The shrine of Hazrat Kalimullah Shah {Dehli}

The shrine of Hazrat Kalimullah Shah, opposite the Red Fort, always draw a crowd of eager faces when the quwalli is being sung while the incense of joss sticks pervades the shrine. Alongside the saint’s velvet-covered tomb are the graves of his father and daughter. The marble shrine and the unorthodox mosque which is squarish was constructed by the late Sajjadanashin caretaker of the shrine. The saint was the man who took on himself the task of bringing about a moral reawakening during the last days of the reign of Aurangzeb. The saint was born in Delhi around 1650 and his father, Sheikh Noorullah, was a well-known astronomer, calligraphist and professor of theology and he studied theology under the guidance of Sheikh Bunharuddin and Sheikh Bahlool, two famous ulemas of the time. After completing his studies, he renounced the world and became a sufi. At the place where the shrine is situated once stood Khanam-ka-bazaar which housed khanqa— a religious abode-cum-inn which was later converted into a college. 

There are several stories about the miracles performed by the saint including one in which he commanded the Yamuna to behave itself when the river flooded half of Delhi and he was also supposed to cure disease including the blindness of a girl. Every year, a two-day urs is held at the shrine which is attended by those who are on their way back from the pilgrimage to Ajmer Sharif. But of late, the shrine has lost a lot of its charm because of the market and residential quarters that have sprung up. Across the road from the mazar of Kalimulla Shah, is the shrine of Bhure Shah, another well-known saint while towards the Jama Masjid, the twin shrines of Hare Bhare Sahib and Sarmad Shaheed stand. Close to the Chandni Chowk end of Jama Masjid is a small grave where an old woman sometimes sits and in the evening someone lights an oil lamp. 


Though it is a shrine, it is not known after whom it is named or even who built it. While one enters Ballimaran after crossing Chandni Chowk, one enters gali Qasim Jan where another saint, Kale sahib used to stay. Though the haveli of Kale Sahib does not exist today, the compound exists and it has become a slum as compared to the days when Mirza Ghalib stayed there after his release from prison for default in payment. It is said that Kale Sahib might have been visiting the shrines of Kalimullah, Bhure Shah and those of Hare Sahib and Sarmad. Later, however, the people began discussing about his saintly powers also. However, Ghalib never attended quwwali sessions at the shrines of the saints for in the evening he was either busy with mushairas or too drunk to do anything except enjoy the company of his favourite dancing girl in Chawri Bazaar. It is a pity that many of the buildings of that golden era have become paper godowns or commercial offices that are still being computerised fully.