dil rubaa : adj. fascinating/alluring . . . dil rubaa : n.m. sweetheart . . . A
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DILRUBA SAFARNAMA |
In our lives all the distant journeys we make are ultimately memorable one way or another, amongst these some tend to stand out like gems in a collection of many. So after all these years India finally happed in 2004... to compare one journey to the next seems unfair, so I express myself best by naming these journeys as I would a child ... no favorites here I confess, have loved them all differently and deeply.
Eventually there will be two galleries here instead of one .... Gallery I will be of the Dargahs (Sanctuaries of the Muslim Sufi Saints) mostly from Delhi, Ajmar and Ahmedabad. Gallery II at present mostly has a myriad selection of images from Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad.
::. Religious Tolerance
Over the years spent entrenched in the realm of photography one of my all time favorite has been documenting Muslim architecture. As time passed my interest found new and diversified directions, one thing led to another and before… I knew it...I was enjoying documenting Dargahs (Sufi Saint’s Shrines) in Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, South Africa and India. My work started to get influenced by deriving inspiration from their poetic works. And visits to these holy places revived and age old belief of religious tolerance. We can be friends no matter what our way of life. Love and respect for all mankind is professed in almost all faiths. It still fascinates me how people of all walks life can visit a Dargah and not create a commotion of any kind. The following is a translation of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awlia's r.a (Mehboob-e-Elahi)famous poem in honor of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s.
O breeze! turn towards Medina (and) from this well-wisher recite the Salaam.
Turn round the king of the prophets (and) with the utmost humility recite the Salaam.
Sometimes pass the gate of mercy (and) with the gate of Gabriel rule the forehead.
Salaam to the prophet of God (and) sometimes recite Salaam at the gate of peace.
Put with all respect the head of faith on the dust there.
Be one with the sweet melody of David and be acquainted with the cry of anguish.
In the assembly of the prophets recite verses from the humble being 'Nizam'.~ Hazrat Nizamuddin Awlia Mehboob.e.Elahi (r.a) 1238 A.D. to 1325 A.D
In Amir Khusraw's Hindavi poetry, his pir is called the jag ujiyaro (world illuminator) and maharaj (emperor) along with a number of other epithets that make this a common language of devotion for practitioners of all faiths. The device of using a female voice to express her longing for a lover is characteristic of Indic poetry and here is used expertly by the poet to be as inclusive as possible. In a well-known qawwali, Amir Khusraw is the bride to the groom Nizamuddin in a symbolic union of the master and disciple, with other Chishti elders invoked too:
I am sold on your beautiful face, Nizam,
I am sold on your beautiful face.
Of all the girls' veils, mine is most soiled.
The women look at me and laugh, Nizam …
This spring, dye my veil afresh,
Preserve my honor, beloved Nizam,
For the sake of Baba Ganj-e Shakar,
Preserve my honor, Nizam …
Qutub and Farid have come in the groom's procession,
Khusro is the bride, Nizam …
Some women fight with the mother-in-law, some with the sister-in-law,
But my hopes are set on you, Nizam …
I am sold on your beautiful face.
~ Excerpt’s taken from “Amir Khusraw the poet of sultans and sufis” by Sunil Sharma"In Allah's garden you gather roses,
Being drunk with divine mysteries:
Hazrat Mehboob-e-Elahi -- the beloved of Allah,
O, how I long for the attar of your company
~ Hazrat Amir Khusro Dehlavi (r.a) 1253-1325 AD
Nami danam chi manzil bood shab jaay ki man boodam;
Baharsu raqs-e bismil bood shab jaay ki man boodam.
Pari paikar nigaar-e sarw qadde laala rukhsare;
Sarapa aafat-e dil bood shab jaay ki man boodam.
Khuda khud meer-e majlis bood andar laamakan Khusrau;
Muhammad shamm-e mehfil bood shab jaay ki man boodam.
What station was I at,
pray tell me,
The station I think I passed;
Blood sacrifices abounded,
I recall And dance
At the station I crossed That night.
Who was that exquisiteness?
The cyprus-statured one, I mean;
The tulip-cheeked ravisher
The gem that bejeweled the station,
And the night?
Rivals attentive, she a coquette
I, a fearful, trembling mute;
Words had turned into stone,
My being entirely afloat
What was the station I crossed,
pray tell me The station that I crossed That night?
You crossed la makkan(no place),
Where He holds congregation Where the Prophet is the Light.
la makkan (no place) was, Khusrau, The station you crossed That night.~ Hazrat Amir Khusro Dehlavi (r.a) 1253-1325 AD
Bahut Kathin hai dagar panghat ki,
Kaisay main bhar laaun madhva say matki?
Paniya bharan ko main jo gayi thi,
Daud jhapat mori matki patki.
Bahut kathin hai dagar panghat ki.
Khusrau Nijaam kay bal bal jayyiye
Laaj rakho moray ghoonghat pat ki.
Bahut kathin hai dagar panghat ki.The road to the Well is much too difficult,
How to get my pot filled?
When I went to fill the water,
In the furor, I broke my pot.
Khusrau has given his whole life to you Oh, Nijam.
Would you please take care of my veil (or self respect),
The road to the well is much too difficult.~ Hazrat Amir Khusro Dehlavi (r.a) 1253-1325 AD
S.A.A.S. / S.A.W.S.
These letters are abbreviations for the words "Salla Allahu 'Alaihi Wa Sallam", which means : may the blessing and the peace of Allah be upon him. When the name of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.S.) is mentioned, a Muslim is to respect him and invoke this statement of peace upon him.