Ajmer Sharif – The Shrine of Belief

“Priyanka Chopra went to Ajmer Sharif. I want to go too.” I announced. Everyone in the room shook their heads in disbelief. Why would someone be so much a fan of Priyanka Chopra? But nothing was going to deter me from going there. If she has gone there, then I would want to go there too.

“Priyanka Chopra went to Los Angeles. Tu gaya udhar?” Anoop asked. Well, America is out of bounds for me as I had my studies to finish. So Ajmer Sharif was possible. I would go there and also I was curious to see what it is that people visit this world famous dargah so regularly. What is it that makes them tick here?

The month of June nearing, my exams almost getting over, I knew I had the time to go. Faizan my friend told me that June was the month when the Urs festival started in Ajmer. The Urs Festival is celebrated depending upon the moon being sighted. I had heard Faizan telling about how beautiful the festival is and I had seen the videos he had brought when he went there last year. I had the interest to go to Ajmer Sharif for a long time, but now that my favorite heroine has been there, I guess I had every reason why I should be there. It is not for anything that I am her fan.

Going there wouldn’t be so difficult either. We had buses going to Ajmer almost every day. So after a reluctant discussion with my friends (they were not interested to move out of hostel for the week we get a holiday) it was finally decided that after the exams were over we would go to Ajmer Sharif.

The bus started and the climate was hot. There had been a sudden drizzle the night before increasing the heat. As the mud stained windows blocked our view and the cloudy sky looked down on us, the group was a little restless that I had suggested Ajmer Sharif instead of being comfortably positioned in the rooms of the hostel. We were seven of us, me, Anoop, Anna, Shefali, Faizan, Sagar and Yamini.

The seven hour ride to Ajmer was dominated by all of us deciding where to stay in Ajmer and some of us deciding to sing songs over the confusion that followed. The bus conductor had a tough time telling us to keep quiet and I guess all the passengers in the bus would have had a relief when the journey was over. Chiding everyone on the bad behavior, Yamini went off in a huff forward with Anoop and so it was left to us to decide where to stay. As the decision was made at the last minute we didn’t have the time to book a hotel. After the round of arguments and discussions, we finally reached a lodge on the road. Ajmer Sharif is around 5kms from the bus stand. So I guess we were half way through walking. We saw the lodge; it was comparatively a dingy place. But we just needed a place to be put up while we went to the Dargah. The girls took a room and we took a separate room.

We decided to go the next morning to the Dargah as the day was ending and the evening atmosphere was getting to be quite difficult. We relaxed in our rooms and refreshed and walked around the place and found a place to have dinner. It was roadside dhaba and the food was really delicious. The group had slowly started getting more flexible about the plan and soon we were all quite in sync with the fact that we were going to the world famous Dargah. Priyanka Chopra was a forgotten reason and the fact that we were together started to gain ground.

The next morning, we got up early and were quite excited to see the misty morning and the calmness that it exuded. Very soon, we knew this very place would be filled with noise, activity and confusion. Yet amidst that we were enjoying.

Friends! I really love them. With all that reluctance and unwillingness shown in the beginning, here, now the entire group had become united and we were together actually looking forward to reaching the Dargah. The Dargah Sharif Ajmer was located at the foot of the hill. It is believed that this is the place where the Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti’s mortal remains were buried. As we neared the Dargah, we entered the courtyard where the tomb was placed. The tomb was made of marble and was located in the middle of the courtyard. There was a silver platform bordering it.

“Wish for whatever you want.” Whispered Yamini “You will get whatever you want.”

“How do you know?” Shefali whispered back.

“Ammi has told me” said Faizan. I asked them what they were all whispering. Faizan mumbled something which I didn’t understand. Shefali told me in a low tone that one could get ones’ wishes fulfilled here. I could ask for what I wanted. The place was wonderful and extremely infectious with warmth. The fact that I saw people from all religions and castes coming here and praying with fervor made me respect the place more. The entire dargah was swarming with devotees from all parts of the world at such an early hour in the day. They had all come to pay homage to Khawaja and the Urs festival marked the reason more for everyone to be here. There was something about this place that made the entire group very solemn and we were just seeping in the vibrations that all of us felt in this place.

Faizan said “The Urs Ajmer Sharif is a festival celebrated in memory of the Khawaja leaving for heaven after a six day prayer. The festival is thus held in the first six days of Rajjab which is the seventh month in the Islamic Calendar. “

We were quite impressed with Faizan’s knowledge of the festival and we walked along. There was a small place where people were getting the place ready for a qawwali. These qawwalis and mehfils were a common feature in Ajmer Sharif.

“The last time I came here, a famous qawwali group had performed here. My mom and dad were mesmerized to the extent that they still relive the entire programme by discussing about it.” Said Anoop.

“Yes, I know, the Sufiana Kalam is a great piece of music rendered by these famous artists.” Said Shefali. “I have seen it too.”

We had reached the holy place during the time of Urs. So the Holy Shrine was open throughout the day and the night. Normally the tomb is closed during the night.

There were stalls giving us the offerings of chadar, ghilaphand and neema. These are offered at the tomb. We also took this and we carried it on our heads. We headed inside and there was lot of jostling and the crowd was huge. Sweat and grime was in plenty but the air was completely filled with reverence and respect for the Khawaja. This feeling of devotion edged us along and when people of all communities, caste and sect meet in one place with a common agenda then that’s what Ajmer Sharif was all about. As we entered the sanctum sanctorum, the thekadim collected the chadar, ghilaphand and neema from us.  With the perfumed jasmine flowers and the scented smell of sandalwood paste and incense filling the air with purity. Those who had complained of not wanting to come were completely engrossed in the whole affair and they had forgotten even that they were reluctant to have experienced this.

After this we saw the way tabarruk was distributed to us. This was the milk pudding or kheer that was made in two big cauldrons. These cauldrons called the degs, were huge and milk was boiled in this and kheer made. This ritual was called looting of kheer and the entire experience was very surreal.

The sun was setting and we heard drum sounds. “What was that?” I asked. Shefali said that these drums announced the commencement of the annual ceremony. There was a group of qawwali singers who would then come and sit in front of the Dargah. They would perform the Maghrib or the prayers of sunset and sing religious verses. As we came out of the sanctum sanctorum, I saw the way the groups of singers were seated and were singing praises of the saint in very high pitched tones. There were many sitting and listening to them and some of them clapped in rhythm to the instruments. Music in any form is good and this kind of music was soulful and filled with devotion. I loved it and so did the rest of my group. All of us captured it on our cell phones as we had not brought our cameras along.

We came back to our lodge and Yamini actually came up and thanked me for planning the trip. I was quite overwhelmed that our group had suddenly got emotional about the whole trip. All the turmoil of the mind and the toil and trouble of exams suddenly eased out of our shoulders and the visit here had really enlightened all of us.

All night was spent in sharing views and opinions of trips each of us had embarked on and journeys that we would want to go. All of us were sharing dreams that remained to be fulfilled and desires that were achieved. With such thoughts we started the next day which happened to be the last day of Urs. This means it was the sixth day of Rajjab.

“It is a very important day.” Said Faizan as we walked towards the Shrine. There was a morning prayer and there already was a crowd near the Holy Tomb. The Quran was recited and the Darood, then the Shijra- e-Chistia and many other verses. Faizan, Shefali and Anna quite understood all this. Anna’s mother followed Islam. All of us had tied turbans on our heads symbolizing praying for the benefit of the world, for peace, for prosperity and for the happiness of everyone around us. This was the Qul ceremony the last day of the Urs festival. Suddenly it dawned on me why my parents used to insist that prayers are the right way to absolve ourselves of any sin that we might have committed unknowingly.

It is believed that the Saint had gone secluded during the six days and had left all his mortality and left the soul to rest in peace.

“So how did the Khwaja come here ?” I asked Shefali. She said that he had come from Persia and had founded the Chishtia fakir clan here in India. Thus he is apparently also known as the Gharib Nawaz meaning the protector of the poor. His entire life seemingly was spent in serving the poor.

“He actually is believed to have lived for 100 years. Towards his end he withdrew into a cell for six days and requested everyone not to disturb him” chipped in Faizan.

Suddenly fire crackers burst in the air, and there was lot of music.

“What was that>?” I asked. All of us turned to see a whole lot of bursting of fire crackers. Suddenly the atmosphere was charged with music, dance and tunes from all corners. It was celebration.

The bazaars around were completely jam-packed with devotees and there were mehfils and qawwalis all around. This kind of scene is something never to be experienced anywhere but here. The shops sold everything from rosaries, to prayer mats, to textiles to anything that you wanted to pick up.

The three bazaars formed the framework of the Dargah as it is located at the meeting place of the three. In spite of the crowd and the noise, in spite of the sweat and the tiredness, I was sensing a feeling of calm, a tranquil touch and a soothing experience. This is the beauty of Ajmer Sharif and this is the reason people come here in huge numbers.

I was glad I had made it and my friends were happy that they had come along. A trip well accomplished and stupendously organized. In spite of the last minute plans we had come back fulfilled, rejuvenated and with a lot of knowledge and inspiration to do more in life.

Such experiences really make you realize the value of worship, the Power above and it teaches us to believe in ourselves even more. It gave me a sense of confidence, and I am thankful I visited this place. Priyanka or no Priyanka, I would still visit this place again.

Parting thought : Visit Ajmer Sharif for its piety.