Kolkata: Nakhoda Masjid, the city’s largest mosque on Chitpore Road and an institution that still takes the call on moon-sightings and Eid in Kolkata, has turned 100.Built by business tycoon Hazi Zakaria who was into the shipping business, and with contribution from the Kutchi Memon community, the mosque still preserves some of its age-old traditions like switching on a light at the top to signal the beginning of Aftaari, the breaking of fast every evening during the month of Ramzan. The light is also switched on every morning to signal the start of Sehri, the beginning of the fast.The mosque’s doors are open to people of any faith, who may go around and experience its grandeur, said a trustee.Every Eid after Ramzan, the streets around Nakhoda Masjid transform into a Mughlai food paradise. But in the age of Instagram and food vlogging, these iconic food lanes have done more than draw crowds for kebabs and biryani—they have also introduced thousands of young people and Gen Z to the history, legacy and architectural grandeur of the century-old mosque.“People of any faith are welcome to Nakhoda Masjid to see and experience the mosque. We only restrict entry of non-worshippers for some time around the time of Namaz. For rest of the day, they can walk in,” said Nasser Ebrahim, a trustee of the mosque.“The mosque was set up after demolishing two smaller mosques that stood here. Hazi Zakaria contacted the trustees of the two mosques and they agreed to pull down the smaller mosques and build a much larger grand mosque on the land,” said Ebrahim.The Kutchi Memons of Kolkata, who helped in building the mosque and are now its trustees, migrated to the city from the Kutch region of Gujarat for trade and business.Kolkata, once a commercial capital of the country, was a natural attraction for many communities. Over the years, the number of Kutchi Memons has dwindled with only about 70 families residing now. “Many have moved to cities like Mumbai or Bangalore, or even outside the country,” said a community member.Ebrahim said there are two schools of thought, one of which believes that the mosque was ready by 1926 while another believes that its construction ended in 1930. “The majority opinion is 1926,” he said.The bright red terracotta colour of the walls, along with its silver and gold on the minarets give Nakhoda Masjid a grand look.Besides Kolkata’s Nakhoda Masjid, the Kutchi Memons run a mosque and a Jamaat Khana – a resting place – in Mumbai’s Mohammed Ali Road. A mosque is also run by the community in Bangalore.The mosque may have turned 100, but its trustees do not deem it proper to have any celebrations. “It is a place of worship and we should preserve that dignity of the place. We only pray that Nakhoda Masjid stands for several more centuries,” Ebrahim signed off.
