The stay in Ajmer
Having reached Ajmer late in the evening the two-day stay could have been elaborate had their been success in getting the requisite accommodation. Having deposited the luggage in the cloak room, i had few minutes at my disposal for gates to close at Dargah. The collection inside Khwaja's resting place was not that huge and given the improvisation the dargah authorities had made the entry and exit had been made possible from two different gates. Perhaps this is the shape of things to come as build up of crowd and its dispersal has been constantly nagging those who wish to make collection leaner inside the sanctum sanctorum at any given point. Out with not much pushing and shoving i headed towards a phone booth to make a call to National Capital. The search was a bit tiring given the booths which operated earlier had their shutters down and some being replaced by other stores of necessities. The two calls made from a booth where one was expecting a fax on a train ticket the charge looked a bit steep. "Dilli Door Hai" was the parting shot to the booth owner who was courteous enough to let me make calls when he had some other urgent matters to attend to. Out of the dargah precincts i headed towards Pandit restaurant to try meals.
The return post meals led me to search for an accommodation and with not much effort i settled for Hyderabad House. Up on the third floor i agreed for a room that came with an attached bath. Later i collected the luggage from cloak room (charges Rs 10 against rs 7 in 2009 and earlier). Once i settled with the luggage, i ventured out again to Faizan Soda Water to get the requisite fluid intake. With three big glasses the intake looked sufficient enough to sufficiently suggest that night could be dissolved in a state of sleep authenticity with no desire for water whatsoever. Once inside the room, its not so visible airy character made minutes turning to hours quite laborious and perhaps early morning sleep looked to be comforting enough to not toss around for at least four hours.
A full day at my disposal the second day began with a visit to Ajmer Railway Station. Each counter had a queue of a scale it desired and the information counter manned by one Singh saw him disposing the queries without bothering to look at the terminal. With no option i had to stand in the queue and all i was left with no answers on trains departing late in the night/early morning and seat availability. At least the railways would be advised/requested to see that inquiry counters are manned by personnel who at least show a degree of accessibility in responding to queries that can come handy for passengers. With no luck on hand i headed to Dargah and came out amidst a crowd that was manageable. THe tea counter in proximity of Hyderabad House has been a treat for those disposed to the idea of a strong brew prior to visiting the dargah and another round post Dargah visit. Four glasses under 20 minutes raised the spectacle of how unsettling the morning visit to station was and this round of brew had set the unsettled equations to rest.
By close to 11 i was alive to a new set of proceedings as the shower was managed against a water-release more than a drop a sec and the pressure by no means livid enough to get the needed quantum. THe water pressure may be to a desired scale on floors below and here one needs to bear this before opting for the uppermost tier. The visit this time to Khwaja's abode was against a sentiment of a chadar to be offered and a prayer to be essayed and said. Again to not miss the point the entry and exit gates have been conducive enough to constantly prod the Khwaja enlightened followers to make it a point to get inside and not get thwarted by unstable build up of crowd. As exit gate is different, the arithmetic of crowd management inside has been settled to a point. Having made rounds of the sanctum sanctorum as i was about to leave this coincided with namaz being offered. Henceforth we were advised by Khadims to stay put for a while and once the namaz was over we could leave.
Outside and amidst a crowd that was building by the hour on the second day on two different occasions i took refuge in Faizan Soda water and ganne ka ras. I apologised to the man whom i promised i would take the bus ticket and headed to the station. I took the ticket for Jaipur from counter no 10 on ground floor and here again some of the queries that other passengers were putting had been summarily dismissed. One can understand that railway employees work under stress. THere is a need to motivate those who man the information counter or current reservation counters.
It was a visit where interaction with people from different layers of life in Ajmer was abundant and equally abundant were the wishes we gave to each other. Khwaja's fabric encompasses one and all and here the most imaginative to the most therapeutic mingle amidst comfort surroundings and take a vow to be at peace and raise a new bonding.
Having reached Ajmer late in the evening the two-day stay could have been elaborate had their been success in getting the requisite accommodation. Having deposited the luggage in the cloak room, i had few minutes at my disposal for gates to close at Dargah. The collection inside Khwaja's resting place was not that huge and given the improvisation the dargah authorities had made the entry and exit had been made possible from two different gates. Perhaps this is the shape of things to come as build up of crowd and its dispersal has been constantly nagging those who wish to make collection leaner inside the sanctum sanctorum at any given point. Out with not much pushing and shoving i headed towards a phone booth to make a call to National Capital. The search was a bit tiring given the booths which operated earlier had their shutters down and some being replaced by other stores of necessities. The two calls made from a booth where one was expecting a fax on a train ticket the charge looked a bit steep. "Dilli Door Hai" was the parting shot to the booth owner who was courteous enough to let me make calls when he had some other urgent matters to attend to. Out of the dargah precincts i headed towards Pandit restaurant to try meals.
The return post meals led me to search for an accommodation and with not much effort i settled for Hyderabad House. Up on the third floor i agreed for a room that came with an attached bath. Later i collected the luggage from cloak room (charges Rs 10 against rs 7 in 2009 and earlier). Once i settled with the luggage, i ventured out again to Faizan Soda Water to get the requisite fluid intake. With three big glasses the intake looked sufficient enough to sufficiently suggest that night could be dissolved in a state of sleep authenticity with no desire for water whatsoever. Once inside the room, its not so visible airy character made minutes turning to hours quite laborious and perhaps early morning sleep looked to be comforting enough to not toss around for at least four hours.
A full day at my disposal the second day began with a visit to Ajmer Railway Station. Each counter had a queue of a scale it desired and the information counter manned by one Singh saw him disposing the queries without bothering to look at the terminal. With no option i had to stand in the queue and all i was left with no answers on trains departing late in the night/early morning and seat availability. At least the railways would be advised/requested to see that inquiry counters are manned by personnel who at least show a degree of accessibility in responding to queries that can come handy for passengers. With no luck on hand i headed to Dargah and came out amidst a crowd that was manageable. THe tea counter in proximity of Hyderabad House has been a treat for those disposed to the idea of a strong brew prior to visiting the dargah and another round post Dargah visit. Four glasses under 20 minutes raised the spectacle of how unsettling the morning visit to station was and this round of brew had set the unsettled equations to rest.
By close to 11 i was alive to a new set of proceedings as the shower was managed against a water-release more than a drop a sec and the pressure by no means livid enough to get the needed quantum. THe water pressure may be to a desired scale on floors below and here one needs to bear this before opting for the uppermost tier. The visit this time to Khwaja's abode was against a sentiment of a chadar to be offered and a prayer to be essayed and said. Again to not miss the point the entry and exit gates have been conducive enough to constantly prod the Khwaja enlightened followers to make it a point to get inside and not get thwarted by unstable build up of crowd. As exit gate is different, the arithmetic of crowd management inside has been settled to a point. Having made rounds of the sanctum sanctorum as i was about to leave this coincided with namaz being offered. Henceforth we were advised by Khadims to stay put for a while and once the namaz was over we could leave.
Outside and amidst a crowd that was building by the hour on the second day on two different occasions i took refuge in Faizan Soda water and ganne ka ras. I apologised to the man whom i promised i would take the bus ticket and headed to the station. I took the ticket for Jaipur from counter no 10 on ground floor and here again some of the queries that other passengers were putting had been summarily dismissed. One can understand that railway employees work under stress. THere is a need to motivate those who man the information counter or current reservation counters.
It was a visit where interaction with people from different layers of life in Ajmer was abundant and equally abundant were the wishes we gave to each other. Khwaja's fabric encompasses one and all and here the most imaginative to the most therapeutic mingle amidst comfort surroundings and take a vow to be at peace and raise a new bonding.
No comments:
Post a Comment