Nakhoda Mosque

The Nakhoda Masjid is a Sunni mosque, located in Kolkata, in the state of West Bengal, India. The mosque is situated in the Chitpur area of the Burrabazar business district in Central Kolkata, at the intersection of Zakaria Street and Rabindra Sarani. Completed in 1926, it is the principal mosque for Kolkata and it is affiliated with the Hanafi school. History Before 1854, there used to be two different mosques at the present site. Haji Zakariah, a (Kutchi) Cutchi Memon merchant and business tycoon, was a regular musallee (devotee). The Cutchi Memon are a Muslim community who came to Calcutta round 1823 onwards. Haji Zakaria was the leader of other Sunni Muslim community who in inhabitant the surrounding areas of the present musjid. The Cutchi Memons are a trading community and many of them had shipping business. Haji Zakariah who was the head of the community, had 99 ships, and was a landlord with several properties. He was also known as the king of sugar business and this can he confirmed by the dad family who stay at Central Avenue, Kolkata. Haji Zakariah was a philanthropist and religious person. He took over the management of the two mosques and also purchased the land between the two mosques. He then built a huge mosque with his own money which became known as the Nakhoda Mosque. Nakhoda in Persian means sailor and he was in shipping business. He also established the Zakaria Madrassa and purchased four buildings for the benefit of Cutchi Memon. Hajee Zakariah, along with Hajee Wahidana, his cousin, business partner and very close friend, also purchased the Maniktalla Burial Ground at 248 A, B, and C, Achariya Parfulla Chandra Road, Kolkata. There is a Bibi Jitan musjid and dargah also in the burial grounds. It is a private burial ground for Cutchi Memon only but other communities are also allowed burials after seeking permission from the trustees. Maulana Khairuddin, his wife and family members are buried here. Hajee Zakariah also helped in building the Hafiz Jamal Masjid in Sundarya Patti (Rabindra Sarani) and also contributed in the construction of Naher-e-Zubeda in Madinah Sharif. He was the sole trustee/ Mutawalli of the Zakaria Musjid also known as the Nakhoda Mosque. During this period many Arabs from Egypt, Iraq and Madinah used to come to India. Haji Zakaria appointed these Arab Imam at the Nakhoda Mosque. Another prominent person who was very close to Haji Zakariah and Maulana Khairuddin (father of the first education minister of Indian), was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Maulana Khairuddin used to give Vaaiz / bayan at the Nakhoda Mosque and sometimes did the Emamt also. When Haji Zakariah died in 1865, his son, Haji Noor Mohammed Zakariah, continued in a similar role to his father, and contributed generously in building the Calcutta Muslim Orphanage. Architecture The mosque was built as an imitation of the mausoleum of Mughal emperor Akbar at Sikandra, Agra by Kutchi Memon Jamat, a small Sunni community from Kutch. With a capacity of 10,000 worshipers in the mosque's prayer hall, the Nakhoda Mosque is the largest mosque in West Bengal and eastern India. Before 1854 there used to be two different mosques at the present site. The mosque was named Nakhoda meaning mariner. Reconstruction work started in 1926 and was completed in 1935. All the prominent Cutchi memons of Calcutta contributed for the new mosque, and Abdul Rahim Osman was the biggest donor. The total cost incurred for the construction was 1,500,000 Indian rupees in 1926. The contract for rebuilding the musjid was given to Mackintosh Burn & Co., a British engineering company. The mosque has three domes and two minarets which are 46 metres (151 ft) high. There are an additional 25 smaller minarets which range from 30 to 36 metres (100 to 117 ft) high. The gateway is an ersatz of the Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri. For this purpose granite stones were brought from Tolepur. Inside is a superb exhibition of exquisite ornamentation and artistic extravaganza. Gallery See also Islam in India List of mosques in India List of mosques in Kolkata Notes References External links Official website Photos tagged with "nakhoda" at Flickr Satellite picture by Google Maps Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts image of Nakhoda