The black and white background to Dervish's blog..is not just a random black and white picture.
It is a picture of a Jaali. Filigree work...jaalis..are commonly found in most ancient historical buildings in the Indian sub-continent..but some are more interesting than others. The interest could be of what the jaali is holding in or holding out.. or it could well be what the jaali signifies.
The word "jaali" invokes myriad images..from spiritual to the mundane. Leaving the mundane aside, and keeping the non mundane in view, Jaali generally has a spiritual connotation for some.
In the Indo Pak subcontinent...Jaali's in Dargah's are used either for holding and entreating to the saint for his mercy or for your hearts desire or for the other practical alternative for communicating to getting your heart's desire heard...tying the red dyed thread...with the vow that you will untie the thread as soon as your heart's desire has been fulfilled.
In a time long ago...the prime location of the Dhaga Dargahs used to be Hazrat Salimuddin Chishti's Dargah in Fatehpur Sikri. He who is historically attributed for having prayed for the birth of his namesake Prince Salim of Anarkali fame...no other than the Mughal Emperor Jehangir...Akbar the Great's son.
(If you visit Hazrat Salimuddin Chishti's shrine...you will also get to hear..if you haven't already...how Akbar walked on foot from Ajmer to Fatehpur Sikri to request Hazrat to pray for the heir to his throne. )
But then...Time waved its magic wand..."Sufism" became the buzz word...and as with all other things in life...quick fixes became the norm...even in the spiritual world...and Karma Cola became the flavor of the day. "Paisa phaik tamasha daikh" was the preferred way of life.
This perhaps can be attributed to the sprouting of the Dhaga culture at most shrines. They have all become Dhaga Dargahs. Perhaps the sense of communicating that one feels in the act of tying the thread outweighs the silent communication of prayer for some.
This picture though is not as interesting as a Dargah's jaali...but for Dervish is more thought provoking and elemental.
For anyone who has visited the Red Fort at Delhi the picture and the view should have been easily identifiable. It is a shot through the Jaali of the Moti Masjid at the Red Fort.
Built for worship by kings (specifically Aurangzeb) and now locked, derelict...no throng of entreating visitors here...no sense of urgent prayer...not even a single devotee...
Echoing only to the sound clicking photographers, chattering tourists peeking through its mysterious and inviting jaali...and cooing pigeons.
(Khabar-e-Tahayyur-e-Ishq Sun = Munshi Raziuddin)
