Delhiwale: Sufi cats

At Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya's dargah, a cat joins a packed audience for qawwalis, as 150 cats roam the historic shrine during celebrations.

On a recent evening at the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, the qawwal singers were surrounded by a packed audience. Each member of the audience was a human, save for one. She had a tail, and she was seated in the best place, directly in front of the qawwals—see photo. Over the next hour, the qawwals continued with their qawwalis. The human audience swayed their head in sync with the mood of the qawwali’s music and its devotional lyrics. But this cat didn’t stir.

The 14th century sufi shrine in central Delhi is full of cats—about 150 cats, according to Jehangir Husain, a caretaker of the pilgrims’ footwear. (HT)

The 14th century sufi shrine in central Delhi is full of cats—about 150 cats, according to Jehangir Husain, a caretaker of the pilgrims’ footwear. During the day, he says, the cats stay in their high-altitude hideouts in and around the shrine’s domes and roofs, but after sunset, they clamber down to the dargah premises. Some of these cats stay unseen in far-off corners. Some curl up beside the shrine’s many graves—there are more than a hundred graves. A handful of cats loiter in the shrine’s principal courtyard. Some of these very cats will be in the courtyard this evening too, when the dargah will mark a special occasion.

Tonight, Delhi’s most famous sufi shrine will host poetry-filled qawwalis that will last for several hours. It is the 811th Jashn-e-Wiladat, or birthday celebrations, of Hazrat Nizamuddin, whose grave constitutes the historic dargah’s heart. The courtyard will be claimed by music connoisseurs, along with its regular cats.

The dargah cats have no unique name. Each one is simply called billi. Almost all have a light-brown furry body, marked with black stripes. These billis are bold. They don’t run away from the humans, barely seem bothered by the crowd, seldom reacting to the bustle that is typical of popular pilgrim sites. In the courtyard, they often sit motionless. When a billi feels hungry, she settles beside any dargah visitor who happens to be eating (free langar meals are served daily). That person inevitably gives a piece of roti to the cat.

In winter, a billi often jumps into a pilgrim’s lap, snuggling inside their shawl.

This evening, the qawwalis will start from 10 to about four in the morning, performed by the shrine’s eight qawwali “party,” or groups. The groups amount to 57 singers, according to qawwal Hasnain. Each “party” will offer poetry and music in its turn, aiming to dazzle the humans, and perhaps, also the dargah’s cats.