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| Zafar Mahal, By Mohsin Javed |
The palace is located at the west
of the shrine of Sufi saint Khawaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki is in South Delhi’s
Mehrauli village.
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| Four domes, By Mohsin Javed |
Zafar Mahal was built by Mughal
emperor Akbar II in the 1820s and was named after his son Bahadur Shah Zafar.
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| Ruins of the Zafar Mahal, By Mohsin Javed |
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| Ruins of the Zafar Mahal, By Mohsin Javed |
The entrance of Zafar Mahal,
known as 'Hathi Gate' was built by Bahadur Shah Zafar as an extension to the
existing palace. It got its name because an elephant can pass through it with
the 'houdah' (seat, where people sit on elephant) mounted over it.
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| Hathi Gate - Zafar Mahal entrance, By Mohsin Javed |
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| Hathi Gate, By Mohsin Javed |
Also, there is a royal mosque
known as Moti Masjid, is situated adjacent to the wall of shrine of Sufi saint
Khawaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki. This is a very small mosque with double
entrance. One door opens inside the premise of Dargah, and other opens in the
Zafar Mahal.
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| Moti Masjid, By Mohsin Javed |
Adjoining Moti Masjid there are graves
of the Mughal Royal Family.
It is said that Emperor Bahadur
Shah Zafar wanted to be buried here but since he was exiled to Burma, his last
wish was never fulfilled.
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| Ruins of the Zafar Mahal, By Mohsin Javed |
People write, engrave, scratch
and scribble all sorts of things in all historical monuments which is very
disheartening.
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| One thing which hurts the most that people write and scratch on the historical monuments, By Mohsin Javed |
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| One thing which hurts the most that people write and scratch on the historical monuments, By Mohsin Javed |
An important monument that marks
the end of an era in Indian history, the palace like the dynasty that once ruled
almost all of India might soon be only a chapter in history.
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| A domed pavilion in the courtyard of Zafar Mahal as seen from the above, By Mohsin Javed |
All Photos © Mohsin Javed
