The other Sufis

The DTC bus stop is built right outside the narrow lane that has a board announcing the location of Mai Saheb’s dargah. It’s Wednesday—the day chosen by the Sufi saint to visit his mother every week. It’s a tradition that’s followed even today and so,the place is full of devotees—mostly women. The lone flower and prasad shop is just outside a plain,pointed and arched gateway,perhaps the only structure in the complex that has remained almost in its original form. The rest of the complex has been built and rebuilt a number of times.

Unlike the dargah of Nizamuddin Auliya,here there are no peerzadas,khadims and no shops selling pictures. The shrine shares its walls with the houses of the local residents. The dargah itself was originally the house of two sisters,Noor Bibi and Hoor Bibi,with whom Bibi Zulaikha Sahiba stayed. As a mark of their devotion to Mai Saheb,the two sisters were buried near her tomb. According to some,the complex dates back to AD 1250. Later,in the Lodhi era,a mosque was added north of the dargah complex.

Inside,as women and men touch the hem of the chaadar of Mai Saheb’s tomb to pray and convey their wishes,troubles and grievances,it’s an atmosphere of calm and submission. They are talking to the Mother,without the medium of a cleric. Outside in the open area overlooking an arched colonnade,rows of candles add sparkle to the spirit of devotion and the qawwals get ready for an evening of soulful music.

The scene is different at Bibi Fatima’s dargah at Kaka Nagar. Whitewashed and without many devotees,it almost blends with the houses of this government colony. The near-anonymity perhaps denotes the fact that Delhi boasts of only a couple of dargahs dedicated to women Sufis. A contemporary of Nizamuddin Auliya,Bibi Fatima is supposed to have been praised by the saint himself for the spiritual heights she had attained during her lifetime. Today,of course,not many come to the tomb of this mystic woman.

A few metres away,next to the Oberoi Hotel stands another medieval structure that claims to be the tomb of another woman Sufi,Fatma Bibi. Freshly painted with hand-painted flowers and creepers trying to make up for the lapis lazuli work that are associated with Mughal structures,the dargah is open from daybreak till night. The local owners of the adjacent paan-shop and tyre-shop claim that they maintain the dargah on their own. They are not aware of the historic facts associated with the shrine. That has,however,made no difference to their devotion.