Ajmer Dargah

When we reached Ajmer on Day 2 night, both Bhaskar and I were fatigued, irritated and all that. Someone helped us along the way and we made it to a hotel that provided us with beer and food - all that we were craving for. The next morning we stepped out for breakfast and on the way back I saw a direction to the Dargah...when we inquired, someone said it was just 5 min away. So we kept asking for directions and kept driving. The lanes got narrower and narrower - until we finally reached the Dargah area. The area has a potpourri of shops selling whatever you can possibly imagine - from chikki sweets to fried stuff to religious items to meat to Internet services. It's so crowded that I wonder how I decided to take the Bullet in. Like with most religious sites in India, there are beggars - in this case, there were women with their children all over. We stood outside the Dargah wondering what to do. A moderately portly man in a bright white kurta-pyjama stepped up and inquired if we would want to come inside. Having never been to a Dargah, I was of course curious and looking at Bhaskar suggested that he felt the same. The man told me that I wouldn't be allowed with my silk red boxer shorts and they'd give me a towel - so I wrapped a towel - just low enough so it would cover my knees.

Inside, it is surprisingly clean. It somehow reminded me of Kali temple in Kolkata. It's a little wilder at the Kali temple and the priest will not really hesitate to put his hand in your shirt pocket. The man...by this time I learnt his name was Miraj Chishti and that he's a 10th generation descendent of the Saint Chishti who's buried in the Dargah. He took us where we could buy the offerings and a cap to cover our hair. After that we went close to the main area where we were blessed by a priest. Crowds were thronging to get into the main Dargah area. Per Miraj's advice, we squeezed in - much to the angst of the crowds. We went closer to the center - a little confused - where the Saint is worshipped. Miraj turned out to be a priest himself and we saw him inside the railing that blocked out the Dargah. He made us touch our forehead on the silver railing, covered us with the green cloth that we offered and said the prayers in simple, understandable Hindi - broadly, he prayed that we are healthy and successful, our families and parents are healthy and happy and that we are protected from anyone's evil intentions and that we should come back to Dargah Chishti with our larger families. We then stepped out. I wanted to sit and we did for a few minutes. We also wondered if we should pay Miraj Chishti - we finally didn't but thanked him.

I don't think I perceived the impact of Ajmer at that moment when I was at the Dargah - my mind was semi-occupied in trying to grasp what was going on. We felt really good when the prayers were offered - it was so sincere and positive. I felt a sense of or field of energy or calm once we completed the experience and that stayed for a bit. I was able to see Ajmer in new light - all this is very difficult to express in words because the minute one tries to express the unexpressable he fails. But I felt that Ajmer - in spite of its crowds, dust and hustle-bustle, was enveloped by a peaceful charm like one of those Christmas toys that snow when overturned - there's a semi-spherical glass that covers a city or tree and when you turn it upside down and back, you see that it snows - Ajmer was in a sense like that - covered by a field that makes you very grounded. It left a very positive impact inside.