Paeans, promises, processions: Urs fervour grips Tajbagh

A chain of food joints offering mouth-watering stuff greets visitors right at the entrance of the Tajbagh Dargah on Umred Road. There is Dilli Darbar’s saffron-coloured halwa and paratha on one side and deep fried non-veg delicacies on the other but they fail to hold the attention.
Unlike Mominpura, another Muslim dominated place which draws huge crowds during Eid-ul-Fitr, the focus here is the Shrine.“Faith comes first, food later,” says a devotee.
The 94th annual urs of Hazrat Tajuddin Baba has been drawing large crowds from across the country over the years. “At least one lakh devotees must have visited the shrine today,” says a cop.
The qawwals are going full steam admiring the saint. Every time they strike a chord, currency notes are showered and a competition erupts on who can spend more. “Over 1 lakh have been showered so far,” says a devotee sitting in the mehfil.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary from Raipur district Abdul Gafu Memon (32) is among one of the top spenders showering money. “I have been coming here since childhood,” he tells TOI.
“Memon and I become friends after meeting here a couple of years ago,” says Kamaljeet Singh Tito, a Congress functionary from Jabalpur.
Tito says he has been attending the annual urs for the last 15 years. “Whatever I am today is because of this shrine,” he adds. Memon echoes Tito saying he owes everything to this shrine.
While Memon and Tito attritube the success in their life to Baba and come to thank him, many like the underprivileged Hazara Khan come with an unquestionable hope..
Accompanied by a group of family and relatives, she has come from Lucknow. They are petty labourers at their native place and do not have enough money to afford food. “We don’t need to care about food here,” they say. For such pilgrims, generous donors and langar (community feast) are the main source of two meals a day.
Youths too are not far behind in reposing faith in the saint, though they don’t have an immediate wish to make. “I trust Tajuddin Baba. I have been coming since the age of 12. Earlier, my family members used to bring me. Now, I come on my own,” says Nusrat Khan (20), an engineering student from Gondia.
It’s 2am and the religious fervour is still intact at the dargah. While many have been long asleep on the shrine premises itself, a 500-strong audience continue to flatter the qawwals as they sing paeans to the 20th century saint.