SufiThursdays

I would like to take you to a monument that’s no longer a dargah though a Chishti Sufi saint lies buried there.
Sheikh Kabiruddin Auliya was a disciple of Hazrat Roshan Chiragh e Dilli. His dargah is in Malviya Nagar

It was famous as Lal Gumbad as it is made of red sandstone. Its marble decoration on the gateways and sloping walls, resembles the tomb of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah.

There is a famous legend attached to this dargah. It is reported that some thieves came to steal the golden finial. As there was no staircase, they fixed iron stirrups on the western wall to scale the top. However, they could not succeed in their nefarious mission and fell down from the top and were blinded. Two of the stirrup rings still remain, giving the monument another name: Rakabwali Gumbad. It is believed that if one looks carefully we can still see their bloodstains near the rings. I didn’t find any though.

The compound is quite big with three wall mosques, another small gumbad .
The main tomb was locked but houses an unknown tomb and innumerous graves scattered all over.

It’s a non ticketed monument which means it doubles up as park for the locals. I saw women making Dal badi and papad, children playing and some men playing cards near the locked entrance.
I could see many graves inside. Unlike most other dargahs in that area where locals come and light agarbatti and make offerings on Thursday this one looks lonely and forsaken. I have no idea when the doors were last opened.