One is often tempted to give alms to beggars, but one doesn’t know what, actually, is the right thing to do in such situations: give alms at that instance and encourage begging, which has become an organised racket in most big cities, or shoo away the beggar with an “aage jaao” and risk committing the sin of not helping somebody who might be in real need of one’s help. As the poor woman went away, her chiding made me wonder that maybe she was actually in need.
But I digress. We went on and encountered two rows of innumerable shops, again on either side of the lane, selling several versions of the Holy Quran, trinkets, chaadars, flowers, incense sticks and a few other articles to be offered at the mazaar. They were ferociously vying for our attention, calling us on the pretext of depositing our footwear with them. My friend, not a first-time-visitor like me, selected the shop she was familiar with. We deposited our footwear with the shopkeeper, washed our hands, purchased the necessary items to be offered at the mazaar, covered our heads, and surged ahead. As the end of the rabbit hole neared, we could hear faint strains of a qawwali and the accompanying clapping. After paying obeisance at the tomb of Amir Khusrau, said to be the greatest follower of Nizamuddin Auliya - the great sufi saint whose tomb is the most famous one in the area and also after whom the locality is named – I saw the qawwals sitting in an open area facing the tomb of the saint.
They sat amidst listeners, comprising locals as well as foreign tourists. What they sang was barely comprehensible but people sat mesmerised. So did I.
Swinging my head to the tunes, I promised myself that I would come here some other Thursday and sit throughout the performance.
A brief visit to the baoli situated within the campus and we were heading out of the place, with me wondering that sometimes, how easily old wishes come true just like that. In order to go back home with a ‘complete’ experience, we also stopped by at one of the eateries and had some mutton biryani and chicken leg. My friend suggested we have some phirni too, but I was already full. And not just with the food.
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