If you drive about a kilometre from the malls located in Saket District Centre, you will reach the urban village of ‘Khirkee’. Here, you will find the quaint Khirki Mosque (also referred to as The Mosque of Windows) that was built during the 14th Century. This inconspicuous mosque, not known to many people, has a few domes that have collapsed; the walls are old and decrepit. Similarly, if you steer South for a few kilometres from Qutab Minar in Mehrauli, you will stumble upon the obscure Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb, another monument built during the 16th Century.
Delhi houses several monuments—similar to the aforementioned ones—that are still unheard of among city dwellers. It is this thought that inspired Syed Yusuf Shahab to establish Sair E Dilli, a cultural organisation that organises walks and tours to monuments in the city, with a focus being on lesser-known historical sites.
Revisiting forgotten places
Shahab—a native of Patna, Bihar—recounts being fascinated by all the monuments in the city when he moved to Delhi. “I grew up visiting all the known monuments here. It was only later that I realised that whatever I had seen only constituted 10 per cent of the monuments in this city,” says the 29 year old who has a master’s degree in travel and tourism. Shahab’s endeavour was to visit and research the hidden gems located in the bylanes of the Capital. His plans came to fruition when he set up Sair E Dilli in 2018.
Historians have traced seven cities—Mehrauli, Siri, Tughlaqabad, Jahanpanah, Firozabad, Dinpanah, and Shahjahanabad—that developed around the fortresses by each dynasty that ruled Delhi. Shahab mentions that one can easily know about these seven cities by visiting the monuments that exist from the time. Naming a few, Shahab tells us about Zafar Mahal, a Mehrauli-based summer palace. “It is believed that Zafar Mahal was the last monument structure built during the Mughal Era,” says Sahab. The list of these unknown monuments, he mentions, includes Azim Khan Tomb, Delhi-Gurugram Road; Tohfe Wala Gumbad, Shahpur Jat; Begumpur Mosque located in Malviya Nagar; among others.
Engaging with the city
With time, Shahab has expanded the places he visits and has, in his itinerary, listed visits to several hidden monuments located in Delhi’s neighbouring cities such as Panipat, Sirhind, etc. He also organises walks and tours to these places under the banner Sair E Hind—as a part of which they organise trips and tours to various places in North India—as an extension of Sair E Dilli. The Okhla resident had also penned two books—The Lost Sufis of Delhi and Sirhind: A Monumental Example of Oblivion.
The walks not only help city dwellers engage closely with the city but also direct attention to these structures that often lie in a dilapidated state, unattended by authorities. “These monuments lie in a dirty condition, completely in contrast to the monuments that have been recognised as heritage sites,” he shares, adding that social media acts as an important tool in putting a spotlight on these places. “These places are an important part of our culture and it is only by spreading awareness that we can restore their glory.”