Tohfewala Gumbad.

 If you are travelling on August Kranti Marg from Siri Fort Auditorium side to Pancheel Enclave, on your left you see a large open area with remnants of Siri Fort walls and the dome of a mosque. This mosque which you spot from the roadside is Tohfewala Gumbad.

Tohfewal Gumbad is at Shahpur Jat village.

It is easy to spot the Gumbad but not that easy to reach the heritage structure. At the intersection of August Kranti Marg with Chaudhary Dalip Singh Marg and Shahpur Jat take a left turn towards the village. Just nearby is an opening which let you explore the wall of the Sirifort. To reach the mosque you have to get in the lanes of the village, walk a bit, turn left in a small street and again turning left you see the mosque structure. It is so congested over there that it is really difficult to locate and reach the structure. On virtually all sides there are built up structures all around this mosque.

Tohfewala Gumbad as it looks from the entrance of the Tomb.

There is construction all around Tohfewal Gumbad, its walls nearly overtaken.

Once inside the enclosure, you can see this mosque which was probably built in 14th century. This is unlike the structures of Alai Darwaja and the mosque at Nizamuddin attributed to Alauddin Khilji which are much finer monuments. This is much simpler structure built of rubble masonry. This was probably the central prayer chamber of the mosque. There are three recessed mihrabs on the western wall of the structure which has a dome on top. There are arched openings on the southern and northern side of the structure.

The interior of Tohfewala Gumbad.

There is not much known as to who built this mosque and why it is called Tohfewala Gumbad which means a gifted mosque. Who gifted this mosque to whom is a mystery. Today it is surrounded by built up structures all around and this may not be the best preserving of the 14th century structure.