Begampur by Malvika Tripathi

The ruins of Begampur are little known to Delhi-wallahs. The degree of indifference displayed by officials in preserving the 700 year old complex makes it easy to forget that it was the foothold for Mohammed bin Tughlak to rule an empire. Spread across some 90,000 square feet, Vijay Mandal, Begampur and Hazar Ustan (thousand-pillared palaces) are one of the earliest specimens of Islamic architecture in India. The style is distinctive from the conventional Islamic style with colossal, domed halls supported by megalith arches and courtyards and passages with minimal decoration. With a plain mousse-shade and sparse ornaments on walls, one would be overwhelmed by its simplicity. Further down, the Begampuri mosque of 64 domes tarred with time and Vijay Mandal’s tower with sloping walls is perhaps better known among historians as it was the social centre of the capital.

I have hardly ever tried to familiarize myself with the surrounding localities of my colony, always feeling it was deign to tread in the cluster of Kalu Sarai, Begampur and Khirki village. One day on my way back from college the auto rickshaw broke down at Siri Fort crossing. Frustrated, I walked till Sarvapriya Vihar and trudged down a meandering lane in Begampur that I was confident would get me home. With only sufficient direction sense to get me slightly close to my destination, I wandered for about 20 minutes. Turning a corner, I was amazed by the abruptness of a view that emerged. Lying on a raised plain, the jutting ruins of mammoth proportion looked out of place in the village setting of an urban city. At about 150 meters from the ground, the octagonal structure of Vijay Mandal is impressive to say the least. The vegetation around the Begampur ruins adds to the old world charm. I did not enter the complex but they say that amongst the modern sprawl one can see the silhouette of Qutub Minar, walls of Siri Fort and the distant buildings of Nehru Place. I walked further down and could recognize the walls of the fort rather, the thousand pillared palace. Climbing several steps I first noticed the massive arches around which children played, their screams reverberating inside what was once a courtyard of the ruling king of India. Goats grazed on the grass growing from between paving stones. Despite the decay, the pavilion still retained a profound and venerable expansiveness.

That day I felt the neglect those set of buildings have faced from people (including me) sometime in the flurry of our day-to-day lives. Hardly ever has there been an effort to preserve the complex .They define a whole era of Islamic rule in our country. A substantial part of Delhi’s legacy has been forgotten, along with this monument.