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| Tughlakabad fort |
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| The tomb of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughluq rising from the ruins. |
- Brian Mendonca
(Poem read by heritage activist Sohail Hashmi at the Delhi launch of Jasmine City: Poems from Delhi by Brian Mendonca)
Nomads defecate
in the shade of the ber tree
gazing at Ghiyasuddin
the warrior king.
Cohorts of Bunuel
peruse Batuta
as peacocks preen
to the monkeys' stare.
The stench of bats
reeks of dynasties
as corridors vanishing underground
pinion to the past the fourth city.
The 'abode of peace'
looks out on 'the road to hell'
As the man with the satchel
wends
his
way.
(Tughlaqabad Fort
New Delhi
1999)
Note
Tughlakabad fort was built in 1321 by Ghazi Malik who took the name of Ghiyasuddin Tughluq. He was sultan of Delhi from 1320-1325. He was the first sultan of the Tughluq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate - after the Khiljis - commencing a period which would last almost 100 years till 1413.
Ghiyasuddin Tughluq, was succeeded by his son Mohammad bin Tughluq who ascended the throne on the death of his father in 1325. He reigned till 1351.
Two years after he became the sultan he decided to shift the capital to Daulatabad in the South in 1327. The ruins of the fort still linger on the outskirts of Delhi.
Glossary
-Nomads: The site of the fort is believed to have been cursed by the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Aulia (1238-1325) who was irked when the Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughluq gave orders that all labourers must work on the construction of the fort. This meant that the baoli (well) being built by the saint would have to stop. In a rage the saint cursed the sultan with the words, 'Ya rahe ujjar, ya basse Gujjar' ['Either the site will become uninhabited or it would be overrun by Gujjars (a tribe of nomads)].
-Bunuel, Luis (1900-1983): Spanish auteur and film director. 'Cohorts' may refer to the ants in the abandoned fort referencing the ants in the man's palm in Bunuel's b/w silent film Un Chien Andalou (1929) / An Andalusian Dog.
-Batuta, Ibn (1304-1368): Medieval Muslim traveller from Morocco. Served as a judge in the court of Mohammad bin Tughlaq for six years c. 1335-1342.
-Fourth city: is the city built by Mohammad bin Tughlaq in 1326. It is also known as Jahanpanah.
-abode of peace: Dar-ul-aman is the name given to an artificial shallow lake in which the mausoleum of Ghiyasuddin Tughluq rests. He is buried here with his wife and son.
This poem appears in Jasmine City: Poems from Delhi (2023) by Brian Mendonca. Available on flipkart. Pic courtesy Conde Nast Traveller and pngtree(dot)com. Updated 8/11/24.
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