We crossed the border on foot at Wagah and drove to Lahore. The Dawn newspaper got in touch as I was from the media and hospitably asked if there was anything special I wanted to see or do in Lahore.
I wanted to pay my respects at the shrine of Sufi saint Mian Mir (15501635). He was apparently a direct descendant of an Arab caliph and belonged to the Qadiri order of Sufism.
He migrated to and settled in Lahore at the age of 25. Legend says Mian Mir was invited by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru, to lay the foundation stone of no less than the Golden Temple at Amritsar. Guru Arjan Dev apparently asked him because it was foretold that the holiest man of the age would lay the neev or foundation of the temple. Since Guru Arjan Dev considered Mian Mir to be that person in then undivided Punjab, he invited him to do the honours and the Sufi agreed.
Yet another story goes that Mughal emperor Jehangir came to the saint in full imperial pomp. But Mian Mir's doorkeepers stopped him at the gate and asked him to wait until their master gave permission to enter. Jahangir was annoyed. No one had ever made him wait in his life. After a while, he was ushered into Mian Mir's presence. Unable to hide his bruised ego, Jehangir told Mian Mir in Persian as soon as he entered, "Ba dare-darvis darbane na-bayd" meaning 'At the door of a fakir, there should be no sentry'. Mian Mir replied, "Babayd keh sage dunia na ayad", meaning 'So that just anybody may not enter'.
This story is from the September 23, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
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This story is from the September 23, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
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