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The Kali or Kalan Mosque in Delhi - 1814
Watercolour of Kalan Masjid from 'Views by Seeta Ram from Delhi to Tughlikabad Vol. VII' produced for Lord Moira, afterwards the Marquess of Hastings, by Sita Ram between 1814-15. Marquess of Hastings, the Governor-General of Bengal and the Commander-in-Chief (r.1813-23), was accompanied by artist Sita Ram (flourished c.1810-22) to illustrate his journey from Calcutta to Delhi between 1814-15.
Idealised view of the Kalan Masjid at Delhi. The Kalan Masjid was built in 1387 by the son of Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, Prime Minster of Feroz Shah Tughlaq (r.1351-88). The mosque was built in Ferozabad, a section of Delhi, the city built by Feroz Shah Tughlaq but was later included in Shahjahan's new city Shahjahanabad. It is an imposing structure in a plain style, with the main upper storey approached via a flight of steps and crowned with a series of domes. Inscribed below:' Musgid or Black Mosque at Delhi to the East.'
Source : British Library
Ah...such a beautiful painting !! Made my day !
rea££y awësömë
The building seems massive, but not attractive by any means. I think the word "Masjid-e Kalan" means the 'Larger Masjid', not the 'Black Masjid'. The words 'Kala' and 'Kalan' sound the same, but are quite different in their meaning.
I wonder what are the fortifications for ? Scores of villages across north India have kalan appended to their name.
Yes, Digvijay. It should be written as "Masjid-e-Kalaan". The words "kalaan" and "khurd" are quite common in North India among the names of villages. It is not surprising how the word "Kalaan" for the masjid became corrupted to "Kali Masjid". The architecture brought in by the Mughals represented a quantum jump in elegance by blending the best of Persian and Indian styles and workmanship. Perhaps it was a good thing that Humayun was expelled from India for a few years to Persia.
Digvijay, the fortifications probably mean that the place also housed soldiers and was a imperial outpost of sorts.
Its present location is near Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin?
yes u r right dear asad
does this mosque exists today?
As far as I know, it does since Sir Syed refers to it in his Asaar-e Sanadid.