Islamabad: Mughal era mosque shrouded in seclusion

[Naveed Yaseen]

Saadia Khalid
While driving from Islamabad towards Tarlai for about 15 minutes, one comes across a secluded hidden masterpiece of Mughal architecture, a historic mosque situated in Village Chauntra Sodagran Da that pleads for being preserved as a heritage.

Surrounded by vast fields, the landmark is in good condition and serves as the biggest mosque in the area for hundreds of local people, who still offer prayers there.

Although, not a single signboard referring to its construction or history has been installed at the site, yet the architectural style of the mosque suggests its advent in the late Mughal period during the regime of Shah Jahan’s successor Aurangzeb (1658-1707).

The Mughal emperors promoted the fusion of Persian, Indian and various provincial architectural styles to produce works of unusual quality and refinement. Though, the architecture of this period represents a distinct decline, some notable mosques were built before the beginning of the 18th century.

This particular art piece has been built in an architectural style that flourished in northern and central India under the patronage of Mughal emperors from the mid-16th to late 17th century and also marked the striking revival of Islamic architecture in northern India. The well carved arches of the mosque are accompanied by the neatly painted multicoloured floral designs where the colour blue has been used excessively. Although, lack of maintenance and environmental pollution have vanished the majority of the designs painted on the outer walls of the mosque, yet one can easily find the traces of splendid Mughal heritage through the mosque’s dome and arches.

The site of the mosque - Village ‘Chauntra Sodagran Da’ - was historically famous for its elephant trade during the Mughal regime where traders belonging to various areas used to stay in this particular village for the purchase and sale of their products.

Talking to this scribe, the inhabitants of the village revealed that they are clueless of the mosque’s exact construction period but know through their forefathers that it was constructed before the Englishmen invaded the subcontinent. “No one in this village knows the exact date of its origin, not even our forefathers,” said an old woman adding, “The only thing we know is that a part of it has been renovated by Pir Naqeeb-ur-Rehman.”

Due to the location of the mosque, even the residents of the twin cities are unaware of this historical spot amongst them and probably, the archaeology department has never paid a visit to the site. The structure requires immediate attention of the concerned authorities for its timely maintenance and preservation that has great potential to attract a large number of local and international tourists, who are completely uninformed of the existence of a magnum opus on this part of the earth.

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