Bagh e Bedil - Remains of a celebrated Persian Poet

Two shrines are located opposite Pragati Maidan hidden in greenery - on Mathura Road, right next to the National Sports Club of India. A small signboard partially hidden by leaves of overgrown an unkempt greenery declares this space as Bagh e Bedil - or The Garden of Bedil. 

Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil a poet who lived in mid 17th century was a most revered poet in Persian and though not much known in the Indian subcontinent, he still is  the heartthrob in Tajikistan. Afghanistan and Central Asia enjoying almost a cult following. So much so that a group of Afghan taxi drivers in Washington DC supposedly meet up every evening to recite Bedil's poetry and discuss its interpretations, passionately. 

Born in Patna, believed to be the inspiration of Mirza Ghalib, a "complete guru" for Iqbal, the national poet of Pakistan, and the most loved and discussed poet of Uzbekistan, lies buried and unknown in Delhi, paradoxically, in the land of his birth.  

Bedil's poetry is complex and difficult to interpret. A poet no less than Ghalib mentions: 

Tarz e Bedil mein rekhta kahna
Asadullah Khan Qayamat hai. 

A rough meaning of the above is that it is an arduous task to compose poetry in the style of Bedil. [Asadullah Khan is the real name of Ghalib]

Ghalib, reportedly gave up on copying the metaphysical style of poetry writing of Bedil as he belongs to a higher plane !

One interesting episode brings out the humorous side of this much celebrated poet. He lived through the last phase of the reign of Shahjahan and his son Aurangzeb during who time there was a rise in orthodoxy. It is said that Aurangzeb encouraged growing of beards as a sign of piousness - to which Bedil retorted by saying that it inaugurates an era of "goats and bears" and he mocked this orthodoxy by saying that growing of beard would block his entry into paradise as they don't tolerate anything that is aesthetically offensive. 

There is some debate regarding his burial site. According to another theory, when he died, he was buried in his haveli at Bairuni Darwaza outside the city of Shahjanabad. Written references mention that this original house of Bedil was destroyed as a result of attacks and raids on Delhi. It seems, his remains were removed from here by his followers and taken to Afghanistan.

Records of colonial period of early 20th century also does not talk about the existence or any evidence of Bedil's grave at this spot, though it talks of a mausoleum. The identification of this site as the grave of Bedil apparently was done by Khwaja Hassan Nizami who was associated with Nizamuddin Dargah (around the year 1932), and with the help of the Nizam of Hydrabad he tried to spruce it up. The most recent renovation has been carried out in the year 2006 when the President of Tazikistan visited India and expressed interest in visiting this site. 

A misnomer according to some, it actually is the final resting place of Hazrat Khwaja Nooruddin Malik Yar e Paraan, whose mortal remains are actually buried in this garden in this is simple, unadorned grave. 

He was a sufi saint with the real name as Sheikh Nooruddin and he belonged to the Qadri order. Among the sufis or mystics there are different chains of successions known as orders or "silsila". 

He was there around the time of Balban in the 13th century. Malik Yar e Paraan is the title attached to the name of this sufi saint and there is an interesting story behind how he got this name. It is said that he came from Persia and wanted to settle in this place. But there was already another Sufi saint by the name of Matke Shah in the vicinity right across this place, in the area which is now known as Matka Peer. 

Matke Shah objected to this as he considered this to be his territory. To this Sheikh Nooruddin replied by saying that he has been guided by his peer or spiritual guide to come and settle down here.  Matke Shah demanded proof of this. 

Now, Nooruddin was in a quandary as his peer was nowhere in the vicinity. It is said that it took him a moment to travel to his peer as if by magic and return with a letter of authorization from him.   

Matke Shah was immensely impressed and he is supposed to have said that ... Yaar (my friend) you are "Malik Paraan" or the flying king !! 

So, thus Malik Yaar Paraan got attached to his name since then!! And he finally settled here. 

Unlike what we may like to believe, intense rivalry and competition between these sufi saints around their so called terrritories of influence was commonplace regarding their "spiritual territory". Each exerted their own rights over their own spiritual domain and did not enjoy competition from anyone else. 

Whether you are an admirer of Bedil or not, this place certainly deserves a visit, Do consider taking the path that is rarely taken through this garden lined with trees and feel its quiet simplicity - too feel a moment of respite in this busy mega city.  

Khair-ul-Manazil - Remains of Grandeur

Literally meaning "The most auspicious of Edifices" , Khair ul Manazil - one of the finest mosques of Delhi, stands right opposite the Delhi zoo on Mathura Road. The name of the person behind this building and the date of its construction is inscribed in Persian on a rectangular slab right on top of the main entrance of the mosque. It says that this mosque was built by Maham Anga, Akbar's wet nurse and it was built during the reign of Akbar around 1651. It reads: 

"In the time of Jalal-ud -din Mohammad, who is the greatest of just kings, when Maham Beg, the protector of chastity erected this building for the virtuous, Sahabuddin Ahmad Kahn, the generous assisted in the erection of this good house. How blessed is this building that its chorogram is "best of houses". Its construction was accomplished by Niyaz Balsh, under the supervision of Darvesh Hussain."

The name "Khair -ul-Manazil" if written in Persian script supposedly yields 969 Hijri (AD 1561 - 62) which is the year of its construction. 

Difficult to believe that almost 450 years back, a woman, who was a wet nurse could wield such financial strength to be able to patronise the construction of such a mosque which also served as a madrasa. But Maham Anga was no ordinary woman. She was resourceful, powerful, ambitious and rich. 

Akbar came to throne as a teenager. During the early years of his reign, Maham Anga acted as his guardian as his mother was away most of the time with his father Babar who was in exile. She was considered to be not just a powerful influence not just on Akbar, but also functioned as the de facto regent of the Mughal empire. She is believed to have reduced Akbar to a puppet ruler after the death of Bairam Khan and thus this phase of Mughal rule came to be often referred to as "The Petticoat Government" . 

From the mosque, facing the main gate we can see the remains of double story structures that used to function as the madrasa (a school for Islamic education). All of these are in complete ruins, the walls have given way and clearly in need of massive restoration work.

An unverified incident recounts that Emperor Akbar on his way back from a hunting expedition decided to rest and to offer prayers in this mosque after visiting Nizamuddin Aulia's Dargah. A slave shot an arrow intending to kill the Emperor but it injured one of his soldiers instead. Later the slave was captured who admitted to conspiring the killing of Emperor Akbar. It is anybody's guess what would have happened to the slave after this shocking disclosure !!

Remnants of broken tiles still clinging to  its western wall (Mihrab) are silent testimonies to its better days which saw this mosque in all its glory, when faithfuls would gather to offer prayers in its well lit halls and the madrasa would reverbarate with the voices of students reciting verses from the Quran !! It still stands as a witness to its erstwhile grace, beauty and even some amount of flamboyance. Today this space is in the clutches of silence and though it is an active mosque, where regular namaz is offered every Friday, you only find the self appointed honorary caretaker in pure white kurta pajama as its only solitary devotee who woefully recounts the insensitivity of the government in not taking care of this heritage building - not even providing electricity.  

Outside, on the busy Mathura Road, traffic passes by endlessly from morning till night - unconcerned and in complete contrast with the tranquility just on the other side of its massive red sandstone gate. Two different worlds - separated by just a gate !

Khirki Masjid - The Window Mosque

Hidden in a narrow lane bang opposite Select City Walk - the favorite mall of all is this nearly 650 year old gigantic mosque, standing majestically amidst a congested colony of nondescript structures in Khirki village. 

It is believed to be designed and commissioned by the son of Khan I Jahan Maqbool Telengani - the Prime minister of Feroz Khan  who was a very powerful man in his time. He was a convert to Islam and an enthusiastic builder of mosques as a testimony to his adopted faith. Between the king (who himself was a patron of architecture), along the prime minister and his son - whose name was Juna Telengani, they constructed several buildings, hunting lodges, mosques and bridges and Khirki mosque is believed to have been constructed as an inauguration of Firoz Shah Tughlaq's rule. 

Built on a raised platform, almost with a look of a fortress, the Khirki Masjid is a blend of Hindu and Muslim architecture. 

Rows after rows of arches adorn the interior of this masterpiece. It is one of the few mosques constructed that was closed on top. The roof of the mosque is divided into squares through which sunlight streams inside to create a beautiful lattice of light and shadow. The roof consists of a lot of domes (81 as per facts). In its ruggedness and severity, the blackened walls and the collapsed domes this is one of the most romantic ruins of Delhi and is an architectural marvel. 

Domed towers with tapering walls of typical signature style of the Tughlaqs, stand in each of its corners. The pillared hall with its 25 squares is breathtakingly beautiful. The hide and seek of light and shadow is played by the lights entering from the Khirkis(windows) carved out of stone with perforated screens. The mihrab or the mecca facing wall has no window and is dark. 

Climb up to the rooftop to discover symmetry and mathematical precision in its construction. Sadly, from here one can also witness the heartbreaking lack of maintenance of this rich heritage with caved in domes and half completed restoration work. It is infested by bats who have made nests very comfortably on its domes. Stench of bat droppings fill the air and create filthy floors. No one enforces the rule of ASI of not having buildings constructed within 100 meters of a protected monument. This rare gem of a 14th century building from a radically different world is gradually getting devoured by the claws of civilisation as this magnum opus of architecture is slowly getting choked by the colony surrounding it.  

Begumpur Mosque - A mute Spectator to the Glories of the Past

There is a debate about who built this mosque. One version says that this is the main congregation mosque for the city of Jahanpanah way back when Mohammad Bin Tughlaq was in power. According to Badr i Chach - who lived at the court of Mohd Bin Tughlaq, and was the most outstanding poet of those times, mentions Al Jayush as the chief architect of this exquisite structure. 

The second version says that this was built during the time of Firoz Shah Tughlaq, who was a renowned builder himself. It is believed to have been built by Khan e Jahan Telengani, who was his prime minister and a very powerful influence on him. He and his son Jauna Khan who succeeded him have been credited with patronizing a series of mosques around Delhi, one of which was the Begumpur mosque. 

Moreover, there has not been any mention of such a grandeur in the records of Ibn Batuta - which also leads us to the possibility of its being built during the time of Firoz Shah Tughlaq.. 

The mosque has a huge courtyard with prayer corridors on three sides. The style of the arch at the main eastern entrance has central Asian influence. Apart from serving as a Friday mosque, it was believed to be serving as a madrasa in the pinnacle of its glory. 

Built in the unadorned spartan style of rubble masonry, and described by Sir Syed as 'strong and ugly',  one can still discover style and magnificence in its robustness. 

Walking through the arcades to its northern wall - we  reach a niche - which is believed to be used as the prayer hall for women. A rickety narrow staircase leads one to the roof which promises a magnificent view of the Begampur village and the neighboring area. 

The mosque contains 64 domes, with the central one with a height of 9 feet

Begumpur mosque lay occupied by the villagers for centuries till the ASI decided to restore it and evacuated the villagers in the year 1921. 

Today standing in a state of utter neglect, it sometimes serves as a cricket pitch for local urchins, sometimes a favorite joint for gamblers and drug addicts. Goats and dogs have free access in its ruins. 

Jahanpanaah - The Refuge of the World

The capital city of the second Tughlaq king Mohammad Bin Tughlaq - one of the most controversial kings Islamic India had seen. Known as a mad genius - in terms of knowledge, ideas and skills, he was the eldest son of Ghiasuddin Tughlaq, and acquired the throne after his father's passing away. 

It is said that he was uncomfortable living in the capital his father built. He decided to create a new capital city for himself and this is the area he chose. He called this place Jahanpanah or refuge of the world. He was an intellectual, philosopher, knew many languages and took a keen interest in Mathematics, Science, Astronomy and Calligraphy. 

But at the same time he was a very impulsive and unpredictable man, extremely temperamental, whose behavior caused a lot of hardship and suffering to the common men and nobles alike. One can never say with conviction whether he was a lunatic or a genius, a benevolent ruler or a bloodthirsty tyrant. He was just a strange combination of contradictions. Thus despite being a genius, he was one of the kings whose reputation suffered because of total failure of his revolutionary ideas. 


One of his most controversial decisions was to transfer the capital to Daulatabad in Maharashtra, to make it a twin capital. He ordered a mass migration and forced everyone to move. Those who disagreed or refused were beaten, killed and faced severe punishments. This movement soon proved to be a mistake as Daulatabad was arid and it could not provide sufficient water to support such a huge mass of people who moved in. And thus he shifted the capital back to Delhi once again. 

After his military campaigns to expand his empire, his treasury became bereft of gold and silver coins. So he ordered minting of copper coins which had the same value as that of gold and silver. This decision soon turned out to a failure as every house became a mint as everyone started minting tens of millions of counterfeit coins at home. The purchasing power of people thus increased, the local headmen in villages and the Rajas became rich but the government became poor. This persuaded Bin Tughlaq to repeal his edict and he ordered everyone to bring their copper coins to the treasury and exchange them with gold and silver.  

Very naturally as the state revenues collapsed because of his whimsical and impulsive moves costing the treasury a fortune, Tughlaq sharply increased taxes to cover expenses. 

Some information about this time come from the travelogue of Ibn Batuta, the Moroccan traveler who was a guest in his court for a fairly long time. Though not an officially commissioned work, but it gives a fair idea and an interesting account of the times. The memoir of Ibn Batuta records that he did not pay his staff from the treasury except in times of war. He paid his army, judges, governors and other officials by awarding them the right to force collect taxes on Hindu villages, keep a portion and transfer the remaining to the treasury. Those who failed to pay taxes were executed. In the words of Batuta, "...his gateway is never free from a beggar whom he has relived and never free from a a corpse he has slain." 

When he finally died in 1351, one contemporary observer Badauni wrote: : and so the king was freed from his people and the people from him"

Not much is left of the palace area except some broken walls and staircases.  It is recorded by Ibn Batuta that at the time of Mohd Bin Tughlaq, Delhi was the largest city not only in India but in all of Islamic east. It was fortified by 28 gates, all these gateways had granaries, passages for soldiers , big troupes and evidences of these are still existing in Tughlaqabad. 

One particular feature in the city he mentions is a place called "Hazar Sutun" or the hall of thousand pillars. This is the hall of public audience of this king. It is hard to imagine standing on the grass around the broken down citadel - but we can locate square bases under the grass covers, which could have easily been bases of these thousand pillars. One can only imagine today the grandeur of such a massive hall of public audience. Ibn Batuta particularly describes the beauty of these intricately carved wooded pillars as they stood proudly once, proclaiming the glory of this king.  

If we look around a bit, we find some holes on the ground which are believed to have been used as treasure pits. Excavations here revealed precious stones and gold coins stored in these pits. Because it is slightly below the ground level, we can guess there could have been a false floor here. Nothing has survived. Today the treasure pits are full of trash and are pathetic pictures of utter neglect!!

Today, this citadel, renamed as Bijay Mandal stands in its stark and basic utilitarian beauty,  with its dark and musty chambers surrounded by overgrown vegetation as a lone witness  to the idiosyncrasy of a controversial king. One can climb up its narrow staircases to reach the octagonal pavilion on the roof from where one can get a majestic view till the end of the city of Delhi on a clear day. The silence of the stones actually tell you a story - if you care to listen to it. 

Firozabad - Where the Djinns Grant Wishes!!

Nestled between a cricket ground and Ring Road, lies the ruins of Firozabad or Firoz Shah Kotla - the city built by the third Tughlaq ruler Feroz Shah Tughlaq. 

It is said that when Mohd. Bin Tughlaq died, the noblemen had to coax his reluctant cousin Firoz Shah Tughlaq to ascend the throne as he was planning to become a dervish. 

Yet, his rule is recorded as one of the most prosperous one and is described by chroniclers as a period of abundance, happy subjects, cheap goods and flourishing villages. 

A native saying goes, three things are needed to build a city - Dariya (a river), Badal (rain - brought by clouds) and Badshah (an emperor). In the 14th century, in the year 1354, Firoz Shah Tughlaq settled the city of Firozabad on the bank of river Yamuna and built himself this fortified palace complex as part of his capital city. The city doesn't exist anymore. What remains here are fragmented remnants of a series of walls, courtyards and broken gateways apparently leading nowhere. As against the delicacy of intricate artwork of the Mughals, the Tughlaq structures are huge, blunt, somewhat stern, hauntingly spectacular and magnificent their own unique way. The emperor's personal quarters and those of his wives were situated along the riverfront, which has now shifted course and has been replaced by the busy Ring Road.

Successor of two most talked about and controversial in Indian history - Firoz Shah's reign heralded the weakening of Tughaq dynasty. Though his reign of 40 years experienced a decline in the military prowess of his kingdom due to his reluctance to command armies and wage wars with his neighbors to increase his kingdom, it witnessed a period of architectural blossoming as he was credited by contemporary historians to have created numerous gardens around Delhi, several towns, built many mosques and villages, reservoirs, dams, hospitals, public baths and bridges.  He even reconstructed the two upper stories of Qutub Minar as it got damaged by lightning. Firoz Shah was said to be well known for three things: his passion for good governance, hunting and building. 

And his fourth hobby seemingly was collecting slaves; for according to the records, he had gathered more than a lakh of them in his lifetime !!

According to common belief, benevolent djinns now live in its dark labyrinths. Faithfuls throng here every Thursday to ask for wishes to be granted by these djinns. The range of their benevolence is believed to be from curing illness, to getting a job, reuniting families, to bringing missing people back home to something as small as winning a local cricket match!! Djinns are formless invisible beings who are created from smokeless fire by the Almighty and have the power to grant boons. 

There are seven underground vaulted windowless rooms called the sat-dar. In these dark corridor, in the dim light of flickering candle lights, and thick smoke of incense and fragrance of flowers, the devoted followers gather to move from chamber to chamber and write petitions with their requests on papers, spelling out the exact nature of their problems and stick it to walls of the recesses, innumerable crevices and alcoves blackened by the soot of oil lamps. 

Jami Masjid: Like every Islamic town has its own congregation mosque built for their respective cities, Ferozabad too had its own - which stands testimony to its glorious past. Its walls are mostly gone now, the prayer arches are totally in ruins, the cloisters on the sides of the courtyard and the prayer hall have all disappeared with time, and just a skeleton of its former grandeur remains today. It is believed that when Timur raided Delhi, he offered prayers here and was so impressed with this building, that he took away some of its artisans and masons to Samarkand where he built a mosque exactly of the same pattern. 

At the center of the courtyard of this mosque, Feroz Shah had described some policies of his governance. He had recorded that he had put a stop to physical tortures as means of punishment and had waived off petty taxes from common people. He desired to look after the welfare of his subjects and he did all he could to keep them happy. 

It is also mentioned that on becoming the ruler, he had sought letters of forgiveness from those who had been tortured or killed by his ancestor Mohd Bin Tughlaq, after offering them adequate compensations and had placed them in his tomb in a box believing that this act would grant spiritual mercy for his predecessor in his afterlife. 

Minar i Zarin: (Column of Gold) : 

While on one of his hunting expeditions in Meerat, Firoz Shah came across this massive monolith and was intrigued by it. Not knowing what to do with it, he got this 13 meters high and 27 tonnes heavy pillar excavated by hundreds of men and had it transported on a 42 wheeled cart using numerous pulleys and revolving wheels with 200 people pulling each rope attached to each wheel. Large boats were used to carry it across the Yamuna at this spot to have it erected here again on a three storied pyramidal structure. The pillar is similar to another one on the northern ridge which was also brought by Firoz Shah. 

This pillar made of sandstone has been polished so skilfully that even after 2300 years it continues to shine like gold giving it the name Minar i Zarin or column of gold. Much later the British deciphered the inscriptions on it as Brahmi script and were interpreted as Ashoka's edicts in Pali language. 

Sirat - i - Firozshahi narrates: 

... No bird can fly as high as its top and no arrows can reach its middle ... O God! How could they have painted it all over with gold that it appears to people like the golden morning!!

Notwithstanding the existing inscriptions, many legends continue to float around regarding its magical properties and some people still believe it to be the walking stick of the Pandava prince Bheem. Another belief is that the chief of the djinns, named as Laat Waale baba (the master of the pillar or laat) dwells inside this pillar and thus it is common to find the eager faithfuls touching this third century BC pillar that extols the virtues of Buddhist Dhamma and praying for granting their wishes. 

The Baoli:

Towards the northwest of the Ashokan Pillar, lies a large circular baoli or step well, surrounded by underground rooms which was believed to be used by the royalty to cool off during the summer months as they bathed in the waters of this well. The water supply ran through pipelines connecting the river Yamuna.