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!

HUMAYUN'S TOMB-A MASTERPIECE!

Precursor of the Taj!

Little did Bahadur Shah Zafar know in 1857, that the last resting place of his ancestor Humayun would not let him relax for long. Fleeing from Shahjehanabad( Red Fort) from the British, he along with his three sons and wife took refuge at Humayun's Tomb near Nizammuddin. Captain Hodson however captured him, took his two sons to the Khooni Darwaza near the Maulana Azad Medical College of today, and slaughtered both the princes. Bahadur Shah  himself along with his wife Zeenat Mahal and prince Jawan Bhakt were exiled to Rangoon after an apology of a trial, where the Last Mughal died unsung. He was a poet and wrote “Lagta nahi hai dil mera ujde dayar me….itna hai badnaseeb Zafar, dafn ke liye  do gaz zameen bhi na mili kooye yaar mein”. Translated  it means,”I am not happy in this deserted place….I am so unfortunate that I did not  even  get  2 yards of land for my burial in my own land.” It was the lament of an Emperor who died and was buried in a foreign land.

Humayun's tomb was a witness to this sad end of the once fabulous Mughal Empire.The Empire founded by Babar in 1526 ended with Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1857.

Latticed windows

If only walls which are supposed to have ears, could narrate what they had seen. Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor. He was the son of Babar who came from Uzbekistan via Kabul. The Lodis lost the 1st battle of Panipat in 1526, and Babar became the founder of the Mughal Empire. Humayun,  was not a great ruler  as he was either fighting or fleeing. He lost his kingdom to Sher Shah Suri and went off to Persia, he later regained it and  ruled from 1530 to 1540 and then again from 1555 to 1556. He also met an inglorious death, while climbing down the steps of his Library in the Purana Quila of Delhi. Hearing the call for prayer(Azaan), he bent down to kneel, tripped and fell down the narrow steps. He died three days later at the age of 48. His 13 year old son Jalaludin Akbar then became the Emperor.

The tomb

To begin with Humayun was buried in his palace at Din Panah, which is now called Purana Quila. Later his wife Hamida Banu Begum got his mausoleum constructed.  The Persian architect Mirak Mirza Ghiyath who had designed buildings and tombs at Herat in Afghanistan and Bukhara in Uzbekistan was invited to design this tomb. The tomb is made of red sandstone and marble and has huge gardens surrounding it. The garden was laid out in a square pattern and was called Char bagh. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Babar was incidentally buried in Kabul, and did not have a grand tomb.

This  tomb has many vaulted chambers and a number of lesser known Mughals with unmarked graves are buried here. Humayun himself occupies the central hall alone. Amongst those buried here are  Dara Shikoh son of Shah Jehan, and Hamida Banu wife of Humayun. 

The Grand lay out 

Besides these tombs there are a couple of other tombs located  in this complex. One is called Nai( Barber) ka Makbara. The other is the tomb of Isa Khan who was a nobleman of Sher Shah Suri. There is also a Nila Gumbad which was built by Abdur Rahim Khankhana, son of Bairam Khan, who had ably helped Akbar rule when he ascended the throne at the age of 13. Rahim was a very well known poet and his doha(s) were learnt by us in school. He was a nauratan (nine gems) of Akbar’s court. My favourite doha was :-

 रहिमन धागा प्रेम का, मत तोड़ो चटके,
टूटे से फिर न जुड़े, जुड़े गाँठ पड़ जाये.

"Says Rahim, don't allow the (delicate) thread of love (between individuals)  snap. Once it snaps, it cannot be rejoined and if you do rejoin it, there is a knot in it."

No marks for guessing this structure!

Humayun's tomb is a precursor to the Taj Mahal. One can see similarities in both the tombs. The long verandah all around, the beautiful dome, the lay out of the garden in squares and water flowing down like a nahar(canal),  huge shady  trees planted alongside, the river Jamuna meandering behind the tombs. Undoubtedly Taj is grander, more magnificent, ethereal and almost divine. Humayun’s tomb seems more earthly, human and approachable.

Humayun's tomb has not got the importance it deserves. I visited the place thanks to my daughter, who wanted her children to learn about Delhi. Purana Quila is incidentally the 6th city of Delhi.

Another view from the entrance.

All Dilliwallas, do please find time to visit these beautiful places, see the magnificence, grandeur and architecture of the structures. Revise your History lesson. We owe it to all those people who gave us our History, our culture which is coloured. Our land was the cauldron where various ways of life, art, craft, dress, language, style, calligraphy, poetry, cuisine from Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Persia and Afghanistan amalgamated. What we are today is what all these people introduced to us.

As an added bonus you can visit the Sunder Nagar nursery, which is right next door. This is a government nursery where you can find lovely plants at reasonable rates. The Nursery is laid out in acres and acres of land. It also has a couple of tombs located within its premises. The Nursery is open from 10 to 4 on working days. You also get good manure for your garden and  potted plants. One only needs to bring ones own sack or bag to carry the manure.

So friends, from the great Mughals to manure…how mundane and down market can I be?? Never mind, that’s just how life is. These are the days of "Buy one get one free!". You buy the ticket to visit Humayun's tomb and get to visit the Nursery free!

MY OWN QUTAB MINAR!

Qutab Minar has always been sort of just a landmark down the lane for me. It's just my friendly next door neighborhood monument! It has always been a beautiful historical structure, which I saw everyday on my way out of Sainik Farms. Just as one takes everyday things for granted, it never struck me that I should one day actually visit this place like a tourist. It was always there, so I knew that I could see it anytime. In fact my parents had brought us to Delhi, long long ago from a back of the beyond Colliery of Bhurkunda in Bihar. We had then seen the Qutab Minar. We had actually run up the stairs and climbed up to the 1st level and seen Delhi from there, which was spread out and was beautiful.

Calligraphy, beautiful perfection!

Now, it just so happened that my daughter and her phirang children came visiting us last December. My daughter an out and out Dilliwali, wanted her children to imbibe the spirit of this lovely city and learn all about its history. Which better place could there be than our next door friendly monument to take a walk down History lane? We therefore set out without much ado. The trip turned out to be quite interesting and educative, and  from then on I could see my giant of a neighbor in it's true magnitude.

This magnificent tall dark and beautiful piece of architecture, a World Heritage site was built in 1193 by Qutab ud din Aibak the first ruler of the Slave dynasty. It was completed in 1230 AD.Qutab is situated in the first City of Delhi. This is where stood Lal Kot and Qila Rai Pithora. Lal Kot was founded by the Tomars and Qila Rai Pithora belonged to Prithviraj Chauhan of Sanyogita fame.

The masjid with temple pillars.

Well, so after Mohd Ghori won over Delhi, from Prithviraj Chauhan, he left his slave Qutab Ud din Aibak of Turk origin to rule the place. This slave to commemorate the Victory of his Master, quickly plundered a number of Jain and Hindu temples and started the construction of a huge Minar. He died around the time the first storey was completed and the next 2 storey’s were made by his son in law Iltutmish or Altamush.

The Slave Dynasty ruled from 1206 to 1290. Some well known rulers of this dynasty were Altamush, Razia Sultan, and Balban. After the Slave dynasty came the Khiljis.

The majestic minar!

I now wonder how advanced were the people of those times who could construct such magnificent structures, which were beautiful, majestic and withstood the test of time. Today we have a plethora of colleges which churn out Architects and Engineers, but is there a building which stands out for its beauty and majesty today, which will still stand 1000 years from now?

The Minar is really very beautiful. It is made in red and buff sandstone. It has a diameter of 14.32 metres at the base and 2.75 metres on the top. Its height is 72.5 metres. It has 5 storeys and the two top floors were repaired by Feroze Shah Tughlaq after the Minar was hit by lightening in 1368. The symmetry of the building, the calligraphy, and the beautiful craftsmanship needs to be seen and appreciated. The Minar is gigantic and yet it is beautifully carved with inscriptions, geometrical and arabesque patterns which look very balanced and proportionate. The curves and the angles of the Minar are a visual delight. This huge structure is very precise, and looks simply perfect. One can simply continuously gaze at it with amazement.

A tomb.

Besides the Qutab Minar this complex also has the tomb of Iltutmish and Allaudin Khilji. It also has the Alai Darwaza.which was a massive doorway to the Quwwat ul Islam mosque, which was made by Qutab ud din Aibak. This was the first mosque built in India. This Mosque was built with Pillars pillaged from Jain and  Hindu temples. Therefore the designs on these pillars have the motifs of lotus as well as the kalash carved on them.

In the compound of Qutab Minar one can also see the famous Iron pillar which belongs to the 4th Century AD.This has inscription in Brahmi lipi(writing). It probably belonged to the time of Chandragupta Vikramaditya. This pillar is supposed to have been brought here from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh. This pillar is a marvel by itself as inspite of it being made of iron it has not rusted at all. It is called a marvel of ancient metallurgy of India. This pillar has now been enclosed by a screen so that people do not keep touching it.

The enclosed iron pillar.

Some of the rulers of the Slave Dynasty left their indelible mark on the History of India. Iltutmish introduced Chahalgani or Chalisa which was a group of 40 slaves who would advice the King on various matters. Was it a sort of council of advisers? Iltutmish was also the King who made Delhi his capital. Qutab ud din's capital had been  Lahore. Iltutmish also introduced the silver coin (tanka) and copper coin (jital).

Razia Sultan was the first and only woman Muslim ruler of India.

Balban was a strong ruler who introduced the spy system as an aid for administration. He also broke the power of the Chalisa and restored the power of a single ruler without aid. He was a stable ruler and ruled with an iron hand. He created a strong Army to deal with internal disturbances and keep the invaders away. He founded the Diwan-e- arz or a military department. He took up the title of Zille Ilahi or the Shadow of God.

Qutab Minar remains etched in my memory as I had visited it as a child. The view from the top was breath taking.  One was right on top of the world!

Jharokhas!

Besides that the most romantic songs of all times, "Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar, pyar ka raag suno re" was picturised inside the minar. My favourites Nutan and Dev Anand had immortalized the stairs of the Qutab Minar, at least for me.

My youngest brother Ujjwal as a baby could not pronounce “ka” We always teased him and asked him to say Qutab Minar, which he would diligently repeat as  "utur minar"!

So many memories, so much beauty, such magnificence, grandeur, all so close to me, which I had kept ignoring for so long!

Qutab Minar my friendly gigantic historical sentinel will continue to remain my personal favourite piece of History.