It was a feud over the construction of a baoli (stepwell) in Nizamuddin Basti and Tughlaqabad Fort, between Nizamuddin Auliya and Ghyasuddin Tughlaq, which led the former to curse the latter saying ‘Ya base gujjar, ya rahe ujjar (May this city be the abode of nomads or remain in wilderness). Since then, half portion of the fort lies abandoned and the remaining has been captured by the Gujjars,” says Syed Yusuf Shahab, who conducts heritage walks by Sair E Dilli.
Titled Heritage Walk at the Cursed Fort: Tughlaqabad Fort, this walk will delve into the stories of Auliya and Tuglaq on January 12.“Before Independence,” says the 27-year-old, “Delhi was divided into eight cities – Mehrauli, Siri Fort area, Tughlaqabad, Jahanpanah (Saket), Feroz Shah Kotla, Nizamuddin, Old Fort, Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi) and Lutyens’ Delhi (New Delhi). We have a walk for each city, except New Delhi because it has been colonised.”Co-founded by three friends Shahab, Aman Tomar and Mohsin Akhtar in October 2018, Sair E Dilli has organised over 60 walks till now. Old structures and their beauty always attracted Shahab, a political science graduate and tourism postgraduate from Jamia Milia Islamia, which led him to make a profession out of it. “We get 20-60 people and most register just one-two hours before the walk. Most of these people are Delhiites, but sometimes we get foreign tourists through the agents,” adds Shahab.
This fort was the dream of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, the first sultan of Tughlaq dynasty. “But Tughlaq didn’t want Auliya’s baoli to be built because all his labour was moving to construct baoli. So, he stopped the supply of oil to Nizamuddin, and threatened to kill Auliya. The angered sufi saint cursed the sultan saying Hanooz delhi door ast (Delhi is still far away), and Tughlaq never made to Delhi alive. He has been buried opposite to the fort,” adds Shahab.
At: Tughlaqabad Fort
On: January 12, 10:00-1:00pm
Meeting Point: Tughlaqabad Fort ticket counter on Mehrauli-Badarpur