On Sunday night at the Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi a quiet gathering brought together voices of devotion, music and cultural exchange. Gemma Haines, Counsellor at the Australian High Commission, joined a group of devotees and visitors for an ift a ar meal followed by qawwali singing, an evening that mixed reflection with an appreciation of local tradition.
The Dargah — the shrine of the 14th‑century Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya — is well known across the city for its regular devotional music sessions and the way they attract people from many different backgrounds. Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music with origins in the Indian subcontinent, has been performed at the shrine’s courtyard for centuries. The art form’s roots are linked to the work of Amir Khusrau, the saint’s disciple, whose compositions remain part of the repertoire sung by performers at the dargah today.
Those who gathered on Sunday were greeted with the dusk prayers and an atmosphere shaped by recitation, conversation and music. The ift a ar brought together men and women breaking their fast at sunset during the month of Ramadan, and after the meal qawwals offered devotional songs that many in the city associate with the long evening traditions of the shrine. Such sessions often draw crowds on Thursday evenings and special occasions throughout the year, as they have done for generations.
For Haines, the visit was a chance to engage with an aspect of Delhi’s living culture and reflect on the ways in which spiritual practice and artistic expression can open channels of understanding between people from different places. Representatives of other foreign missions have visited the shrine in recent years for similar reasons, and events at the dargah often carry a quiet message about shared humanity and respect for diverse practices.
Some visitors to the site in recent years have described the experience through different lenses, noting that visits can mean different things to different people, from a search for peace and reflection to part of a broader tourist experience. Whatever the perspective, the evening at Nizamuddin brought attention to music, ritual and connection in a setting that has long been woven into Delhi’s cultural life.
Maria Irene is India Correspondent for The Indian Sun, reporting on technology, finance, culture, and diaspora stories across India and Australia, with a special focus on initiatives led by the Australian High Commission and its Consulates across India.
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