Photo kheench lo jitni chahiye sir. Lekin please yahan par namaz nahi padhiye.
That was the sudden change in tone from friendly to pleading, as the security guard saw me bring out my prayer rug ready to be spread out for performing Maghreb.
I couldn’t help but give out a smile. Not at the security guard, but at the irony of the situation.
Yaar, log yahaan par daaru pee sakte hain, juaa khel sakte hain, ganja phoonk sakte hain. Aur masjid main namaz hi nahi padh sakte?
Everyone just laughed out as I said this. The sound of my laugh betrayed a sardonic character.
That’s what Begumpur Mosque is. Situated behind the South Delhi neighborhood of Malviya Nagar, the locality is better known as Begumpur Village, and has an assortment of lanes running through with congested housing on either side. A striking feature in the village is the presence of a large park right at the entrance of the village, which quite naturally is the hangout spot of the kids and youngsters of the area, amongst others being the happy-to-do-nothing variety. Ask around, and the folks are helpful enough to point, even lead you to the mosque. Maybe seeking some sort of faux pride – in being neighbors with the heritage of that structure, and having grown up under the shadow of its walls – as they welcome an outsider and lead him in its direction.
An imposing prayer hall, and a huge courtyard, the size of a football field. Dating from around the mid 14th century, the Tughlak dynasty had this as one of their landmark constructions, and at its peak, the mosque is said to have served as a madarsa, an administrative center, a hub of social activity, and even a treasury.
The structure was in ruins. Shambles. The majesty, however, was still intact. Even if it meant that the sections of the roof had caved in at places, and the domes made way for the sun to shine through and light up the rubble on the floor. After all, it never is the rickety low end car which has a sun roof.
Unlike the park at the entrance to the village, the mosque compound was a hangout of another sort. Empty bottles of cheap booze, disposable glasses, wrappers of munchies and snacks were to be found lying almost uniformly across. I caught a whiff of folks smoking pot while I passed them. And I’m pretty sure I would have found used condoms lying around in corners too. Except that the corners smelt of human piss, and I didn’t have the courage to go around looking either.
At the sound of the Azaan, all I could think of looking around was for space to say my prayers.
Full image set here.