizamuddin Renewal uncovered what might be the earliest surviving painted ceiling anywhere in Delhi
Ebba Koch's fascinating new research has shown that it may, in fact, be the tomb of Maham Begum, the Empress of India and mother of Emperor Humayun.
The argument runs as follows:
1) Babur came from modern Uzbekistan, and Sabz Burj closely follows the model for tombs of Timurid Queens.
2) The gold and lapis ceiling, recently uncovered by conservationists, suggest that the building was a royal commision.
3) Maham Begum died in 1533, the same decade as Sabz Burj was constructed.
4) Humayun founded the city of Dinapanah around Nizammudin just forty days after his mothers death.
Nizamuddin's Forgotten Masterpiece
Deep in Nizamuddin Basti, encroached on all sides, is one of the great masterpieces of India's capital: The Tomb of Atgah Khan.
Atgah Khan's story was one of rags to riches: the son of a simple farmer who one day saved the Emperor Humayun from drowning.
Atgah Khan ended up in the Emperor's personal service and his wife became one of baby Akbar's wet nurses.
But in 1562, Atgah Khan was ultimately murdered by Akbar's Foster brother, Adham Khan, in the courtyard of Akbar's Diwan i Aam.
Akbar was appalled and, after killing Adham Khan, ordered a grand tomb to be built for the man who had saved his father's life.
The Tomb is built around the same time as Humayun's Tomb, but uses more inlay work - something that would become increasingly common in Mughal Tombs.
A Piece of Gujarat in Delhi
This is Chausath Khamba, the tomb of a Mughal Governor of Gujarat (Atgah Khan's son Mirza Aziz Koka) and its basically a piece of Ahmedabad in the heart of Delhi.
It's fascinating how regional architecture travelled across India centuries ago. We often think of globalisation as a modern thing but nothing could be further from the truth.
The Most Powerful Woman in India
This is the tomb of Jahanara Begum, the daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal- the two people buried in the Taj Mahal.
Jahanara was Shah Jahan's favourite daughter, and despite his other wives all still being alive after Mumtaz's death, Jahanara was granted the title 'Padshah Begum', basically first lady of the Empire.
Like her brother Dara Shikoh, she was heavily into Sufi thought, and she penned a commentary to Rumi in Persian. She was an expert Chess and Polo player, and as jagirdar of the Port of Surat, she also owned a bunch of ships that traded silks with Yemen.
By her thirties, she was the most powerful woman in India. She designed Chandni Chowk, as well as Agra's Friday Mosque, ans several other buildings.
When her father fell gravely ill, a war of succession broke out amongst her brothers. She sided with her brother Dara Shikoh, but ultimately it was Aurangzeb who was victorious. Her father recovered and was locked away for the rest of his life in Agra Fort. Jahanara chose to stay with him until his dying day.
She died without ever getting married and was ultimately buried in this gorgeously simple tomb beside the Nizamuddin Dargah, engraved with a beautiful Persian couple.
بغیر سبزہ نہ پو شد کسے مزار مرا
کہ قبر پوش غریباں ہمیں گیاہ و بس است
Let no one cover my grave except with greenery,
For this very grass suffices as a tomb cover for the poor.
A New Shrine for Nizammudin
Ironically, the most iconic image of Nizamuddin- the dargah itself - is actually one of the later structures in the basti.
Sandstone verandahs were first added during the Shahjahan era, but they were later replaced by marble pillars in 1808.
Then in 1839 a new dome was added.
Finally, the marble balustrade that encloses the burial was given as a gift by Nawab Khurshid Jah of the Paigah Dynasty of Hyderabad.
At the heart of devotion for centuries, it's never stopped being rebuilt and reimagined, over and over again.