The Myth and Magic of Ajmer

Ajmer is a strange muslim town in the heart of Rajasthan. It is considered a very important place of worship primarily because of Garib Nawaz, who apparently was sent by Prophet Mohammed to introduce Islam to India. The Dargāh Sharīf is a fascinating place where the iron furnace apparently never heats up while the food is cooked, where the food stays fresh even after a year, where thousands of limb-less poor people hang around expecting to get food and money. The lanes are tiny, you can almost smell the brick that's cast thousands of years back. My friend Taj Hussain, the auto-driver, took me around and told me these tales of Ajmer. Quite fascinating.

The Dargāh Sharīf of Khwāja Mu'īnuddīn Chishtī is situated at the foot of the Tārāgaṛh hill, and consists of several white marble buildings arranged around two courtyards, including a massive gate donated by the Nizām of Hyderabad, a mosque donated by the Mughal emperor Shāh Jahān, the Akbarī Mosque, and the domed tomb of the saint. The Emperor Akbar, with his queen, used to come here by foot on pilgrimage from Agra every year in observance of a vow he had made when praying for a son. The large pillars, erected at intervals of two miles (3 km) the whole way between Agra and Ajmer, marking the daily halting places of the royal pilgrim, are still extant.

Come to Ajmer, feel the force.