Cooing Pigeons and Dhaga Dargahs

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)

Qawali

Qawali.

Such a simple word. Encompassing a world within it. The love. The thirst. The Search.

Dervish’s introduction to Qawali was at an age that now seems lost in the mist of time…this introduction was not garnered through the famous Qawals that are so revered and well known to the world and Qawali listeners alike, but through those un-named and unsung (no pun intended) maestros that are an essential part of all Dargahs.

What is Qawali? Any self respecting Qawali aficionado, worth his salt, would be quick to answer that one, it is a musical tradition, introduced by Hazrat Amir Khusro, on a variety of topics, ranging from the Hamd of Almighty to the celebration of Spring, with the commonality in most topics being spirituality, whether obvious or subtle.

It would perhaps be appropriate to tweak the above statement and say that Qawali is a musical tradition “improved” / “enhanced” / “elaborated” by Hazrat Amir Khusro, for when Khawaja Ghareeb Nawaz settled at Ajmer he is said to have introduced / convened Mehfil-e-Sama to / in the Indo Pak sub-continent.

Hazrat Qutubuddin Kaki, the successor to Khawaja Ghareeb Nawaz (and quite obviously the pre-predecessor to Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya) is also well known for his love for Qawali / Sama. According to what has been passed down, Hazrat Qutubuddin Kaki’s wisal is said to have occurred was while he was in a stated of Wajd.

The couplet attributed to the kaifiyat-e-wajd is well known

”kushtgan-e-khanjar-e-tasleem ra …Har zaman az ghaib jaan deegar ast”

“Murder by dagger of acceptance results in a new life from the unknown”

This also suggests that Qawali predates Hazrat-e-Amir.

Sultan ul Mashaiq, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s fondness for Qawali is well known, and not merely due to the fact that it led to the further development of Qawali through the aegis of Hazrat Amir Khusro.

Tradition records that when Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya was of a young age and was living in the city of Badayoun, a Qawal named Abu Bakar arrived from Multan in the presence of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s teacher and recounted his experience with Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya of Multan and of the spirituality of his khanqah. Thereafter he detailed his experience of Pak Pattan with Baba Farid Ganj-e-Shakar. And from that day onward Hazrat Nizamuddin was so deeply moved by this experience that perhaps the the initial seeds of the fondness and love of his future teacher can be said to have been sown by this incident. As future incidents unfolded Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya was the successor to Baba Farid Ganj-e-Shakar.

Given the backdrop of such spiritual personalities, the question remains as to what is Qawali?

From Dervish’s perspective there is no objective answer to that question. Rather there is a just a very subjective one.

Qawali is actually a passage to that seemless boundless ocean where nothing exists except a sense of spirituality.

As Hafiz has said...it has to be a state of Ba Har Soo Jalwa-e-Dildar Deedam..