Qawwali at Nizamuddin Dargah
I live just minutes by rickshaw from one of the world's most famous Sufi shrines. Every Thursday night at the Nizamuddin Dargah hundreds gather to listen to devotional Sufi singing (Qawwali) and pray. It's been a few years since I've experienced the Thursday night festivities and before I leave India at the end of May I decided to join my friends for one last "holy" evening at the shrine. I had forgotten just how chaotic it is to get there and as we made our way through crowded alleys I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the colors, sounds and smells. When we arrived at the Dargah the singing had already begun but behind us a women was screaming uncontrollably! It sounded almost like she was possessed. It was hard for me to enjoy the singing amidst the demonic sounding screaming so I got up and decided to "mindfully walk" around the shrine which was challenging for me to do but I figured if I could try and touch a space of peace and remain present, awake and alive amidst all that was going on at the Dargah then it would be a true test of my practice. The video above gives you a taste of just how crowded and "lively" the shrine was. Tonight was a really great example of how mindfulness practice is often "taking it all in" which is something I have to do often in India!
