In the Heart of Sufi Melodies: Our Visit to Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah❤️

Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah: A Qawwali Experience❤️‍🩹 📸

When we were in Delhi, Philip and I visited Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah. I first heard about this place during my train journey to Delhi, and I told Philip, "We must visit this place." Since there is a qawwali session every Thursday, we decided to go on a Thursday evening.

The Dargah was about 7 kilometers from our stay in Paharganj, near RK Ashram Marg, which was close to New Delhi Railway Station. Interestingly, Philip had already seen the area on his first day in Delhi, as he had arrived at Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station. However, he hadn’t heard of the Dargah before.

We checked the distance on the map and decided to ride a bike to the mosque. When we arrived, we were unfamiliar with the surroundings and the atmosphere. Outside, there were many street vendors, all calling out to us, trying to sell various items. We started feeling a bit panicked, unsure if we needed any permission to enter the premises. So, I called my friend—the one who had told me about this place.

He reassured us that we didn’t need to buy anything from the vendors, but Philip thought we should. We considered it, thinking it might help us feel more comfortable inside. However, when we asked for the price, it was around 500 rupees, which seemed too expensive. So, gathering all the courage we had, we decided to enter without purchasing anything.

As soon as we stepped inside, the atmosphere was electrifying. It was unlike anything we had ever experienced before. The qawwali was about to start, and despite the heat outside, the inside of the Dargah felt cooler due to the ventilation systems and coolers.

Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah is not just a spiritual haven but also a famous shooting location for the iconic song 'Kun Faya Kun' from the Bollywood movie Rockstar, featuring Ranbir Kapoor. Standing in the same space where this mesmerizing song was filmed added an extra layer of magic to our experience.

Seeing the setup, I felt a strong urge to enter the qawwali circle—the central area where the musicians and special guests sat. There were two sections: one for the general audience and another exclusive area for the performers and a few select people.

I turned to Philip and said, "Somehow, we have to get in." But Philip was hesitant.

"If we try to enter, the security might stop us. The crowd is huge. We might embarrass ourselves," he argued.

"Philip, whatever happens, we have to try. We can’t miss this chance. And besides, even if we embarrass ourselves, no one here knows who we are—so we have nothing to lose," I insisted.

Philip then suggested that we ask the security guard for permission, But the problem was that we didn't know Hindi properly. Somehow, we managed to communicate with him using broken Hindi and gestures. Understanding our request, the guard, using a mix of Hindi and sign language, informed us that he didn’t have the authority but pointed to a man sitting in front of the Dargah—the Ustad

We approached the Ustad and spoke to him in English, but he didn’t understand. Philip, frustrated, turned to me and said in Malayalam, "പെട്ടല്ലോടാ, ഇയാൾക്കു ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് അറിയില്ല" (He doesn’t understand English). The Ustad looked at us as if we were speaking nonsense.

The security guard explained our request to him, and after a brief exchange, the Ustad granted us permission. To ensure no trouble, Philip discreetly handed the security guard a 20-rupee bribe. The moment we stepped into the qawwali circle, it felt as if we had won the World Cup in Delhi!

Inside the circle, there were around fifteen to twenty people, including us. Since Philip is a musician, he quickly caught on to the rhythms of the qawwali singers and was completely absorbed in the performance.

There were five performers, including the harmonium player. Everyone sang the qawwali together without microphones. The experience was so mesmerizing that we forgot everything else, completely lost in the soulful rhythms.

At the end, we clapped, but surprisingly, no one else did. A boy sitting next to us leaned in and said, "You’re not allowed to clap here." We stopped, realizing that in this setting, the clap should come from our hearts, not our hands.

After the performances, people entered the qawwali circle to give money to the performers. Philip, deeply moved by the harmonium player's brilliance, handed him 100 rupees. We spoke to him, but unfortunately, we couldn’t catch his name, so we decided to call him Tariq.

We took a photo with him and told the performers that we were from Kerala. They were thrilled that someone from so far away had come to experience their music. Their happiness was genuine and infectious.

We finally left the Dargah around 9 o’clock, carrying with us an unforgettable musical experience.