MEHER- A- VALI! THE BENEVOLENCE OF A SAINT.

Tobacco & Hukkah!

 Mehrauli! That is what colloquially Meher- a- vali became over a period of time! Literally the word meant the meher (benevolence) of a vali, which is another word for a peer or a faqir.  This time I took a walk down Mehrauli  with  Ramit and Asif Khan of “Delhi By Foot”, and experienced the oldest Delhi as it is now. The walk was good.

  Delhi was invaded by Turks, Afghans, and Mongols, and a few others who came to rule or expand their empire. All those who came as invaders and settled down in Delhi, usually looked for vantage points to build their forts. They needed to look out for other invaders so that they were prepared and could protect themselves from attack. Therefore they needed a high point from where they could watch all that went around them. The highest point of the Aravali ridge was therefore the ideal spot for the purpose. That is probably the reason why Anangpal of the Tomar dynasty chose to build his Lal kot  at  Mehrauli. Prithviraj Chauhan who later came from Ajmer, also built his Qila Rai Pithora close by. When Mohd Ghori invaded and defeated Prithviraj Chauhan, he left behind his slave Qutubuddin Aiback to rule. Aiback chose Lahore as his capital, but built the Qutab Minar at Mehrauli.

Qutab from Zafar Mahal

 Besides these invaders and raiders we also got an influx of saints, valis and ascetics from the West and North. They brought their Religion, and philosophy with them. 

 Qutub ud din Bakhtiar Kaki was one such saint, who was born in Fergana valley somewhere near Uzbekistan in 1173. He came to India and chose to live in Mehrauli. He  was the disciple of Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer. Kaki is a much revered Saint, and to this day even after almost 1000 years of his death, there is an annual Urs held at his Dargah. He died in 1235. Aiback and Iltutmish of the Slave dynasty were his followers, so were the Lodis, Sher Shah Suri and the Mughals. His successor was Fariduddin Ganjshakar , who was followed by Nizammuddin Auliya. The influence of Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki on Sufism in India was immense. He continued and developed the traditional ideas of universal brotherhood and charity within the Chishti order and a new dimension of Islam started opening up in India. He forms an important part of the Sufi movement which attracted many people to Islam in India. 

Zafar mahal-Haathi dwar

 There is a baoli near the dargah of Kaki, which was constructed by Iltutmish, with the intent of providing water for the visitors . This baoli has  now  become a waste pit. Women are not allowed to enter the inner chamber of the Dargah where the saint is buried. Women can only look through jali windows. There is also a gandhak ki baoli or a sulpher baoli close by.  

  Being located on top of a hillock, Mehrauli was cooler than the rest of Delhi, which then was called Shahjehanabad and now is called Red Fort.  Akbar Shah II the father of Bahadur Shah Zafar had built a palace here. Zafar  got the massive Hathi Darwaza made at the entrance of the palace. The palace is called Zafar Mahal and is located very close to the Dargah of Qutubudin Bakhtiar Kaki.

Zafar Mahal

The Zafar Mahal is now in ruins. From what is left of the palace one can make out that there were a number of rooms, and beautiful pavilions for accommodating a number of family members of the King who would move to Mehrauli during the summer months.

Bahadur Shah I the son of Aurangzeb had built a Moti Masjid near the Dargah. He himself is buried within the compound of the mosque. Farukhsiyar a later day Moghul made the marble screen around the Mosque.

Vacant space for tomb of Zafar

Akbar Shah II, as well as Bahadur Shah's grandfather are buried close to this Moti Masjid. Bahadur Shah Zafar had kept a burial place near his father’s tomb vacant, where he wanted to be buried. This was called “Sardgaah” or cool place. That plot is still lying vacant as Zafar died in exile at Yangon in Burma, and was hurriedly buried in the night itself in the light of a lantern.  Near Sardgaah,, Asif of “Delhi by Foot”  recited the beautiful ghazal written by Zafar while in Yangon(Rangoon), which lamented the sorrow of an exiled King who could not get even 2 yards of land for his burial in his own land. 

Outside Jahaz Mahal

A little away from the Dargah, one comes upon a huge lake. This is called Hauz- e- Shamsi. A Hauz is a water reservoir. This hauz was built in 1230 AD by Sultan Shamshudin Iltumish. Next to the Hauz are the ruins of a palace called Jahaz Mahal.  

Inside Jahaz Mahal

The Phoolwalon ki Sair starts from this palace. Huge pankhas or fans made of flowers are taken out in procession from here and offered at the Jogmaya temple. This is a beautiful annual gesture which depicts the mutual respect that the Hindus and Muslims had for each others religions.

The Hauz is quite dirty now and the ruins of the Jahaz Mahal are in quite a bad state, although every year the gentry and top Government Officials as well as the Chief Minister of Delhi visit the place for taking part in the Phoolwalon ki sair.

Adham Khan's octagonal tomb.

We also saw the tomb of Adham Khan, the foster brother of Emperor Akbar. Akbar was angry with Adham Khan and had him thrown from the ramparts of the Agra Fort twice. After having killed him Akbar got this tomb made for his slain foster brother. It is quite a massive octagonal structure. This tomb was obviously made level by the British, who used the place as living quarters.

Moti Masjid below & a plane overhead.

Mehrauli the once glorious first city of Delhi seems to have retained its own identity. It doesn’t look like a part of Delhi. The lanes are narrow, the shops give the feel of an 18^th century market place. There are open drains and people enjoy leisurely afternoons as they spread out almost in the middle of the road and play cards.

Time seems to have stopped or perhaps moves rather in slow motion. There doesn’t seem to be any hustle- bustle, or hurry -burry. Emperors came and went, mystics came, palaces turned into ruins. Nothing remained constant. Today in Mehrauli, life goes on, irrespective of its history, advent of new invaders, ruins, plunder of its temples, introduction of new Religions, rule of new masters, different dynasties of rulers, new cultures, and new thoughts. Yet nothing seems to have left an impact on the place.

With the exception that "Meher- a -vali"  became Mehrauli and that was all that changed in this more than 1000 year old 1st city of Dilli!