Heritage walk at Dargah of Nizzamudin Auliya
Shaman Marya
Tucked away in the silent lanes of Nizzamudin basti, lies one of India 's most sacred and ancient Sufi shrines. The Dargah of Hazrat Nizzamudin Auliya, remains rapped in a mystic air of history, folklore and splendour. Tales of how Hazrat Nizamuddin happened to settle there, stories of the famous multi faceted Aamir Khusrau and a semi detailed history of the Chishti silsila. The dargah and areas around it house so many secrets of our past that it is unimaginable. Various Makbaraa' s of famed historical figures such as Mirza Ghalib surround the locality. They remind us of an era when people payed fortunes to book a spot near the tomb of Hazrat Nizzamudin. Delhi 's oldest functional mosque and only surviving baoli are just two of the areas crowning glories. In its day people from all over India flocked the Dargah searching for a sanctuary against social evil and prejudice. Hazrat had one wish only, that no Emperor should step into his Dargah, and so it was that after his death every ruler of the area has visited the Dargah. It is wonderful to know that even today this ceremony is followed. Farid Bhai, the 21 st generation descendant of Hazrat himself today runs the Dargah. Farid Bhai met us and gave us a wonderful glimpse of the Dargah's transition over the past 700 years into what it is today. He narrated all the stories and tales revolving around the entwined streets of Nizzamudin area and how they related to the Dargah. The crowning glory of the visit was our visit to Chausath (64) Khamba. A 64 pillared hall laden with extravagant marble carved tombs including Mirza Aziz Tultaktaush, Akbars faithful army general. Overall Nizzamudin is a whole new world within Delhi from which we can imbibe a lot about our past, and folklore. A Must Do Heritage Walk by Itihaas!!!!