Thursday, November 20, 2008

MOSQUE


Strolling around in Farukhnagar is like treading into the lanes of memories and the time bygone. Likewise one of the roads of Farukhnagar takes one straight in front of a building which evokes divine respect but it is difficult to relate that grand building to any particular religion. Apparently it looks like a mosque, you go closer to it you will find Gurudwara written on its entrance and out of curiosity you enter into the building to discover it is a temple. This is what Farukhnagar is. Even oneness of divine can be experienced here in a very simple manner. “Mosque is gurudwara and gurudwara is temple”. Seems like a line from the couplet of medieval saint Kabir Das. A mosque build by nawab Faujdar Khan turned into Gurudwara at the time of partition and today it has converted into mandir. Three domes and two minars are visible from the distance when one enters into the narrow lanes of bazaar. On inquiring about this particular mosque from the pan shop located in front of it I met Mr Murli Lal Saini, a septuagenarian though more agile than a youth. He is a very active resident of this town and had been a corporator as well as Sarpanch of Farukhnagar for many years. He had many stories to narrate about Farukhnagar. He told me enthusiastically that during the time of partition, riots broke out in farukhnagar and almost all the Muslims fled from this town. It was at that time that Punjabis from Pakistan came to farukhnagar for shelter and got settled here. For them a separate “katra” or colony was built whose wreck is still visible. Only façade of this katra remains while rest of the colony has been taken over by new local inhabitants. Along with homes they also required a place of worship. This mosque which got desolated after Muslims left was handed over to Punjabis by locals. Punjabi did not try to change the architecture of mosque in gurudwara as they were broke and did not have enough money to carry out the construction on such a grand scale. Hence “Gurugranth Sahib” was consecrated in the mosque and loudspeakers were fixed into the wall so that “Gurbani” can be heard every morning. Slowly the dust of differences settled and India started reconstructing itself as a free nation. Punjabis looking for opportunities left farukhngar and started establishing themselves in Delhi. Gurudwara was left abandoned. Till 90s nobody took interest in it but in 1995, it was converted into mandir. Gods were sanctified and bells on the entrance were hanged. But basic features of a Mosque were still intact.

Only in the latest past the ablution pond was filled with mud and grass was grown on it. Murari Lal adds,” “if somehow….(pointing towards the minarets) these “poles” are removed then no one can even recognize that it was a mosque .

On inquiring about the relationship between Hindus and Muslims before partition he said there are many temples in farukhnagar which are build on the land gifted by Muslim zamindars. He took me to “Kale Mahadev mandir” and panchayati mandir. According to local history Kale Mahadev Mandir is the oldest temple of farukhnagar. Almost 200yrs old. The exterior of the mandir was recently renovated by the locals. Black shiny marble gives façade of the temple a glossy look. As I was focusing my camera on the small “shikhara” I saw advertisement of the local “beauty parlor”, hand painted on it. Proper direction was given to reach parlor by big arrow marks on the shikhara.

The story about Kale Mahadev Mandir goes like this. Kale khan was a rich zamindar at the time of nawab who gifted his land to the locals for constructing the temple. While gifting the land to the locals Kale Khan demanded something in return for the respect he has shown to the Hindu God. The locals thus attached the first name of the Zamindar with the name of the temple.

As I entered into the temple, I saw a lady praying to lord shiva with hundreds of wish- bells hanging over linga. The Temple was recently white washed & it was tough to imagine its old glory. Other than arches and niches on the walls no traces of history were visible.
But in my ears the anecdotes told by Murari Lal echoed. They were full of rich cultural amalgamation unique to Farukhnagar.




2 comments:

Unknown said...

i am not quite into blogging as such but this one started off as one that sounded quaint and got to be an unique insight into India that is- and that is usually negated by our politicos= tell me where on earth else would u find a mosque that doubles up as a temple and i will show u ...... while reading this one it suddenly happened to me - this is good, solid research - like any well composed observation this one transports u into history = into a sleepy old town of perhaps Mughal antiquity- its dusty bylanes, leisurely life, wailing of a child from this house, stern warning from the sentry at yonder gate, shy tikling of bangles- plaintive bleating of a lonely goat- a lazy winter afternoon- draped in hues of a reluctant sun..... well the point is would not history be so much more interesting if such effort gopes into it. This is a good piece of investigative history narrated like an expert story teller- i once lived in Katwaria sarai- if only Delhi's past was well documented....

रविकान्त said...

you have a wonderful eye and tremendous control over what you write. Liked photos as well.

keep blogging - I like farukhnagar. reminds me of my own little village.

ravikant