ZIYARAT OF NAQASHBAND SAHIB

KHULTA NAHIN HAI MERE SAFRE ZINDAGI KA RAAZ,

LAVOON KAHAN SE BANDA E SAAHIB NAZAR KO MEIN

JAATA HOON THODEE DOOR HAR EK RAAHRAU KE S AATH

PEHCHAANATA NAHIN HOON ABHI RAAHBAR KO MEIN

( ALLAMA IQBAL )

The secret of my journey in this world does not unfold to me ,

O God ! put me at the door of a visionary saint .

I accompany every traveller to the extent i can ,in this Path ,

unable have i been to locate my real guide in this journey.

( Transalation from original urdu by A k mota )

PS

The photographs uploaded have been taken by me at Naqashband sahib Shrine at Nowhatta srinagar in August 2009.The shrine is named after well known mystic from Bukhara Khwaja syed bah u din Naqashband founder of a sufi cult. The mystic never visited kashmir but his followers made a khankah in his name .Sheikh Mohi ud din a descendent of Khwaja Naqashband lies buried inside the Khankah. The mosque opposite the khankah is a piece of superb kashmiri architecture. Every shrine in kashmir has some space for offering grains to birds especially piegeons . Everywhere in kashmir one finds birds being fed grains by people, be it the Hazrat Bal shrine or Makhdoom Sahib or Shahe Hamdaan or Said sahib's shrine near UNO office . Feeding birds and animals is also prevalent in kashmiri Pandits. Pandit ladies continue to offer the freshly cooked morning food to birds and also set aside a small portion of food from their plate for dogs. Small pieces of timber have been used alongwith old 16th centuary Bricks for this imposing structure. The mosque and the main shrine have pagoda type outer tops typical of kashmiri mosques and shrines. Inside the shrine complex some old persons from Zaina kadal area embraced me when i told them that i was a kashmiri . They had possibly mistaken me for a tourist who sometimes come to the shrine to take picture of the old imposing mosque. I was also offerred salt tea (Sheer Chaay) whcih they had brought inside the shrine. A Monjigor ( Kashmir Halwai ) sits outside the shrine .This Halwai or Monjigor is also a regular feature with all kashmiri hindu and muslim shrines.

( A K Mota )