Jaipur-Ajmer(India)

Got my train ticket to Ajmer reserved..
trip of a few hours only..it's about 125kms away..
from Jaipur..train trip went O.K..felt bit strange..
did not travell on a train for a while..stayed more
then a month in Jaipur...so..it was a challenge again..
Indian trains..are quite something..you will meet..
the rich..the poor..the middle class..mostly..I met..
the middle class Indians..hard working..and proud..
of being Indian..they give their kids..education..
it's a word often spoken in India..first question..
an Indian will ask you??what's your job??
where are you from??are you married??
I could only answer question 2..bwaahah..
now..this city..Ajmer..lies on lake Ana Sagar..
I went to Ajmer..because I heard about Pushkar lake..
I'll tell you all in a later posting about this place..
it was about 11kms.distance from Ajmer city..
Ajmer was religion..Muslim..Islam..very much so..
I visited the shrine of a *pir*=holy Muslim saint..
it's called the *Dargah*which holds the tomb..
of Muin-ud-in Chisti..a Sufi..mystical Islam..
first one has to leave shoes outside the entrance..
and your head has to be covered..
a scarf..a handkerchief..a Muslim cap(fez)
there is a bazar area around this whole complex..
this *dargah*somehow made quite an impression on me..
it's like a whole complete village in there..
school..mosque etc..even their own hospital..
I'm not religious at all..never have been..
I believe in the goodness of the mutual heart..
the tomb itself..completely in marble..Sufi chants etc..
it gives you an atmosphere of religion..the Sufi's..well..
I'll get into that later on perhaps..qawalli music etc..
this place..is a pilgrimage spot for Muslims..
means..donations..roses..a very religious spot..
I felt bit awkward in my cap..I got a Muslim cap..
from Kabul(Afghanistan)from my first India trip..
I talked to some pilgrims..they were all..
in a state of fervour and excitement..I can understand..
but...I was not a Muslim like them..
as usual..touts are around..even in this place..
asking for money..donation for this..donation for that..
I did not give anything..polite form of begging..I call this..
in India..every day..when one travells..you get confronted..
with religion..poverty..beggars..don't give to beggars..
they are often professionals..who earn more a day..
then a factory worker..who works his ass off..
to support his poor family...India=country of contrasts..
if you can't take that..just stay away..stay home..
after the Dargah visit...strolled a bit around through the Bazar..
had a look at the lake..nothing special to me...
Ajmer is also well known for Mayo college=English based univ..
for the jet set..the sons of maharadja's..very strict rules..
I believe once every 3 months these dudes may go home...
education,you know..I found out about the bus timings towards
Pushkar..about 11kms.away..I stayed in the Railway retiring rooms..
Ajmer..was in my eyes...quite a dirty place..
Pushkar lake..was more relaxed..I even had a swim in the lake..
will tell you peeps later on..if you're interested...boooohh..
crazy Tiger