Muhabbat Ki Raahon Mien Aa Ker Tou Dekho!

Batuk Meets Sultan Baba

Khizarpur, West Bengal

Thursday

Sultan Baba had just gotten free from his session with all the requestees who had poured in since early morning with all their problems.

After listening to them, Sultan Baba had prayed for all, giving valuable and insightful advice to them regarding their problems, and tried to alleviate their worries as much as it was humanly possible.

It was time for the Maghreb (evening) prayer when Sultan Baba's last requestee left and he got up to go to Dargaah's ablution area to prepare for his prayer.

The Dargaah was a simple building structure with white sang e mar mar flooring that kept it cool even during intensely heated days. Banked along the shoreline, it directly faced the cool breeze from the sea too. So, it was a pleasant area without even the need of fans or any other cooling mechanism.

The Dargaah was divided into several portions.

The central, larger courtyard was where all the events (Qawwali Mehfils) took place on Thursday nights. People from all over used to come on Thursdays when langar food was distributed amongst all.

On the right side of the courtyard was the adjoining inner congregation hall where Sultan Baba met with all the requestees and held his Halqa too. Halqa was a smaller gathering of men where they used to discuss general topics or religious matters, and Sultan Baba and Molana Nizaam used to guide them with appropriate religious rulings.

This was a large hall with simple mats on the ground and a dome-shaped ceiling that allowed voices to resonate throughout the hall without the need of a loudspeaker even.

Congregational prayers also took place in this hall.

On the left side of the central courtyard was the ablution area, and through a small passage, the Dargaah was connected with the living quarters of Molaana Nizaam and Sultan Baba.

The helpers were villagers who used to come to the Dargaah for voluntary services after their daily jobs.

The Dargaah had two entrances. One was to directly bring the visitor into the central courtyard. The other entrance was through the adjoining passage that could lead a visitor to the living quarters as well as directly into the Dargaah.

There were devotees and people gathered in the courtyard that day too as it was Guruwar and langar food was being distributed by the helpers.

Molana Nizaam was also accompanying Sultan Baba as he wanted to give the evening medicine dose to the unconscious stranger in his quarters. As they made their way through the small passage to go to their respective quarters, Sultan Baba stopped in his tracks as he felt a presence.

On an impulse, he slowed his pace as he tried to see who it was. Just outside the gate of the 2nd entrance, he saw a man leaning against the wall.

Some instinct told Sultan Baba that the man was in some kind of problem, so he decided to go and talk to him.

As he got closer, he saw that he had wrapped a stole around his face, and only his eyes were visible. His gaze was fixed towards the shore, and he radiated a strange kind of melancholic vibe.

As Sultan Baba got close to him, his body felt a jolt and he stopped in his tracks.

Closing his eyes, he stood still for a while. Molana Nizaam had also stopped and was watching him too.

After a few minutes, Sultan Baba opened his eyes and gestured to Molana Nizaam to come closer. Pointing towards the shore where that partially covered man's gaze was fixed, he whispered something in Molana Nizaam's ear.