Ajmer: The abode of the holy shrine – Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti

Last night while watching Travel XP, I noticed they were showing a Dargah, which looked very familiar to me and my joy knew no bounds when I came to know that it was none other than famed Dargah of Ajmer, Rajasthan, India.

I have very fond childhood memories of visiting Dargah when my chacha (father’s younger brother) use to take us while we visited him during our summer vacations in our school days. I was very fascinated by the shrine as it had very divine and serene atmosphere with a huge congregation of devotees always. Childhood memories became vivid as the show moved on, I recollected visiting all these places as a child but unfortunately could not visit in a long time, though I always long to visit the place especially for Dargah.

Any tourist visiting the state of Rajasthan cannot afford to miss the Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti Dargah in Ajmer besides many other things which beautiful city of Ajmer has to offer. It is old saying that people who visit Ajmer Sharif and pray with pure faith and loyalty at his Dargah will free their soul. Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti is also known by different names as, Khawaja Gharib Nawaz, “Sultan-Ul-Hind”, Khwaja Baba, Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Ajmeri, Khwaja Sahib, Khwaja Saheb, Khwaja Ajmeri Saint Moinuddin Chishty. The Dargah Khawaja Gharibnawaz ( R.A) has several tombs, buildings, Daalaans and courtyards are of  Mughal architecture. As a child, the big degchi fascinated me the most where tons of rice was cooked for Chadava and devotees. I always wondered how they would be cooking in such a huge vessel and that still remains a mystery.

Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Ajmer Dargah, Ajmer Sharif or Dargah Sharif is a Sufi shrine (Dargah) of a Sufi saint, Moinuddin Chishti located in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. The shrine has the grave (Maqbara) of the revered saint, Moinuddin Chisti. The dargah of Moinuddin Chishti (Gharib Nawaz -Benefactor of the Poor), is an international waqf, an Islamic mortmain managed by the Dargah Khwaja Saheb Act, 1955 of the Government of India.

Ajmer Sharif Dargah is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) away from the main central Ajmer Railway station and situated at the foot of the Taragarh hill, and consists of several white marble buildings arranged around two courtyards, including a massive gate donated by the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Akbari Mosque, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. It contains the domed tomb of the saint.

Akbar and his queen used to come here by foot on pilgrimage from Agra every year in observance of a vow when he prayed for a son. The large pillars called “Kose (‘Mile’) Minar”, erected at intervals of two miles (3 km) along the entire way between Agra and Ajmer mark the places where the royal pilgrims halted every day. It has been estimated that around 150,000 pilgrims visit the site every day.

The main gate to the shrine is the Nizam Gate, followed by the Shahjahani Gate, erected by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. In turn, it is followed by the Buland Darwaza, built by Sultan Mahmood Khilji, upon which is hoisted the urs flag, marking the beginning of the death anniversary rituals.

So if you are planning a trip to Rajasthan, do pay obeisance to the holy shrine in Ajmer and achieve that unique divine experience.

Source: Wikipedia

#RuleOutThyroweight- Let’s not ignore the issue!

In January, a thyroid awareness campaign witnessed the congregation of bloggers who had gathered there to apprise themselves about Thyroid disorders and share it with #RuleOutThyroweight. A well-known celebrity and Bollywood star who is also the Therapy Awareness ambassador for creating Thyroid awareness initiative in India – Ms Juhi Chawla, shared her experiences with Thyroid Disorder.  

Thyroweight which is mainly diagnosed in women, as in their quest to create balance, take too much on them and ignore their health or any health-related symptoms. Symptoms that are telling us to pause and take notice. But in this fast-paced daily life, we ignore it. These could be shouting signs of an underlying issue. Once we identify the causes, issues, we can work towards it. Issues such as thyroid dysfunction- have treatment options at hand. Life can become easy – and full of energy! Let’s not wait and ignore those issues.

Thyroweight is weight changes and tiredness due to thyroid disorders. Thyroid disorders are of two types-

Hyperthyroidism- Excess secretion of Thyroid Hormones

Hypothyroidism- Less secretion of Thyroid Hormones

Hypothyroidism is much more common than Hyperthyroidism.  In hypothyroidism weight gain, tiredness and lethargy are the common symptoms. Thyroid disorder is one of the most common endocrine gland disorder worldwide. Research and market data shows that we, women tend to ignore these symptoms and blame our lifestyle. With Thyroweight, an awareness needs to be created around this small weight gain and other symptoms associated with hypothyroidism. The sooner it is detected; the easier life becomes.

For more information, please visit http://thyroidindia.com/thyroweight/

Ms Juhi Chawla shared that she has Thyroid patients around her- with her husband and father-in-law both having it. But a small medication and sincere attention to lifestyle changes have enabled them to conquer this condition and now they are living life to the hilt. He has been enjoying his adventurous treks and following a very healthy work-life balance. So much so that, she recently discovered that her hair-dresser, is also suffering from Thyroid and is taking simple medication through a Pill to counter the condition. She is happy as she is able to carry on with her personal and professional life well.

Well-known endocrinologist, Dr Shehla Shaikh, in an exclusive conversation shared many unknown facets of Thyroid dysfunction and how one should address it.

I too had encountered Thyroid dysfunction with my mother-in-law inflicting it. She became very nervous and thought it was the end of the world for her as she was not aware of the course which she needed to follow to overcome it. She struggled with the condition until we took her to a doctor who made her understand it all and put her on simple medication – twice a day with some dietary changes. It worked well for her.

Everyone can counter the Thyroid disorder condition with ease, provided we pay due attention to it, take proper medication and adopt a positive approach towards it.

Disclaimer: I attended a discussion on thyroid awareness facilitated by Abbott India Limited. Any opinion expressed in this blog is my personal opinion and not the opinion of Abbott India Limited. Abbott India Limited does not assume any liability for the content of the blog. The blog post is not meant to be a replacement for a doctor consultation, nor is it a medical recommendation or prescription of treatment for people having thyroid problems. Any reader of this blog suffering from thyroid problems should specifically consult his/her doctor for the same and follow the suggested course of treatment.’