Once again we headed back to the Ajmer Shatabdi, this time to head to the city of Ajmer for a pilgrimage. The dargah of the Sufi saint Moinuddin Chisti, aka "Gharib Nawaz" (Benefactor of the Poor), is there and it is a site where Hindus and Christians visit in addition to Muslims.
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| Posing with a cooli (a rail porter) |
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| The Rajasthani desert on the way to Ajmer |
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| Heading to the guesthouse |
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My aunt regularly donates to the dargah, and a couple of the dargah caretakers arranged transportation and a room for us in their guesthouse. It was all nice until we finally met the father/son duo in an office in the dargah. The first question they had for us was concerning how much we were going to donate. My mother and I were so put off by this question! We were of course going to donate, but we naively assumed that there would be time for that later, after paying our respects to the saint. After offering $50 or so (for the time being), the father told us that it wasn't enough! Honestly, it's so sad to see what a business religion has become in the world today. Anyway, we did get a good tour of the place and donated here and there throughout the day. The dargah complex is massive!
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| Buland Darwaza |
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| Cameras are not allowed inside... so I whipped out my phone instead |
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| Getting ready for prayer |
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| The "choti deg," (small pot) used to cook meals to feed the poor |
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| A peek inside the "bara deg," (big pot) where donations in cash and food are thrown in |
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| Getting ready for evening prayer |
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| The shrine lit up at night |
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