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Delhi’s most beautiful mosque.
[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]
Delhi’s most heartbreakingly beautiful mosque, it lies inside the touristy Qutub Minar complex in the south of the city.
With its three onion-shaped domes, the mosque is small; its two minarets look frail and it faces a little walled garden. Built during the late Mughal times, in the mid-19th century, when the suburb of Mehrauli was a favoured summer refuge of the Mughals, the ruin’s beauty lies in its sparseness. The walls have no carving, no sculpture. Not even a bit of marble, just rubble masonry. The decorative work on the entrance arches is hidden behind coats of paint. The original gateway on the south is closed and the entrance is through an opening in the east wall.
Against the glorious tower of Qutub Minar, the mosque goes largely unnoticed; the solitude adds to its character. A large neem tree leans over the central dome and the stone courtyard smells leafy with the fragrance of shehtoot, pomegranate, guava and gular trees. The cracks on the weathered structure give an illusion as if they are Quranic inscriptions.
The white-walled prayer chamber remains extraordinarily quiet, considering the heavy tourist traffic outside. It has three compartments. The sole window opens onto the lane on which tourists pass on way to the Qutub. Those who spot the mosque are the lucky ones.
Where Qutub Minar Complex, Mehrauli Time 6 am to 6 pm
Isn't it lovely?
Tender is the ruin
The Qutub tourists
Closer to God
We are alone
Another view
Hey, turn around
4 comments:
"No carvings, no sculpture"..... Good! Good!.... good to see that this mosque in this complex is one of the rare example of NOT having built from the material obtained from destruction of temples by intolerant Islamic invaders.
Too bad, ASI allows Muslims to pray here but does not allow Hindus to offer prayers to statues of Hindu deities incorporated in the some of the structures of Qutub Minar complex. Moderate Indian muslims must come forward to voice their support in favor of their Indian Hindu compatriots to be able to practice their faith in this place that was the site of original Hindu and Jain temples.
BTW, on a very different note, how about doing stories about some more of the invisible communities/personalities/activities of Delhi e.g. Afghan refugees in Delhi, Kashmiri Pandit refugees in Delhi, Kathputli colony, Leper's colony, Anglo-Indian community of India, Delhites of Chinese ancestry (originally via Kolkatta), etc. they exist in sizable numbers in Delhi. May be use RTI (with Census of India, Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, curators of ASI and National Museum of Indian History, etc) to obtain statistics on these people in Delhi and NCR region.
Beautiful indeed!
Why people always act in a negative way while seeing any monument related with different community. You or me were not available at that time for seeing who were building or destroying the structures. The purpose of the post is just to admire or think what precious assets we are having. Always giving the proofs that TAJ MAHAL or JAMA MASJID belongs to this or that community definitely will not take us to any conclusion or to a productive way. And suppose if ASI gives permission to pray inside how often you will go or how often you are going now a day in your area temple. This is only showing a sign of typical educated Indian, who doesn’t want to come out from the world of low mentality even after getting good education from a good School/University. Seeing and admiring or giving a serious note on the Bad/evil things in the society should be the only objective while going through any post, rather than feeling abhorrence or trying to create a communal violence. What do you think Mr. Soofi?
@Vishal
Your comments are nothing but blasphemous. It is just a false notion that Mughals built mosques with destroyed hindu temples' materials. How could they have done that? It is a known fact that hindu temples never were so ostentatious and aesthetically appealing. Muslims brought the great construction style from Iran and South Asia. Just read your own architecture books written by those of your own faith before starting on your hate mongering. It's people like you who are keeping Indie enmeshed in hate and poverty.
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