He asked us to offer the flowers after making a wish. The Khadim took our chadar and put it on the qabr. Inside the main shrine, Khwajaji’s Qabr is adorned with chadar in the center surrounded with silver barricades. This was my first time at a Dargah, so was unaware of the procedure. There is a huge crowd waiting to enter the shrine, but since we were with Khadim, we had a separate line. We then proceeded to a washing area where we cleansed ourselves before proceeding towards the shrine. We did buy a chadar, some flowers, a basket and mannat ke dhaage (thread of hope) to offer. The entire Dargah smells of scent ( ittar) and the entire atmosphere around is so mystical. A mosque built by Shah Jahan looks over the shrine. A little walk from there will take you to an open area right opposite to the shrine of Khwajaji. After you walk a little you’ll come across the Dargah of Moinuddin Chisti’s Begum ( wife). The qawwalis happen daily in the morning and evening after the namaz as mentioned here. This hall is used for qawwali sessions during urs and other festivals. Once you cross the Degs, you’ll come across a hall on the right. Holy Shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti at Ajmer Sharif Dargah The other is used to cook something and feed the people – Langar Khana. The large iron pots are used for offerings – money, edible items and everything else. Taking a left from the entrance you will find two huge pots made by Akbar which are called as Deg. This entrance opens right next to the Main Entrance of the Dargah. Since we were guided by the Khadim we took the side route to enter the Ajmer Sharif Dargah. The entrance to the Dargah is huge, including a massive gate donated by the Nizam of Hyderabad. I’m not endorsing him, just that having a contact number with you would ease your trip to the Dargah. You can contact Syed Solat Hussain Chishty at +919982785110. You have two options to visit the Ajmer Sharif Dargah – either you can take a tour of the Dargah and offer the chadar on your own or you can take help of a ‘ Khadim’ ( these are the people who belong to the Dargah board and apparently are descendants of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti) Since we were short on time, we took a help of A Khadim to guide us. If there is slightest of doubt, don’t take it. If you are confident you can take care of it, take it. However I did take my mobile and wallets. There were a lot of people warning me not to take valuables like mobiles and wallets at the Dargah since there are a lot of pick pockets. There aren’t any specific timings to visit but I’ve heard it’s not open during the Namaz timings. The only condition is your head should be covered. Just like anyone can visit the Golden Temple, anyone can visit the Dargah. The Dargah is open to people from all backgrounds and there is no discrimination of any sort. If you are going during any festival like Urs, then I’m afraid you’ll be welcomed with a sea of people. The area is highly crowded no matter what time of the day you visit.
One can reach the Dargah after crossing the Delhi gate. The Ajmer Sharif Dargah also known as Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah or Garib Nawaz holds a very important place in India especially in Islam. Akbar and his queen used to come here by foot on pilgrimage from Agra every year in observance of a vow when he prayed for a son. The one name that Ajmer is synonymous with is the Ajmer Sharif Dargah followed by the Ajmeri Kalakand. Continuing from my recent Road Trip to Ajmer from Jaipur, I’ll be talking about the places I visited in Ajmer and Pushkar.