Amidst the Djinns : Feroz Shah Kotla in

Delhi
The Feroz Shah Kotla was built by the then Sultan of
Delhi, Feroz Shah Tughlaq, in 1354. The city of
Firuzabad was established by him, which was
intended to be the capital of the Delhi Sultanate.
The present day Feroz Shah Kotla was included in
this architectural module. The Fort complex also
includes the Ashokan Pillar, Jami Masjid, aBaoli
(step well), and a large garden complex. Feroz Shah
Kotla was the imposing citadel of Firuzabad, the
fifth city of Delhi.
The ruins of the Kotla (meaning fort) are believed to
be a home to Djinns. People are witnessed to gather
in the premises every Thursday, praying and writing
letters to the Djinns, hoping to calm the angry
Djinns and get their wishes granted, or ailments
cured. It is belived that there are various Djinns,
with independent jurisdictions, tolook after the
wishes of the devotees. People stick coins on the
walls of the mosques, offer milk, eateries, fruits,
sweets and meat to the Djinns. The entry to the fort
is free of charge on Thursdays after 2pm. Djinns, as
the Quran dictates, are beings of a parallel world,
made out of smokeless fire. They cannot be
associated with ghosts, spirits, or Angels, and are
supposed to be good AND bad. Legend has it that
Iblis, a Djinn, refused to bow before Adam, and was
overthrown by Allah as “Shaitan”.
The curious part is that people have reported their
wishes being granted since generations. Apart from
this, the Djinns are used for exorcism purposes to
help people get rid of evil spirits. In relation to the
Bad Djinns, it is said that they prey on young
women, especially young women drying their hair
on rooftops. A maulvi at the ruins reports having
actually witnessed a Djinn. He recalls asking a fellow
Namazi, who the man standing in front of him was,
to which the stanger replied that there was no one
there.
Ridden by bats, eeriness and mystique, Feroz Shah
Kotla stands to be a source of utter amazement and
bewilderment. Even with a mosque present in the
premises, it is the ruins of the fort that are always lit
with incense sticks and large crowds of devotees.
While the good Djinns grant wishes, the presence of
bad Djinns is not missing from the fort. Strange
screams and noises can be heard. Often, people
have witnessed young girls beating themselves in a
trance-like state of mind. It is believed that the
believers started returning in numbers during the
Emergency of 1975-77, when a Sufi named Laddoo
Singh created in the realm his scared home.
The Baoli in the complex, along with many other
places, is banned from entry because of a lot of
mysterious deaths.