Nizamuddin

Believe it or not, it’s here–my last day in India!  I spent most of my last day visiting a very Muslim district, Nizamuddin, and seeing many Muslim monuments, including what’s perhaps Delhi’s most beautiful building.  The day ended on somewhat of a downbeat note.  But I’ll go back to India in a heartbeat.

Nizamuddin Dargah

I began the day in the Nizamuddin West, a Muslim area so densely pack, it makes Mehrauli look like a sprawling suburb.  Hidden within the area are many Muslim monuments.  As a matter of fact, it’s such a maze-like area, I couldn’t find everything I was hoping to see.

The main sight in the area is Nizamuddin Dargah, the mausoleum of Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya, also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin.  He was a Sufi saint of the 12th and 13th centuries.  The area takes his name from him.  The Dargah is a major Muslim shrine in Delhi.

I roamed the neighborhood for about a half hour looking for the shrine before I finally had to ask someone to find it.  Remembering an important phrase from my trip to Southwest Asia in 2013, I approached a man and wished him “As-Salaam-Alaikum.”  The stern look on his face melted away when he heard my respectful greeting.  He kindly explained how to get to the Dargah.

When I arrived at Nizamuddin Dargah, I was surprised by how much space there was.  It was an abrupt change from the density of the surrounding area.  A helpful man showed me around the buildings there.  He told me I couldn’t enter the mausoleum because I was wearing shorts.  When I was done visiting, he went through a list of items for me to make donations for and asked me how much I was going to contribute to each.  I was a little surprised as I had mostly seen this at Hindu temples, like Triambakeshwar Temple in Rishikesh.  But it was my last day in India, and India was going to squeeze as many rupees out of me as it could.

In The Market

Back in the hubbub of the teeming ancient quarter, walking around was just a marvel.  Upper-floor balconies reached the buildings across the way, creating a covered passageway.  Critters were plentiful.

More Muslim Monuments

The fascinating Nizamuddin area dates back many centuries.  There is no shortage of monuments built when Muslims ruled the day.

Humayun’s Tomb

The most densely packed part of the Nizamuddin area was a lot of fun.  But now we get to the main event.  Humayun’s Tomb was the final UNESCO World Heritage Site of my trip.  Humayun was the 2nd Mughal Emperor.

Humayun’s tomb was built at the direction of Humayun’s 1st wife, who is also buried in the tomb.  The tomb is an architectural predecessor to the Taj Mahal.  You may recall at the Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan, who was heartbroken over the death of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in 1631.  This was a reversal of roles from the case of Shah Jahan’s great-grandfather Humayun, whose wife Empress Bega Begum was heartbroken when he died in 1556.

Khair-ul-Manazil

When I left Humayun’s Tomb, I got lots of attention from tuk-tuk drivers who insisted I needed a ride.  My plan was to walk to my next destination, but I was running late (as usual) and it was hot.  So I gave in to the most persistent driver.  We quickly arrived at Khair-ul-Manazil (“the most auspicious of houses”).

Khair-ul-Manazil was built at the direction of Akbar’s devoted wet nurse, believe it or not.  She was like a mother to him.  Akbar succeeded his father Humayun to become the 3rd Mughal Emperor.  You might remember him as the emperor who built Fatehpur Sikri and Agra Fort.

Purana Qila

I didn’t have to go far to get to my next stop, Purana Qila.  It’s right across the street from Khair-ul-Manazil.

Purana Qila means “Old Fort”.  It is at a site that has been continuously inhabited for over 2,500 years.  It has somewhat of a complicated history.  I’ll just leave it at saying that it is the 6th of Delhi’s 7 cities, in between Feroz Shah Kotra and Shahjahanabad (aka Old Delhi).  Humayun began building it about 500 years ago.

Crafts Museum

After a day of historic Islamic culture, architecture, and–in the case of Humayun’s Tomb–dazzling beauty, it was time for something a little different.  I was ready to take in a different sort of Indian heritage at the National Crafts Museum, just around the corner from Purana Qila.

I was disappointed.  There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of interesting stuff on display.  It seemed likely it was mostly for people to come and sell their stuff, like at a flea market.  Some exhibit space was being renovated, which meant fewer items to look at.  And that was fine by me.  I didn’t take any pictures.  I resigned myself to the fact that my last take-in in India was going to be the least memorable.  I moved on.

Connaught Place (Reprise)

Having accepted my disappointment, I headed back to Connaught Place for dinner.  (Unfortunately, after having had so much good food the last several days, my last meal in India was also a disappointment.)  That morning, before heading out to Nizamuddin, I decided to take a quick stroll around Connaught Place.  It wasn’t long before I saw a woman gently nudge a boy in my direction.  He approached me and tried his best to get me to buy some of the pencils he was selling.  Seeing how he had been directed to do this by the woman, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was being trafficked, like the children in “Slumdog Millionaire” or “Lion”.

That evening on Connaught Place, while I was trying to “borrow” a WiFi signal from a nearby restaurant, I saw a small girl with a look of pure desperation in her eyes.  She was trying to sell pencils to every man walking by.  I was afraid to think what might happen to her if she returned to wherever she needed to without having sold her quota.  Selling pencils in Connaught Place was clearly a way children were being exploited.

The night before, I had been walking around Connaught Place on my way to dinner.  I was wearing an old pair of sneakers with the sole flapping off one of them.  My plan was to leave the pair behind after having worn them to death over many years.  A very young entrepreneur spied the state of my sneaker and said he could fix them.  I wasn’t interest in getting my sneakers fixed when I was never going to wear them again, and I was eager to get to dinner, so I declined.  But he wouldn’t stopping following me around Connaught Place.  In an attempt to ditch him, I ducked into the Levi’s store.  I pretended to shop around for a while.  (I was shocked to see that a pair of Levi’s cost about $70.  I had never seen anything cost that much during my entire trip.)  After a while, I went outside.  My would-be cobbler was waiting for me.  He followed me around more before finally giving up.

I wish I had something insightful to say about these experiences.  It’s just all so sad.  I hope that somehow India is able to rise up from its poverty and pollution and inequality.  It would be an enormous undertaking.  Like I said at the beginning, India is challenging, in very many ways.  India gave me a trip I’ll never forget.  I hope you’ve enjoyed it too.  But if you’re so inclined, say a prayer for India and its people.

[Factual information is primarily gathered from Wikipedia, so you know it must be true.]