Travel: DARSHAN @ AJMER DARGAH

Ajmer Dargah

Wiki says: Dargah Sharif or Ajmer Sharif is a sufi shrine of sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti located at Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. The shrine has the grave (Maqbara) of the revered saint, Moinuddin Chisti.

The top of the tower is made of Gold

Hotel Anuraag Villa organised an AC Ambassador car with a Sardarji driver for Venkat and Yours truly to go to Ajmer and Pushkar for a day.

Auto-rickshaw on narrow streets - hair raising experience

We had our breakfast at the hotel and left at around 9 am. The car set off at a steady pace and we travelled for about three and a half hours before reaching the city of Ajmer.

Walking to the Dargah. That's Venkat

The cab driver parked at a main part of the city near a Jain mandir (which was closed). An auto-wallah offered to take us to the Dargah which was about a kilometre away. The roads are too narrow after a point to accommodate a car. I wonder how the Bollywood actors manage to reach the Dargah. I am sure there is another route that we were not aware of. One must understand it’s all about packages and moneymaking in this place.

Chaddar, agarbatti, etc

The rate for the auto-wallah was fixed at Rs. 200 for taking us to a point where another guide would escort us to the Dargah (both inclusive). We had a hair-raising ride via the narrowest of streets that I have set my eyes on. The auto was quite wide and hence there was no chance of our elbows peeping out. But how that guy navigated the vehicle was a wonder indeed. He stopped at a point after 15 minutes or so and handed us over to our guide.

Inside the Dargah. The entrance is on the right where you can see people queuing up

The guide took us through even narrower streets with open drains raising a stink literally. We walked for over 5 minutes before reaching a flower shop. We were ordered (yes, that’s right) to leave our footwear behind and told (yes, not asked) to purchase a shawl, agarbatti and flowers. While they told us that purchasing a shawl for less than for Rs. 2000 could be the worst sin, we settled for one worth Rs. 300 plus the rest of the stuff and went along with him inside the Dargah.

The beautifully carved entrance. I wish I could read Urdu

The place was crowded to the hilt. The guide insisted on taking us to a guy with a long notebook. We sat down in front of him. He first blessed us with a bunch of peacock feathers; then asked for money – no less than Rs. 2000. This was not even an official counter. He was sitting on a corridor with a notebook (not a receipt book). When we insisted on paying only Rs. 500, he took the money but refused to even make an entry in the notebook. Hoping that the money reaches the needy, Venkat and I went along with the guide to take the darshan.

Venkat

There was a long but fast moving queue. We walked in, gave the pooja items to the man in charge at the Maqbara (Samadhi) of Sufi Saint Moinuddin Chishti. He blessed us and sent us on our way from a side door. While a few more people insisted that we give money, we ignored everyone before stepping out. We went on our knees on the side for a few seconds to pray. I have heard that all prayers are answered at this Dargah. I am sure our prayers will also come true.

That's Ajmer Fort in the far background up the hill

We walked around to see a small pond where people were washing their hands and feet. There was too much of a crowd so we gave that a miss. Then there was a huge pot about 10 feet tall where people gave offerings in kind. One needs to climb about 10 steps to check it out. I didn’t go up, but Venkat did. I could not take too many photographs as it was frowned upon.

Trays of flowers. Aren't they lovely!

On our way out, I asked our guide if he could take us through a main entrance. I was not too keen to walk the tiny street with drainage around. That’s when I realised that there was a main road leading to the shrine. We reached the auto faster than it took us to get to the Dargah. Now why would he have taken us by a roundabout dirty route? Only God knows.