An Unexpected Journey

Last week, out of the blue, my aunt who currently lives in London, called me up indicating that she was coming to Delhi for a couple days. Well, I didn’t know exactly when she was to arrive. I haven’t seen my mum’s sister in about 15 years. Well that was just the starting of the surprise. This big surprise was yesterday when I found out that she arrived at the domestic airport in Delhi and we were to immediately board a bus to Ajmer, Rajasthan. Well, that wasn’t all. My mum’s youngest brother, my mama (uncle in Hindi and Telugu) also came with here and I was almost in tears when I greeted them at the airport. My aunt now looks so similar to my amamama (maternal grandma- Telugu) and it just brought back all the fond memories of visiting India and seeking her and my thatha (paternal grandpa)


Well off we went. I knew that Ajmer was about a 10 hour bus ride from New Delhi...so it meant that with all the stops and twists and turns on the road, it was going to be one interesting journey. Note to fellow travellers, air conditioning is advisable when travelling through hot and dry regions of Rajasthan where temperatures can reach to the mid 40’s during the day time. Or just travel in November or December when it’s much cooler.
The long bus ride with the frequent stops to get more chai, kachore (fried potato patties in flour...more potatoes!) and lassi (sweet buttermilk) actually got us to Ajmer closer to 5:30. We had made this journey with the intent to meet a baba ( a Muslim holy man). After the holy month of Ramadan, the streets of Ajmer are crowded with people from all different faiths asking for the blessings of this holy man to protect them from evil spirits or grant their dreams. Walking up to the mosque, I felt like I had entered an old forgotten town from the Mughal Empire. I could see the sun setting on the whitewashed buildings built into the mountain side as well as the entrance to the masjid, welcoming everyone for darshaan (prayer).


Most of you know that I am a believer of multi-faiths and for me this was a spiritual journey to restore happiness and health in both my family and friends. Walking up the stair case to my baba’s house, I felt at home at a peace. I kept thinking about the wonderful hospitality I was being offered by his children and the gifts I was showered with just because I was my aunts daughter and I was here to pray. After washing up and having a spectacular Muslim brunch (including sweet meats, tea, and samosass) and cleaning up, we ended up meeting Baba. Baba is of the Sufi faith and preaches tolerance and wards of any kind of evil that falls upon people. We sat there listening to his blessings before he asked us to enter the Mosque (something that women can’t do- unless with special permission) to perform our prayers and receive our blessings.

It was the most beautiful mosque I have ever been in. His son, our wonderful guide was able to enlighten us on the history of the mosque. Sections of the mosque were built by Akbar the Great, Shah Jahan as well as portions were donated by Queen Victoria funnily enough. Watching everyone get ready to make their offering, made me feel at peace and participating in the prayers with my aunt and uncle made it even more special. We made our donations in this huge well...literally where anything from money to rice and wheat can be placed. Following that, my uncle received baskets of rose petals which were to be taken into the mosque and we were to follow him to receive our blessings from baba. At this point, we were also told that it would be crowded, not to worry and also that Shah Jahan’s daughter was also buried in that particular.

Under the moon light and the rose petals showering down on me, I felt blessed. I asked the wishes of my friends and family to come true and I felt so lucky to be able to have embarked on the unexpected journey and the biggest gift of all was reuniting with my maternal family 

In spite of our short time together, after making the short journey back and arriving home at 5 am this morning, I feel blessed and happy. Words can’t explain the joy that I am feeling right now, knowing that this unexpected trip happed out of the blue and holds a special place in my heart. Ajmer is a city I must return. Photographs need to be taken to showcase the beauty of the city, the culture and the history