Nizamuddin: Delhi's Sufi Shrine and Qawwali Quarter

Nizamuddin is one of Delhi's most spiritually charged and historically layered neighbourhoods, a dense residential and religious quarter centred on the dargah (shrine) of the 14th-century Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, one of the most venerated Muslim saints in the subcontinent. The dargah complex, set within a warren of narrow lanes that constrict as they approach the central tomb, is one of India's most important pilgrimage destinations, drawing devotees from across the Muslim world as well as tourists and non-Muslims who come for the qawwali (devotional music) performances held on Thursday evenings. The musical tradition at the Nizamuddin dargah is one of the most important living traditions of qawwali in existence, with hereditary musician families performing the ecstatic devotional music associated with the shrine for 700 years.

The neighbourhood around the dargah preserves a character and density unlike almost anywhere else in Delhi. The lanes approaching the shrine are lined with flower vendors selling rose petals and marigold garlands for offering, with vendors of biryani and haleem that have fed pilgrims for centuries, and with the small workshops and businesses of the neighbourhood's predominantly Muslim population. The tomb of the poet Amir Khusrau, a devoted disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya and one of the great literary figures of medieval India, sits within the shrine complex alongside the graves of several Mughal princesses, including Jahanara Begum and Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan. This density of historic graves gives the Nizamuddin complex a quality unlike the monumental archaeology of other Delhi sites.

The neighbourhood is also home to the remarkable Humayun's Tomb complex — the Mughal emperor's mausoleum built by his Persian-born widow in the 1560s and a direct forerunner of the Taj Mahal in its architectural ambition and garden setting. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture has carried out an exceptional restoration of the tomb and its surrounding garden precinct, making it one of the finest heritage experiences in Delhi. The combined visit to Humayun's Tomb and the Nizamuddin dargah, with a Thursday evening qawwali performance, constitutes one of the most culturally rich half-days available in any Indian city.