Sufi Mystics of Surat

Sufi mystics of Surat

On the first day of Ramadan, this columnist was fortunate enough to visit the shrine of Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti. It is one place in the world that never fails to provide the serenity and solitude I seek, no matter how crowded it is. There is a certain magical mysticism linked with Sufi saints and believers often experience what poet Octavio Paz once best described it as:

'I did not have the imageless vision; I did not see forms whirl until they vanished in unmoving clarity, the being without substance of the Sufis. I did not drink the plenitude of the void …..I saw a blue sky and all the blues, from white to green, the spread fan of the poplars and on a pine, more air than bird, a black and white mynah. I saw the world resting on itself. I saw the appearances. And I named that half hour: The Perfection of the Finite.’

Gujarat’s belief in Sufism is at its prime in Ajmer and prevalent among the pilgrims there. The main entrance to Ajmer’s Dargah has’ Khwaja Garib Nawaaz ‘written in Gujarati text besides Urdu script. A ‘Khadim’ from Patel Gujarat house mediated my obeisance to the saint, whose legend says that he was simultaneously seen circumambulating the Khana-e-Kaaba, Mecca, during Haj, when he was actually still at Ajmer.

Upon my return, I discussed this observation with my learned friend Ayub Sopariwalla, who informed me about the Sufi saints of Surat, whose ‘roohs’ (souls) guard its people and preserve its prosperity. Curious to know more, I went around the popular shrines of Tapi Town and learnt that, since as early as the 12th century; Sufi saints began visiting and settling in Gujarat, spreading messages of peace and love within a melting pot of Hindu-Muslim cultures.

More than 400 years ago, five brothers from Bokhara traveled to Agra and then settled in Surat. Their knowledge in the field of relieving ailments seemed to have miraculous powers to provide relief and thus they gained immense popularity within the town. Till date, their Dargahs continue their mission.

Hazrat Dana Pir’s Dargah at Bade Khan Chakla, Gopipura is one of the above .Meet the mujawar here and you will get to know how the Hazrat overpowered an evil spirit and saved the locals. He further claims that,” During Urs, the lock on its gate unlocks by itself, then, the golden hand on the shrine waves down thrice and a little Dargah beside the adjacent mussafirkhana moves forward by the width of a rice grain.”

A lot of people visit here to offer miniature cloth horses as mannat against boons asked. Childless couples, upon being granted the same, donate grains against the infant’s weight. There also exists here, the grave of ‘shakkarwaley baba’ who helps tongue tied infants speak if their tongue is rubbed thrice against his tombstone. The child leaves a handful of sugar molasses in return.

Dana Pir’s other brothers Khwaja Khizr, Khwaja Didar, Khwaja Suleiman and Khwaja Madni are said to be the guards of Surat’s prosperity, residing besides the gates of the inner walled city .Visited by Muslim and Hindu believers alike, these shrines ring true the verse of the 15th century Sufi saint Shah Ali Gamdhani:
’ Haj jau hu ki Dwarka,ghar na koi dekhu paarka,sab khel pyaar ka.’