Tour Day 2

Sunday, October 7 dawned bright and early with a 4:00 A.M. wake-up call and a 5 o'clock departure.


By 8:00 A.M. we were at the Dargah in Ajmer. The Dargah is the tomb of a Sufi saint, Khwaja Muin-ud-din Chishti who came to Ajmer in 1192 and lived there until 1233. The green and white mosque was built in 1571 with later additions. Upon arrival a khadim asks for a donation, 200 Rs in my case.. There are over 4000 khadim's in Ajmer. Upon arrival at the saint's tomb in the inner courtyard which is surrounded by a silver platform and silver railings, a further donation is requested, 100 Rs. In return a prayer of blessing is made over you with the edge of a tomb blanket. Bare feet and covered head are the rule for both male and female worshippers. There are all kinds of shops selling flowers outside the dargah.
A buggy ride brought us back to the bus.

News Update: On Thursday, October 11, there was a bomb blast at the Dargah. 2 were killed and 17 were wounded. This came at the end of the fasting period!

A bus ride took us to Pushkar and we saw some monkeys (92) on the way.

After a Western breakfast of wheat porridge, banana pancake and Indian coffee at the Hotel Navratan Palace it was off to the lake. The ever-present guide handed me over to a "priest" and it was no shoes, again! After explaining about Vishnu, Brahma, and Ghandi ashes it was prayers for bad karma out and good karma in, for peace, prosperity and contentment. This was followed by the awarding of a Pushkar Passport of red and yellow string around the right wrist and red and yellow daubing on the forehead with rice. Red and yellow coloring also went on the hands which was washed off and dried with a small coconut into which a donation was placed. There are 52 bathing ghats around the lake and most of our party went to bathe as they are of the Hindu faith. Then back to the hotel for a 7 Up and a quite read by the pool while waiting for 1:30 departure time. Check out the camel on the way back to the bus.