My friends then took me to the food street, transporting me from the world of spirituality to the world of gastronomy. Daata’s book Kashf ul Mahjub, “Unveiling of the Veils”, the first Persian treatise on Sufism remains a classic and a personal favourite. Acknowledging Daata’s greatness, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer had undergone a forty-day meditation retreat on these premises. The premises were clean, the marble additions making the courtyard even more beautiful. In Daata ki Nagri, the first evening had to be at Daata’s Durbar. Having stayed with me in Delhi for more than a decade, they had been waiting all these years to show me around. My hosts Ahmad Haroon Khan, a designer and his wife Sofiya were thrilled at our arrival. Since then, Lahore has grown into a burgeoning metropolis, the flowerbeds along the canal giving it vibrant colours. I last travelled to Lahore as part of the media along with then Prime Minister Vajpayee, with the hope of better relations. As a fist impression, Sabir did not think Lahore looked much different from Delhi, except that there was less traffic on the roads and that the signboards were in Urdu. A Nawaz Sharif fan, the driver updated us on the development in Punjab, particularly the roads.
We took another auto rickshaw to my friend’s house in Lahore. Sabir seemed dazed at the experience of crossing over to a foreign country, having used his passport for the first time. They laugh at us as we go through these long immigration drills.’ LUMS with Mr. As we wheeled our bags across the two gates, Arman looked at the fleet of birds in the sky, ‘Lucky birds. Born in Karachi of a Pakistani father, my musician son is a romantic and despises politics and all forms of nationalistic rhetoric and divisions. You look at the lines separating India and Pakistan, the two gates and wonder about the hostilities. We and the other few people at the immigration were administered polio drops. Such a pity, as it is the easiest way to get to Lahore from Delhi.
The authorities informed me that on an average, just around a hundred people cross the border on foot. It took less than an hour to reach the border. With the Wagah border opening at 10Am, we spent some time absorbing the beauty of the Golden temple, the foundation of which was laid by Mian Mir, a Qadri Sufi. We arrived at 7AM in Amritsar, hopped on to one of those large rickshaws and went straight to the Golden temple. My son Arman Ali, cook Sabir and I, excitedly boarded the Golden Temple Express train for Amritsar. This time, after the dargah visit we went to the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station, a few yards away from my flat.
I don’t ever leave Delhi, without saying goodbye to Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.
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