Roads of kindness and compassion

Roads of kindness and compassion

Like many others, who hardly bother about what is happening outside their houses, I too was indifferent to other people’s problems for a long time. On my way to Udaipur and Ajmer, two incidents took place which helped me understand rural India better. On my way to Udaipur on Sunday, I saw a man in the middle of the highway. People were just looking at him and passing by. I stopped my bike and helped him move to the divider realising that he was drunk, but he started forward and was on the road again. I tried to signal the vehicles to take the diversion and tried to get him to shift off the road. Instead, he turned aggressive and abused me, so I left. The next day, I gave a lift to a stranger till the hotel where he worked and he invited me to share a meal with him. He told me how he travels everyday to the hotel from his village and how he depends on lifts as he cannot afford a bike. He prays every time when someone gives him a lift and invites them to dine with him. At both places, I did what I could to help, but only one place was appreciative of my actions. I took a moment to think of the families who live in this manner and how their lives are. Soon after, we reached Ajmer Sharif Dargah on Eid. We were hosted by the Chishty Foundation and Syed Salman Chishty — of the 27th family generation of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty. We stayed at Chishty Manzil, which shares a wall with the Dargah, a great way to spend my second visit here and at Ajmer. From our room, I could feel the amazing positive vibes from the non-stop Qawwali (which only stops during the namaz). Though not religious, I am a great believer of positive energies. On Tuesday, I presented my first namaz ever, allowing the energy and vibes of this pure place to seep in as I also presented a holy chadar. The fear of taking this long journey seemed to vanish, it could have been the magic of Dargah or my inner will. The pure feeling and the love of the residents at Chishty Manzil, made us stay two nights instead of one. On Wednesday, we left for Jaipur after accepting a flag to offer in the shrine of Maulana Rumi in Konya, Turkey and spread the message of Sufism and peace. Though I do not understand the words of Sufi songs, the music takes me to a new plane of peace. The columnist is on a peace mission along with friend Parth Vasvada. The duo will ride across eight countries in 65 days. Every week they will share their travel tales with us.