The colour of revolution and sacrifice – red, laal, surkh – became posthumously associated with Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed, whose Dargah embraces within its red walls numerous tales that devotees have ascribed to the Sufi Saint over time. Relatively lesser known than other Sufi shrines in Delhi, Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed’s dargah is located between Jama Masjid and the bustling Meena Bazaar. Amid the many devotees that frequent the holy place, various tales circulate about the fairly controversial life of the saint.
Born in around 1590, Sarmad was a Jewish Armenian merchant, who later adopted Islam and left his home in Iran for Delhi in search of a young Hindu boy he had met in the port city of Sindh. His spiritual search eventually led him to renounce orthodox Islam as well. Sarmad spent his life living and wandering about in the lanes of Shahjahanabad as a naked fakir, reading and writing poems for his love. Sarmad’s apostasy led him to Aurangzeb’s court where he refused to recite the Kalima, a declaration of acceptance of the Islamic faith, reasoning that until he had completed his spiritual search and could embrace Allah with all his heart, reciting the Kalima would only be a mockery of prayer. He was consequently beheaded by the infuriated king.
Sarmad’s defiance to accept a God he does not understand, and his quest to achieve the non-materialistic, spiritual love made him eternal. It is said that even as his head was severed from his body, he picked it up and walked towards Jama Masjid to offer his last prayers. His love poems continued to spill out of his lifeless head when he collapsed and left for paradise. When people gathered to witness the unforeseen fate of the saint, Hansen writes, “somewhere in the sea of faces was Abhai Chand, the beautiful Hindu boy, the catalyst of his rapture, sainthood, and doom.” The blood red interior of the dargah represents the bloody conclusion to his life.
Adjacent to Sarmad Shaheed’s grave is the grave of his Sufi Master, Syed Abul Qasim Hare Bhare which has been built in shades of Green. The lively hue stands in contrast to the sombre red which is a constant reminder of Sarmad’s martyrdom.
Get down at Jama Masjid metro station and visit the Dargah whenever you can, and live for yourself the story that stands as a symbol of the quest for true love, in ways more spiritual than physical.
