Delhi is one of the oldest places to exist in the world. It is said that Pandavas of the Mahabharat age ruled here with Indraprastha as their capital. It is believed that they lived centuries before Christ. Indraprastha was in present Delhi. Delhi is not only one of the oldest places to exist but also one of the oldest places for invasions and settlement. Though Delhi was the prominent place of Hindus till 11-12th century, Muslim invaders started conquering parts of India thereby settling here. They made gigantic forts and castles in Delhi and ruled for centuries. Muslims invading Muslims was also rule of the land. Delhi has been captured, ransacked, conquered, and rebuilt several times. Each Muslim ruler made his own new fort in the area by destroying old forts. Delhi now has ruins of several forts belonging to several kingdoms and thus it has become a grave yard of forts. We can see ruins of many forts in and around Delhi. Purana Qila, Qila Rai Pithora, Tuglaqabad fort, Siri fort, Kotla Firoz Shah et cetera are few of the ruins of such forts.
Recently I happened to visit the Firoz Shah Kotla fort in old Delhi. I was alone, and the time was the early hours of the day. So, the visitors in the fort were very less. This fort was made of hard black stones and the ruins have several cellar type rooms where sun light cannot reach. These rooms do not have windows and have only dim light or no light inside them. Some rooms are permanently open while others are closed with huge iron gates. A torch light was essentially needed to clearly see the inside of the rooms; but I was not having one. An ordinary person would have found it fearful to enter these dim-light rooms. I was courageous enough to peep in to some of the rooms and was quite puzzled to experience the atmosphere found in temples that are not maintained well. I could feel the smell that exists when oil lamps are burned continuously. The oil used in oil lamps was also found spilled here and there in the floors. I could see the signs of oil lamps being lighted continuously as in Hindu temples. There were remains of half burnt incense and sandal wood sticks. A lot of flowers and garlands were lying here and there in these rooms. They reminded me the garlands that we offer to the deity in temples. I saw pieces of papers with hand-written scripts, which I could not read or understand. There were symptoms of worship using milk, fruits, sweets, and even alcoholic items. I felt that somebody is performing here temple type worship though the fort is a totally uninhabited place. I was quite surprised by this situation because this was the ruins of a Muslim fort and the atmosphere was that of an abandoned Hindu temple. I walked alone from ruin to ruin. I could not ask anybody anything as there was nobody either in front of me or behind.
On reaching home, I was quite impatient and wanted to make a thorough Google search to quench my anxiety on what I had seen in the fort. To my surprise, the Google search on “Firoz Shah Kotla fort” revealed this fort as being considered as a home of Djinns, a haunted place and a place for prayers to the Djinns. Few links taken from Google search are given below to direct any reader (?) to this mysterious place.
https://homegrown.co.in/article/802733/the-history-and-mystery-of-feroz-shah-kotlas-colony-of-djinns
https://www.thequint.com/lifestyle/the-mystery-of-feroz-shah-kotla-djinns
http://delhibyfoot.in/walks/an-evening-with-djinns-of-delhi-ferozshah-kotla-fort/
The following links (to videos) connecting this old fort to the Djinns are also taken from Google search.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_KwGY6KJEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oGH91sHRdM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PerS6XQnfe8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTY1vH6cVc8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb1DtUk7CEg
Various web pages describe Firoz Shah Kotla fort as the home of Djinns and people believing in supernatural beings are said to come here to seek solutions to their problems. It is said that exorcism is performed here on those who are believed to be under the spell of evil spirits, and many are said to have sworn that it has helped them personally. (Courtesy: Google search)
A thought passed through my mind that I too should have made some prayers to the Djinns. I thought that I too should have taken some incense sticks for burning there as a mark of my respect to those loving Djinns.
Before concluding, let me post one photo taken from Internet (of a believer doing worship in the fort) just to show that I was not just bluffing.
Though I had seen numerous forts in my life, this was the first (and the last) one seen as a fort for Hindu worship without the existence of a Hindu temple or deity. Let the magnanimous Djinns bless me and all of us.