Ajmer represents India's real tryst with religion, where it does not matter whether a saint is a Muslim or a Hindu, a Sikh or a Christian; where it only matters that he was an enlightened man. Ajmer is the place where only faith matters and that faith is represented by the paradoxical delicacy of the threads tied to the shrine of a Sufi saint. Each thread tied is a wish and when it is granted, and it inevitably is, the person who tied it returns to untie a thread. The hot desert winds play with those threads, the sun leaches them of colour but the faithful return to tie and untie, in a cycle that never seems to end.

And yes, it is a hot dusty city where acrid winds blow fine dust into every nook and cranny, but that only serves as a reminder of the desert origins of the dervish and the Sufi. Every day a number of activities are performed by the Khuddam of Hazrat Khawaja Ghareeb Nawaj at the Dargah. These include Khidmat, Langer, Sama Qawwali and Quran recital.

How to Reach

Road
The main bus stand (Tel: 429398) is 2 km east of the railway station. Among other places, you can get buses to Ahmedabad (14 hours, Rs 190), Bikaner (7 hours, Rs 108), Jaipur (3 hours, Rs 52), Jaisalmer (12 hours, Rs 190), Jodhpur (5 hours, Rs 81), Udaipur (7 hours, Rs 135). The Pushkar bus stand, near the station-Kutchery road junction has buses to Pushkar every 15 minutes from 5 am to midnight (30 minutes, Rs 5).

Air
Jaipur (132 km) is the nearest airport.

Rail
Regular train services link Ajmer with important cities. Some important train connections: Gujarat Mail (Mumbai-Ajmer-Delhi-Sarai-Rohilla); Jodhpur Mail (Marwar-Ajmer-Jaipur): Delhi Express (Ahmedabad-Ajmer-Jaipur); Shatabadi Express (New Delhi-Ajmer-New Delhi).
Railway telephone inquiry: 131.
Railway reservations: 132

Khidmat
This ceremony is performed twice, once early in the morning about at 4.00 a.m. and other at 3.00 p.m. with a slight difference. In the morning it is performed for about an hour before the Fajar prayer. At this time, the main entrance of the Tomb is opened, by calling Azan. At this point only Khadims are allowed to enter to perform khidmat. In affect, khidmat means cleaning the Holy Mazar and offering fresh flowers.The second khidmat takes place at 3.00 p.m. At this time, all pilgrims are permitted inside the Tomb except ladies. Now apart from offering flowers, khadims recite Fateha and offer sandalwood which is also distributed among the pilgrims.

Lighting (Roshnee)
Fifteen minutes before evening prayer the ritual of Roshnee (lighting) takes place. It starts with khudam bringing candles inside the Tomb with drums beating in the background. Once inside, khadims place these candles in lamps and recite some Persian verse. Finally the lamps are placed in the four corners of the Holy Tomb and are lighted.

Karka (Closing ceremony)
Karka is the closing ceremony of the Tomb which takes place after an hour of Isha prayer. According to old custom, about 20 minutes before closing the door, when fifth part of the night passes, a person calls to ring five, the clock sounds five times, the devotees present inside the Tomb are requested to go out of the Shrine. Then three khadims clean and sweep the Tomb. After that they come out of the Tomb and the bell rings six times. Immediately after that Qawwals sing a special song called `Karka’. After the song is over, the entrance of the Tomb is closed.

Langer
Dargah’s daily ceremony includes Langer (free distribution of food) where they serve wheat porridge which is cooked in a special grass. This particular porridge is significant because this is the same porridge that Khawaja Baba used to consume. It is said that when Emperor Akber visited Khawaja Baba’s Mazar, he used to stand in queue and take the Langer like any other ordinary man. The Langer takes place after Isha prayer (namaz)

Sama (Qawwali)
Every day in front of the main shrine (mazar), after fazar namaz, magrib namaz and Isha namaz, there’s a mehfil-e-sama where devotional songs on Allah is sung by special Qawwals (devotional singer).

Milad & Quran Recital
It’s a complete recital of the Holy Quran which takes place every day at Jama Masjid and Alamgir Masjid.

Sights to Visit

The Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti
To the foot of this barren hill, they come, people of all faiths. Some pray for a child, some for surcease of pain, some for cure of an illness. The tomb of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a Sufi saint, draws them all, regardless of caste or creed. There is something deeply moving about the concentration of faith and belief, something deeply spiritual about the qawwalis (devotional singing popular among Sufis) sung to God as the beloved. And it is a beautiful shrine as well.

Shah Jahan's Mosque
In the corner of the inner court of the Dargah, is a magnificent building in white marble. This is Shah Jahan's mosque, which has a 33 m. long court with a low arcade and delicate trelliswork. There are eleven arches and a carved balustrade on three sides.

Adhai-din-ka-jhonpra
It took Mohammed of Ghauri only two-and-a-half days (hence the name, adhai din) to build this mosque. This was not an architectural or an engineering feat. He took the Sanskrit College that stood on the site and added a wall with seven arches to the structure. That took two-and-a-half days. The pillars of the mosque are all unique, each one carved differently. The arches are decorated with beautiful calligraphy from the Koran.

Taragarh Fort
A steep climb beyond the Adhai-din-ka-jhopra leads to the ruins of the Taragarh Fort, perched on a hill. Not much remains except for the 4 m. thick walls but the view from the fort makes the huffing and puffing worthwhile.


The Museum
Once the royal residence of Emperor Akbar and then Emperor Shah Jahan, the museum has enough stuff to merit a visit. For a Mughal palace, it is rather plain but has a fine pair of gates. The archaeological find from Mohenjodaro and Harappa may not be very interesting to look at (even if they are very, very old) but the beautiful image of the Saraswati from Banswara in the Jain gallery will stop you for a while. It is also the site of a rather interesting colonial encounter. It was here that Sir Thomas Roe, ambassador of King James, met with Emperor Jehangir for the first time.

Open from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm. Closed on Fridays, entry Rs 3; free on Mondays (Which means it is also rather crowded on that day).

Mayo College
One of the India's best public schools, located in the south-east of the Ana Sagar, Mayo College is one of the great examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture. When it was a public school for Maharajas, it was known as the Eton of the East. Very colonial and proud of its British past is Mayo College.

Nasiyan Jain temple
This red sandstone Jain temple was built in the late 19th century. Go by appearances alone and you might give it a miss. Which would be a pity because the interior is truly amazing. Raj Bahadur Seth Moolchand Nemichand Soni built the museum and temple in 1864. On the first floor is the Suvarna Nagari or Golden World. It houses the Jain conception of the universe and replicas of every Jain shrine of any importance, all plated in gold. Over 1,000 kg of gold are supposed to have been used in this breath-taking extravaganza. The whole is enclosed in a glass case and can be viewed from different galleries. The ceiling is bedecked with silver balls and models of the ships of the gods. In the centre is the holy mountain Sumeru with other sites around it.

If you've already been there, go again. The trustees are continually embellishing and adding to the splendours of the place. Open every day between 8 am and 5 pm, Entry fee: Rs 5. The shrine next door is meant only for Jains.


Ana Sagar Lake
This lake was built by Anaji during 1135-1150 AD by damming the river Luni. Later the Mughal Emperors made additional constructions to beautify the lake. The baradari, a marble pavilion was built by Emperor Shah Jahan and the Daulat Bagh gardens was laid by Emperor Jehangir. This lake is located towards the north of Ajmer city. Nice place for a stroll or a picnic. The newly built Luvkush Gardens offer boating opportunities with pedal boats or motor boats. There are 52 bathing ghats around the lake, each with its special powers: Naga Kund for fertility, Roop Tirth for beauty and Kapil Vyapi kund for curing leprosy.

Rajasthan - Ajmer History

Raja Ajay Pal Chauhan founded Ajmer in the 7th century AD. He constructed a hill fort and named it Ajaimeru or The Unconquerable Hill. The city continued to be a Chauhan stronghold till 1193 when Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated by Mohammed Ghauri. After this legendary ruler lost Ajmer to Muhammed Ghori, it became a part of the Delhi Sultanate. But such an important city - which lay on the desert trade routes and had shrines of great importance to both major religions - could not go uncontested for long. Rana Kumbha of Mewar and Raja Maldeo of Marwar wrested it back for the Rajputs. The battles continued: Mughals, Marathas and Rajputs played musical thrones with Ajmer. The result is a syncretist culture symbolised in the two annual events that bring thousands to Ajmer: the Urs at the Dargah Sharif of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and the Pushkar fair to the west of Ajmer, at the lake which is home to perhaps the only temple of Brahma.

Rajasthan - Ajmer Geography

Ajmer is in the heart of the Aravalli Mountains, by the edge of the artificial Ana Sagar Lake, 132 km to the west of Jaipur. It is only about 3 km long, which means that you can quickly work your way around it. Navigate by the Dargah Sharief. The landscape around is unprepossessing, filled with dry rocks, covered with sparse scrub with only a date palm or two as punctuation.