A few weeks back, I went to Mehrauli Archaeological Park
with Delhi Heritage Walks. The park is magnificent and the stories about the monuments were quite interesting, to say the least. I
especially liked two of them. One was about a gentleman named Sir Thomas Metcalfe who was Resident in the then Mughal emperor’s court
for 40 years from 1813 and who landscaped some parts of the area where the park stands today. He built several follies (a folly is
a structure meant for decoration, serving no practical purpose), the most well-known of which is situated near a Lodi-era tank that was
turned by him into a boathouse. He also refurbished a Mughal tomb, made it his
summer retreat and named it “Dilkhusha”! The other story was about the four-layered Rajon ki Baoli.
Built during Sikander Lodi’s time, it is said to have got its name from a group of masons who used it for some time. The walk leader
mentioned that not very far from there is Gandhak Ki Baoli. Its water contains sulphur and many people believe that it has curative
properties. It was built by Sultan Iltutmish (1296–1316) for Sufi saint Hazarat Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, to whom the Qutb Minar is
dedicated (I always thought it was named after Qutb-ud-din Aibak!). The dargah and the Yogmaya temple are the two important stops of the
annual “Phoolwalon Ki Sair”, the festival/procession that was started in 1812 by the Queen of Akbar Shah II (one of those unknown
powerless Mughal kings; Bahadur Shah Zafar’s pitaji) in thanksgiving after the return of her exiled son Mirza Jahangir.
Curious to see more, I decided to further explore Mehrauli
on my own. On my next off-day, I started my walk (armed with Google maps) from the main gate of Yogmaya temple. It is an Adishakti
Peeth dedicated to Devi Jogmaya (the story here refers to the girl child who
was kept in place of Lord Krishna, was thrown into the wall by
Kansa and who vanished after predicting his death). It was said to have been destroyed by Mahmood of Ghazni and has been reconstructed
several times. The temple is regarded as one of five “Pandav Kalin” temples of Delhi. “Yeh 5000 saal purana hai beta,” said the
elderly man selling “puja samagri” in a cart near the entrance. He also helpfully offered me a matchbox (“diya jalakar wapas le
ana”).
The present temple is a modern marbled one, with intricate carvings on the outer wall. There was a string of beautiful brass bells
near ‘garbh griha’ but I refrained from clicking a picture as I was not sure if
that was allowed. During Phoolwalon Ki Sair, floral ‘pankha’
(fans) are offered in this temple as well as at the nearby dargah of Bakhtiyar
Kaki, a tradition that was started by Akbar Shah II himself.
From the temple gateway (opposite the Qutb Minar complex),
it takes around 10 minutes to reach the dargah. The narrow pathway near its entrance has the usual ensemble of chadar and flower
sellers, souvenir shops, and a number of alms seekers. A group of three ladies kept on asking me to treat them to tea. I went into the main
courtyard of the dargah which was teeming with devotees. A group of qawwals were singing amidst the din. Ladies are not allowed
near the main tomb and I took a photo from behind a “jali”. Here, a server himself said photography is allowed, so I didn’t hesitate.
The dargah once shared its boundary with “Zafar Mahal”, the
last palace built by the Mughals. It was started by Akbar II and completed by the last Mughal Bahadur Shah Zafar, who, it is said,
wanted to be buried there and even kept a place reserved, but that did not
happen as he was deported to Rangoon by the British after the 1857
mutiny, to suffer a lonely death. Google map was failing as too many shops and buildings have come up in between the dargah and the
palace. I asked a shopkeeper who said he never heard the name Zafar Mahal. A lady flower seller (Many of the stalls outside the
premises are being run by women) said “arre usko sheesh mahal kehte hai” and
showed me the way.
I braved a narrow sloping lane full of cramped houses,
tailoring and grocery shops with god-knows-what-kind-of-water overflowing into
the path and walked on -- and suddenly, the imposing “haathi
gate” of the palace sprang up before me. I looked at the huge closed doorway of the red-and-cream-coloured structure and took a few
pictures, earning amused glances from some passers-by. There was a small opening in the gate but I decided against going in, thinking
of safety aspects. There are ruins of the palace, a few graves and a white mosque inside – the second Moti Masjid in Delhi after the
one at Red Fort. Those interested to know further can refer to Mayank Austen Soofi's blog.
I returned to the lane leading to the dargah. The three
ladies were still there. One shouted, “arre aab toh chaye pila de”. I really
wanted to treat a fellow tea-lover but wasn’t sure how that will turn
out, and made a quick exit towards Gandhak ki Baoli. The water in the stepwell appeared stagnant but people say it looks completely
different during the rainy season.
My last stop for the day was Dadabari Jain temple. Said to
be 800 years old, the temple is around one km from the dargah but I took an autorickshaw because I was not sure of the safety of the
route. However, I found out that the road is quite okay. Next time, I can walk.
The Dadabari temple is very beautiful, with excellent marble
and coloured glass work on the outer surface and inner shrine, respectively. It is built on the cremation ground of Jain Saint Manidhari
Dada Shri Jinchandra Suri. The complex is considerably large, though not all of it is visible from the road (Devpurji Ashram Marg). There
was a steady stream of visitors but it was quiet and peaceful. Dadabari is a common name for some Jain temples dedicated to saints
revered as Dada Guru Dev. I searched for Jain Dadabari Temple, Kolkata and yes! There is one at the famous Parshwanath temple complex
in our very own Manicktala.
Speaking of Bengal connection, did you know that
Rabindranath Tagore wrote a long poem called “Bandi Bir” on the valiant Baba
Banda Singh Bahadur, the respected Sikh warrior? His “shaheedi
asthan” is also nearby. (For information I took help from several websites,
including the blogs of Soofi, Anuradha Goyal, Rangan Dutta and Vikarmjit Singh Rooprai.)
<February 2018; Next: Exploring Mehrauli Part-II>
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