Meet Nizamuddin Village

I have been living in Delhi for over two years now and have visited most of the main monuments; I have joined heritage walking tours as often as I could.  Yet one important and bustling area eluded me until last weekend. It is a neighborhood that is thronged with multitudes, but not often visited by tourists and expats, despite being a stone’s throw from important Delhi landmarks and a UNESCO heritage site.  

Our Sunday walking group led by our professional guide, Mr. Dushyant Singh, met in front of the Nizamuddin Police station. I had no idea what to expect other than a mosque and a stepwell. I knew cars could not go into that area, as many taxi drivers I had asked had refused to take me there in the past.  I knew it was an ethnic muslim area. Beyond that, I was not prepared for the experience.

Upon leaving the main road to enter the Nizamuddin enclave, we were immediately transported into a different reality;  a warren of narrow winding streets leading to a labyrinth of stalls and booths, with men in white cotton garb and kufi headwear, forming parallel lines under makeshift awnings, like a welcoming committee, hawking their wares. Butcher shops with halal meat hanging on posts; sweets for consumption and sweets as offering; long rosaries with 99 beads - one for each of the names of Allah - shorter ones with 33 beads to be prayed three times; blessings for the home in Arabic calligraphy, with swirly golden letters; along with unrelated plastic trinkets, keychains, toys, and ornaments. 

Most of the merchandise was related to offerings to be given at the holy graves. Chadars - cloth to be draped on top of the tombs; red and white flowers arranged on white plates, or tied as garlands: small white sugar pellets. Offerings given at the foot of the grave is a spiritual exercise, along with joining in song and the reading of Qur'anic verses. It is such a time honored tradition to donate at the Dargahs of Sufi saints, that some websites even offer the opportunity to do so online. With all the distractions on the route, I had to hustle to rejoin the group, and to hear Dushyant’s explanations of where we were. When he saw my confusion about this place, he said: “This is like Lourdes.” And indeed, the parallels are numerous: A place of pilgrimage, prayer, devotion, and healing. 

The Nizamuddin area, which houses the Dargah - tomb and shrine -  of the fourteenth Century Sufi saint, Nizamuddin Auliya, is surrounded by a sprawling urban village, an energetic market, teeming with stalls and vendors, and is visited daily by pilgrims from all over India. Along with the shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya, the complex also houses a red sandstone mosque with an impressive dome, a stepwell linked to the yamuna river and whose waters are purported to have miraculous powers; a vibrant and colorful market with holy offerings for the saint, and seventy other graves that have gravitated to that area, drawn to find eternal rest within proximity of the Sufi saint. Not least among these is the tomb of the daughter of Shah Jahan, Princess Jahanara, who served as her father’s princess consort after his beloved wife, Mumtaz, died. Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal for Mumtaz, chose to name their eldest daughter as his first lady, rather than one of his other three wives. Jahanara embraced Sufism in life, and requested burial in the Nizamuddin area after her death. In fact, Humayun tomb’s location in the vicinity is also due to the Sufi saint and a desire to be buried near him. 

Dushyant was very respectful of the place we were in and explained that as he is from Ajmer, he grew up visiting and leading visitors to the thirteenth Century Ajmer Sharif Dargah at an early age, which may be where his vocation as a guide began. He explained that Sufism is the mystical sect of Islam, which relies on love and conversion through faith rather than through force. The Sufi Saint Moinuddin Chishti, buried in Ajmer,  died a century prior to Nizamuddin;  together  they form part of the same chain of leadership in the Chishti Sufi tradition. 

Dushyant explained that visiting a Dargah is an honored tradition in Islam, and that many people come here praying for miracles and healing. He also explained that Sufi devotions through Quawwali music and spiritual songs is a regular practice. 

Our group stood around the tomb of Nizamuddin, watching devotees singing, reading the Quran, giving offerings, and listening to the solo singer, sitting in the middle of a marble square in front of the tomb,  decorated with a carpet of marble inlay work similar to the craftsmanship at the Taj Mahal. 

We passed by the tomb of princess Jahanara, and Dushyant read to us a translation of what is written in Parsi on her tomb, purported to be written by her: 

“Don’t cover my grave with anything flashy 

Just with grass. This is enough for the grave of this Fakir” (ascetic worshiper of God).

 She was buried in the late 17th Century, 250 years after Nizamuddin. Her grave is hollow, perhaps in order to be filled with grass, as she requested in her poem. Her tomb is encircled with marble latticework on which devotees  hang red and yellow kalava threads on the white Jaali walls as evidence of their prayers and supplications, softening the stone with a colorful vibrancy. 

Among the 70 graves within the Nizamuddin complex buried alongside the Sufi Saint and the Mughal princess consort, some are unidentified or unremarkable, but a few are noteworthy. The thirteenth Century poet, Amir Khusrau’s grave is towards the entrance of the complex. He was a prolific poet, scholar, linguist, and perhaps the father of Qawwali poetry and song. He was a disciple of Nizamuddin. The eighteenth Century poet, Mirza Ghalib, is also buried here. 

Another iconic landmark of the Nizamuddin area is the stepwell. Dushynat led us there through the zig zagging paths in the crowded warren. The lanes on the way were sprinkled with men begging for alms; many showing visibly amputated limbs. 

The story (or legend) of the stepwell, the cursed fort, and the miraculous oil is a favorite among Delhi’s lore. See the caption below for the story that will continue to be told, but can never be proven.

Dushyant pointed out that it is ironic that Nizamuddin’s tomb is as grand and as crowded as it is now. He was an ascetic, who chose to live as far away from the seat of power in Mehrauli as possible. He sought simplicity and hermitage, and is now honored with throngs of visitors, fervent devotees, inlaid marble work, and grand domes. 

If, like me, you haven’t made your way to this part of Delhi yet, you would do well to add it to your list of must-dos. You may learn a thing or two about Sufism, hear some stories, and feel like you have entered a portal to a different era. A guide is highly recommended. 

Sources and For further Reading:  The Tomb of Princess Jahanara – Rana Safvi In Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, savour the centuries-old qawwali tradition | Condé Nast Traveller India Ajmer Sharif Chadar Offering - Chishtiya Sufi Foundation. Dilli Darshan: Nizamuddin and Humayun’s Tomb | Sarson ke Khet offerings – Khawaja Gharibnawaz Ajmer  (Cyber offerings)  Sufism | Definition, History, Beliefs, Significance, & Facts | Britannica Nizamuddin | INDIAN CULTURE Thursday Nights at Delhi's Nizamuddin Dargah Are All About the Magic of Qawwali

The walking group makes its way to the Dargah, flanked by merchants on both sides, selling chadars, flower plates, garlands, sweet offerings, and prayer aids.

Halal butcher shops stand near sellers of religious items as a reminder that Nizamuddin is not only a pilgrimage place, but also a densely populated urban village, housing over 30,000 inhabitants, that require having their daily needs met. The area’s population grew immediately following the partition as it provided a safe haven for muslim families.

Marble inlay threshold, blessed by devotees prior to entrance to the dargah

Group guide extraordinaire, Dushyant Singh, takes a respectful pause in the middle of the dargah in order to impress upon the group the importance of the place and its holiness for devotees.

Merchants converse casually among the tombs scattered all around the Dargah, as people sought their eternal rest to be close to the Sufi Saint.

Tomb of the poet and scholar Amir Khusro

The hollow Tomb of Jahanara Begum (d. 1681) can be glimpsed through the marble Jaali wall, with Kalava threads tied by devotees

Music is of prime importance in Sufi worship practices. In addition to the weekly Qawwali ceremonies on Thursdays, which draws thousands to the narrow space,  daily singing can be heard here. This solo singer sang non-stop the whole hour we were there, without sipping water not even once.

Flower petals scattered on top of tombs, Chadars draping others, and Kalavas on the Jaali walls are testament that this is not just a historical monument but a place of active living faith, drawing devotees from all over India (and neighboring countries).

The Legend of the Stepwell, the fort, the oil, the curse, and the miracle: While Nizamuddin was building the stepwell to provide for the surrounding communing that sprouted around his neighborhood, the work was interrupted by the emperor Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq who was intent on building Tughlaqabad Fort. The emperor/sultan ordered all the builders to focus on the fort and for all other projects to cease. Nizamuddin asked the builders to come at night to continue work on his baoli. When the sultan got wind of this illegal building activity, he cut the supply of oil, thereby interrupting the stepwell/baoli work a second time. This infuriated Nizamuddin, who put a curse on the fort, and declared that it shall lie in ruins. At the same time, he turned water into oil for the workers to continue working at night. That legend seems not to be quite in line with the Sufi philosophy of a God of Love. Whether it is true or not, and where its original source came from is a research for another time. It is, however, a good story!  And whether factual or not, it will surely continue to be told whenever Tughlaqabad Fort or the Nizamuddin Stepwell is visited.

Sweets eaten and offered as a symbol of faith. This may be a tradition borrowed from Hinduism as I haven’t seen it in other Muslim countries, but I may be wrong. I welcome more information.

This merchant was delighted that I could read all the calligraphy on his wooden key holders. He dug in to show me: “Ma Sha’a Allah” (what delights God), which is the most familiar Arabic/Urdu blessing found on cars, trucks, rickshaws, and signposts outside stores around India. I read  the rest to him: Allah w akbar (God is Great); Subhan Allah (May God be worshiped for the beauty of His creation); “Al-salamu- alaikum” (Arabic Namaste, Shalom, peace be with you).

A mysterious cross is on a home at the end of the road leading out of Nizamuddin. There is no sign on it and no one in the area was able to tell me if it was associated with a church. A simple cross making the statement that this may be a muslim neighborhood, but all are welcome here.

Sabz Burj: On Mathura Road, in front of the Nizamuddin police station is possibly the earliest Mughal tomb in New Delhi. It is thought to date from the 1520s, fifty years prior to  the Humayun Tombs. There is no record of who is buried there, but it hosts most probably another of the Sufi Saint’s fervent devotees.  It has recently been restored by the Aga Khan Foundation in cooperation with ASI; and it adds an imposing colorful dome to the Nizamuddin area.