Hazratpura may be a tiny little village in the tribal heartland of Gujarat, but it has a huge message for the outside world: When folklore meets faith, the resulting equanimity is strong enough to take on hate, frenzy and propaganda — and emerge stronger.Located 120 km from Vadodara, in the Rajpipla taluka of Narmada district, Hazratpura first records its existence four-and-a-half centuries ago as Sangalwadi. Then, popular lore has it, a wandering pir made it his home. He died there, and an anonymous devotee constructed his grave. Over time, Sangalwadi metamorphosed into Hazratpura.Despite the name, the village continued to be devoid of Muslims. That applies to the 800-odd residents today as well. So who takes care of the dargah? Enter Dayabhai Patel, fondly called Baba. Twenty-five years ago, he became the mujavar of the dargah; he has been in charge of the monument ever since.It began with daily maintenance, but over the years, the association has intensified, so much so that villagers now accept Baba, 75, as the ‘voice’ of Hazarat pir. ‘‘His morning prayers help him commune with the pir, after that everybody can approach him with all their problems, whether it is a woman who cannot conceive, or a farmer who wants to know where to dig a well,’’ says a villager.Clarifies Dayabhai’s son Mahesh, ‘‘Isme jantar mantar kuch nahin hai. Shraddha ki baat hai. (There’s no hocus-pocus involved here, it’s all a matter of faith.)’’ And faith is something the village has in plenty. Dayabhai himself performs the namaz at the dargah, while his wife Amthuben believes in Satyanarayan and his son a follower of the Swadhyay Parivar of Pandurang Shastri Athavale. ‘‘Jaise hamare sant the, aise hi yeh hain. We treat all gods as equal, that has made us accept the pir too,’’ says Dayabhai.The beliefs co-exist happily. ‘‘Yeh hamare ishta deva hain,’’ says a villager, waving at the dargah. It stands at the entrance of the village, and every person moving in or out bows his head towards the tomb. Hazratpura does not believe in wearing either its political or religious affiliations on its sleeve — during the post-Godhra riots, it was an oasis of calm, and there was not a scratch on the dargah — and sarpanch Ramabhai Vasava believes it is all thanks to Hazarat pir and Dayabhai.The fame of the village’s prescient pir has spread far and wide, as has word of his methods. Whether it is a Mumbai businessman worried about money or the rajmata of Rajpipla looking for a lost necklace, Dayabhai’s modus operandi is the same: He sits with his ears on the dargah stone, his face changes expressions, then he claps and asks the supplicant to offer a few roses to the dargah. And when the wish is granted or the worry dissipates, he needs to offer a chadar of roses to the dargah. Dayabhai, a farmer, has never taken any money for his services.The legacy of syncretic evolution of the bhakti and sufi movements, Hazratpura may not be unique in the country. Yet its presence is insurance in a future that seems increasingly under threat from a fanatic few.
