The Nakhoda Masjid is a

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

, located in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, in the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The mosque is situated in the

Chitpur Chitpur (or Chitpore) is a neighbourhood in North Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sometimes, the entire area along Chitpur Road is referred to as Chitpur, although the various localities have distinctive names. ...

area of the

Burrabazar Burrabazar (also spelt ''Bara Bazar'') is a neighbourhood of Central-North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. Bazar Kolkata In between Sutanuti haat made way for Bazar Kolkata, ...

business district in Central Kolkata, at the intersection of

Zakaria Street Zakaria Street is a street that joins Rabindra Sarani with Chittaranjan Avenue (Central Avenue) in Central Kolkata. Nakhoda Mosque is situated in this street. It is the biggest ramadan market in Kolkata. Mohammad Ali Park is located very close ...

and Rabindra Sarani. Completed in 1926, it is the principal mosque for Kolkata and it is affiliated with the

Hanafi school The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

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 A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...

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 Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

emperor

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

Sikandra, Agra Akbar's tomb is the mausoleum of the third and greatest Mughal emperor Akbar. The tomb was built in 1605–1613 by his son, Jahangir and is situated on 119 acres of grounds in Sikandra, a suburb of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The buildings are ...

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 A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor' ...

''. 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 rupee The Indian rupee (symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 '' paise'' (Hindi plural; singular: ''paisa''). The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve ...

s 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

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

s which are high. There are an additional 25 smaller minarets which range from high. The gateway is an

ersatz An ersatz good () is a substitute good, especially one that is considered inferior to the good it replaces. It has particular connotations of wartime usage. Etymology ''Ersatz'' is a German word meaning ''substitute'' or ''replacement''. Altho ...

of the

Buland Darwaza Buland Darwaza (), or the "Door of victory", construction was started in 1573 by Mughal emperor Akbar to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. It is the main entrance to the Jama Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri, which is 43 km from Agra, India.There i ...

Fatehpur Sikri Fatehpur Sikri () is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated from the district headquarters of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri itself was founded as the capital of the Mughal Empire in 1571 by Mughal emperors, Emperor Akbar, servin ...

. For this purpose granite stones were brought from Tolepur. Inside is a superb exhibition of exquisite ornamentation and artistic extravaganza.

Gallery

Nakhoda-Distance.jpg, Distance view Nakhoda-Closeup.jpg, Closeup view of the entrance Nakhoda-Entrance.jpg, Another view Nakhoda-Side.jpg, Side entrance Nakhoda-Ablution.jpg, Ablution pool Nakhoda-Ablution2.jpg, Ablution pool

Notes

References

External links