Thursday Doors

An eclectic bunch of photographs for you passionate portal people this week.

Let us begin with this set of marble doors, inset with iron for the hinge at the bottom. It is the tomb of a follower of the famous Sufi Chishti saint, Sultan-ul-Mashaikh, Mehboob-e-Ilahi, Hazrat Shaikh Khwaja Syed Muhammad bin Abdullah AlHussaini Nizamuddin Auliya, known to his mates as Hazrat. He lived in the 13th Century. People were so convinced he had a direct pathway to heaven that lots of notables arranged for their bodies to be interred near his tomb. Every Thursday and Saturday evening sufi musicians sing qawwali. Plenty here for another blog.

In complete contrast, here is Harsons Paradise, a shop entitled to sell shots. It is just off Lothian Road, near St James Church in Kashmiri Gate.

The wonderful wooden door comes from a beautiful Jain temple in North Delhi called Ossian Mata, dedicated to Shri Sachchiyaya. It leads to a glorious circular chamber which is cool and serene. Again, another blog is called for.

From the sublime to the doorless shack of Anubhav Public School in an unplanned settlement (=slum), part of Burari in North Dehli.

How about this door (not fully in shot, I admit) for a play school. Syndrella, eh?

Doors from the mosque (still active) in Feroz Shah Kotla Fort – another blog article waiting to be written. I like the little library and the old gramophone loudspeaker.

And finally, in the same fort there is a shrine, close to the mosque, where people burn incense and leave offerings. As well as attaching padlocks to the railings.