Idgah, Hauz Khas
by Smit Sandhir
Title
Idgah, Hauz Khas
Artist
Smit Sandhir
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
An idgah is a type of mosque constructed without an enclosure so that large number of people can gather for prayer, especially to celebrate the festival of Eid. This particular structure is located north of the Chor Minar in the middle of Padmini Enclave in Hauz Khas. This building, built in about ad 1405 dates from the very volatile period of Delhi's history between the Tughlaq and Sayyid dynasties when the city had recently been devastated by the invasion of the armies of Timur, the Turko-Mongol ruler with his base in Central Asia. In this interlude, a very powerful noble from the court of the exiled Sultan Mahmud Shah, known as Mallu Khan, ruled over Delhi. We know this fact because an inscription on the building describes, rather boastfully, who the building was commissioned by and also the circumstances in which it was built. The long, prayer-wall like building, built out of rubble masonry and covered with plaster, consists of a western wall, with battlements and a total of eleven arched recesses or mihrabs (decorative arches on the wall facing the direction of prayer). On one of the ends of the wall is a circular bastion topped by a turret like structure. At the north of the central mihrab of the wall, is located a high pulpit, that is reached by a flight of eleven steps.
Image provided by Getty Images.
Uploaded
January 10th, 2019
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Image ID
183177618
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