The area around Humayun’s Tomb in New Delhi holds an embarrassment of riches. While the tomb itself has been declared a World Heritage Site, little is known about the centuries-old gems that litter its surroundings. The earliest Islamic palace building in India, the Lal Mahal, built by Ghiyas-ud-din Balban in the 13th century, caused this area to be known as Ghiyaspur. And it was to this Ghiyaspur that the venerable Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya came to stay and built his hospice, known to posterity as Basti Nizamuddin. It was here that he lived and preached a message of love and compassion and came, in turn, to be loved by the people of Delhi as Mehboob-e-Ilahi, the Beloved of God. It was here, too, that he found the rarest of rare disciples, Amir Khusro, and together they witnessed the passing of a turbulent era in the history of this city. The first qawwwalis were composed here and it was here that Khusro handpicked a group of singers – the qawwal bachas – and trained them to sing in a new sort of way. As a mark of syncretism and a celebration of pluralism, Basant came to be celebrated with joy and the whole area decorated with yellow flowers – a practice that continues to this day.
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Ismailimail 