Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Ajmer- The Abode of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti

Hi, myself Hassan Mohammed, a resident of Istanbul city of Turkey. As I am a practicing Muslim, so I have full faith over Muslim Saints. Sitting here in Istanbul, I have read a lot about the Muslim Sufi Saint Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti whose dargah lies at Ajmer City of Rajasthan. For several centuries Muslims as well as people of other religions have been referring this place as a sacred one. Even I read in books that the Great Mughal Emperor-Akbar used to visit this site to pay homages on different occasions.

For past several years I was planning to pay a visit to dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti , but I was unable to take out one or two weeks holiday from my hectic schedule. After a long wait, two month back I managed one week holiday for myself and set off for India. I boarded a flight from Istanbul straight to India’s capital New Delhi, from where I proceeded towards Ajmer by a hired cab. When I entered Ajmer, it was almost late night and the city was almost sleeping. Very soon I was in front of the hotel that was arranged by the tour operator. After getting fresh and having some meal, I went inside my bedroom to straight my body from long tiring journey.

Next day after having my breakfast, I head towards the Dargah to pay a homage to Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. Here, I found thousand of devotees paying their homages, being a part of that huge congregation was a matter of pride for me. While I was paying homage to Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, I came across beautiful calligraphic inscriptions of the Holy Qoran on the walls and tomb. In the Dargah premises there are two big mosques, some shops and two big pots named as Badi Deg and Choti Deg. During my stay in the Dargarh, I took the Langar (special sacred meal) which is cooked in Badi Deg and Choti Deg. After spending one full day in the Dargah and visiting each nook and corner, I came back to my hotel. I heard from my tour guide that Ajmer was the place from where the last Hindu ruler of Delhi, Prithviraj Chauhan, ruled over a major part of Northern India.

On day second day, I set out for another attraction of Ajmer, ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra.' When I reached there, the monuments enchanted me a lot with its medieval period sculptures and calligraphic inscriptions. From here I moved towards the Taragarh Fort perched atop the Taragarh hills. After reaching there, I found that the entire fort is surrounded by lofty walls. Inside the fort, the decorations were marvelous, my tour guide informed me that this fort was built by Mughal Emperor Akbar. We headed next to Ana Sagar lake, an artificial lake situated between two splendid hills. The scenic beauty of this place compelled me to spend few hours, interestingly by the sunset the lake was dazzled with rainbow hues.
Moreover, I stayed in Ajmer for three days. I am quite sure that after reading my personal experiences, you will also desire to have a small trip to Ajmer. Hence, its my advice to you all that don’t waste time and must head for Ajmer to get the blessings of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti.