Somewhere in Ahmedabad....

Around 7 pm every day, oil lamps are lit outside the dargah of Syed Muhammed Sirajuddin Shah-e-Alam Bukhari, commonly known as Shah-e-Alam to celebrate friendship and harmony. For last many decades devotees light a lamp in the memory of Shah Alam’s friend, Hindu saint Narsinh Bhagat before entering the dargah. Historians say that Bhagat had once wondered how their friendship could be made an example of communal harmony, and Shah said every person visiting his dargah would have to light a lamp in the memory of his Hindu friend. Even after the post-Godhra riots when the city was in the grip of violence, the tradition was followed. “We have been lighting the lamp for years now. Also during the 2002 riots, members of the refugee camp in the area first lit the lamp and then the lobaan,” says Zayed Kadri, a regular worshipper at the dargah. The main part of the dargah is surrounded by a huge brick enclosure which comprises two mausoleums and a majestic mosque. Just outside the mausoleum stands an altar in the memory of Bhagat. A number of Hindus also visit this shrine and take vows. Also there is a small temple of Bhagat called ‘Narsinh ki choli’ around a kilometre away from the dargah. Devotees say till date ‘kadhi and khichdi’ are first prepared at the temple as prasad and only then is sandal offered at the dargah.“I am a regular visitor to the dargah. Every Thursday I light diyas and offer namaz. By this practice I feel that I have done my bit for bridging the gap between the two communities,” says Vadilal Marwadi, a Danilimda resident.