Delhi Overlooked Part 1: The Tomb of Yusuf Qattal

The early 16^th century mausoleum of Sufi saint Sheikh Yusuf Qattal is a classic example of Delhi’s forgotten heritage. Though small, the tomb is quite simply exquisite. With its perforated red sandstone jali screens and remnants of blue tile work, the mausoleum would not appear out of place in the more famous concentrations of Delhi’s historical buildings from Sultanate and Mughal times such as Lodhi Gardens or the area around Humayun’s Tomb.  

But as it is, the tomb resides in unnoticed splendor on the grounds of a slightly dodgy little park hidden far back among the noisy lanes of Khirki Extension in South Delhi. Its small dome is overlooked by drab concrete high-rises and is continuously serenaded by the din of traffic. Locals play cricket and walk their dogs amidst the unmarked graves of Yusuf Qattal’s disciples. I’ve read that the park was up until recently a popular hangout for dope smokers and drug addicts, though the situation has apparently improved in the past few years.  

Here’s the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) signboard at the site, which is simultaneously very helpful and desperately in need of some basic copyediting. I fear that anyone visiting the tomb without prior experience of Delhi’s historical architecture would find the terminology rather impenetrable…then again, I suppose someone who sought out such an obscure monument would have probably long-since explored all of Delhi’s better known attractions.

The sign reads: “TOMB OF SHAIKH YUSUF QATTAL. In this complex are located tomb [sic] of Shaikh Yusuf Qattal, mosque, enclosure walls and few graves said to be those of Shaikh’s relatives and followers. These buildings were tastefully built by Shaikh Alau’d-Din, grandson of Shaikh Farid of Shakarganj.

“Shaikh Yusuf Qattal was a disciple of Qazi Jalalu’d-Din of Lahore. He devotionally performed religious works at Satpula a weir near Khirki Masjid and died in CE 1527 (AH 933). His small and little pretty twelve pillared chattri-designed tomb rests on a low height, square platform with each side measuring 5.54 m. Pillars and pierced-screens (jalis) below chhajjas, all of red sandstone accommodates an entrance on the southern side. The parapet of the tomb is ornamented with running kanguras of red sandstone while the parapet of the sixteen sided drum of the dome is crowned with same kangura-pattern, but, it has an inset of blue tiles. The lime-plastered dome is topped by a decorated finial of red sandstone. Inside, the small western mihrab is carved in the centre with a pendant design, over which it has a Kalima inscription in Kufic characters. The rectangular grave of Shaikh Yusuf Qattal in red sandstone measures 2.18m x 1.30m x 0.36m. It is oriented in north-south direction and bears a similar Kalima inscription. Architecturally, it appears to have been copied from more or less akin tomb of Imam Zamin which is located near Alai-Darwaza in Qutb area at Mehrauli.

“Nearby in the west of the tomb stands a small rubble-built mosque of size 12.40m x 5.33m with three arched openings in the east. The western wall of the mosque is consisting of a row of six niches. Its ceilings are more ornamented than walls” [sic].

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The tomb comes from an interesting transitional period in Delhi’s history. The nearby monuments where Yusuf Qattal did his spiritual work, striking Khirki Masjid and a large dam called Satpula, or Seven Bridges, were both over 150 years old at the time, and were probably already seen as remnants of a very different era. They were built by the third dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, the Tughlaqs, a line of Turkic rulers who briefly controlled most of the subcontinent. Their surviving buildings, even their mosques and tombs, tend to be rather unornamental and militaristic in appearance, perhaps reflecting both the unsettled condition of North India at the time as well as the dynasty’s origin as Central Asian conquerors.

The Tughlaq monuments provide quite a contrast to those of Yusuf Qattal’s era, when Delhi was ruled by the ethnically Pashtun Lodi dynasty. The Lodis never gained control of as wide a swath of India as some of their predecessors, and in terms of scale and engineering prowess their building achievements pale by comparison to those of their successors, the Mughals. Whereas the Tughlaq buildings are austere and foreboding, and the Mughal constructions are spectacular and awe-inspiring, those of the Lodis are merely attractive.

Yusuf Qattal’s body was interred a year after the end of the Lodi’s reign. The final ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, Ibrahim Lodi, had just been defeated at the Battle of Panipat, and Babur, the first of the great Mughal’s, had recently taken the throne. Yet Yusuf Qattal’s tomb is thoroughly Lodi in its architecture, and so is one of the last monuments of their era.

The tomb as seen through some adjacent ruins. There are a few other graves around the mausoleum, the most significant of which is a ruined six pillared chattri-type structure that is now missing its dome. As far as I’ve been able to ascertain, nobody knows who exactly is buried in these secondary graves, beyond the fair assumption that they belong to Yusuf Qattal’s family and disciples.

Here, to the left, you can see a small mosque next to the tomb. It’s not known if the two buildings were built contemporaneously. More knowledgeable architectural historians than I maintain that the mosque is stylistically quite distinct from the tomb, and so was likely not built at the same time, but there are apparently no primary sources to confirm this.

Inside the mosque, with the mecca-facing qibla wall to the right. Unfortunately, the structure was recently covered in an ill-advised layer of whitewash which is now badly stained with algae and is already chipping away. On the other hand, it does provide an opportunity for local rapscallions to carve their names into it, so there’s that.

An arched ruin next to the mosque. Much of this structure has been exposed during recent excavations and has undergone restoration. It may be an earlier mosque, or perhaps a madrasa.

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The tomb of Yusuf Qattal, not long after sunrise. Note the remnants of the blue tile work around the base of the dome. It’s interesting to speculate how the tomb would have appeared in the past. Presumably, there would have been much more decoration on the dome. Also, the mausoleum would have been surrounded not by dense urban settlement, but by fields and open space.

One also wonders how the tomb will change in the coming years. Some official might have the bright idea of “fixing” the structure by applying new blue tilework along the base of the dome, an intervention that would simultaneously pretty the tomb up while robbing it of historical interest. On the other hand, judging from various write-ups on the mausoleum by bloggers, it seems that the tomb is subject to a steady bombardment of cricket balls from local sports enthusiasts taking advantage of the adjacent open space. An incompetent batsman could cost Delhi hundreds of years of precious heritage. But I suppose people need their exercise.

The freshly painted mihrab inside the mausoleum. Unlike the rather neglected mosque, the interior of the tomb, despite being completely open to the public, was well maintained. There appears to be groundskeeper who keeps the floor tidy. As Yusuf Qattal was a Sufi saint, his mausoleum serves as local syncretic shrine and sees the occasional pilgrim, which likely explains the fair upkeep.

Early morning light pouring in through openings in the jali screen walls.

View through the jali screen towards unmarked graves and concrete.

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