AJMER: It is a great time for linguists who are in demand for the upcoming Urs of KhwajaMoinuddinChishti which will start from May 12. The khadims are looking for these linguists, locally known as clerks, to prepare invitation cards for Urs which will be sent to devotees all over the world. The linguists earn around Rs 500-600 for working two to three hours.
The tradition is that the khadims invite their guests and devotees by sending them the programme details hand written on a thick paper in their native language. "Mostly khadims use the same local language from where the devotee belongs. So, if the devotee is from Gujarat, the invitation will be in Gujarati," said Ghulam Rasool Chishty, a khadim.
Every khadim has his own guest list from different parts of the country. "It is a traditional setup, the devotee should understand the programme details of the Urs," said Syed Ibrahim Fakre, another khadim.
With changing times the new generation is using computers and typing invitation letters to the regular devotees but the traditional method of sending handwritten invites is still popular. "This makes the invitation more personal and traditional," said Ghulam Rasool.
For preparing such handwritten invitations, khadims require clerks to complete the work on time. "The invitation should reach the devotee at least before a month so that they could prepare for the programme" added a khadim. For this the khadims need clerks who know the different languages. "We look for clerks in the market and even through our network," added Fakre.
The clerk start the work according to his convenience and write down the main body of the letter along with the program of Urs and request to attend the urs,
"Generally we finish 30 handwritten invitations in 5 hours and they pay us a handsome amount," said Suresh Bhatt, a Gujarati linguist.
There are thousands of invitations which are posted by khadims to their guests and the work started four to five months before the occasion,
"They are conscious about the style and spellings and feel happy if the outcome is perfect," said a clerk who writes in Gurumukhi.
Even languages like Hindi and English are used nowadays while Urdu is the main language for invitation letters. Hundreds of khadims go personally to different parts of the country to invite their guests and devotees for the Urs. "It is our duty to bless the devotee while moving all around with the message of khawaja garib nawaj" states a khadim.
The invitation process has also begun for Pakistan and thousands of devotees in the neighboring countries get such invitations to attend the Urs. "They have started requesting us to offer prayers in the dargah so that they can get a chance to participate in the Urs," said a young khadim Natik Chishty. He added that certainly they have facilities of computers and printers but the traditional way of inviting devotees with hand written program make the importance.
The postal department gets good work from these khadims as letters in lakhs of numbers were posted from Ajmer before Urs and just before the urs, there are thousands of letters that came as reply to dargah.
The tradition is that the khadims invite their guests and devotees by sending them the programme details hand written on a thick paper in their native language. "Mostly khadims use the same local language from where the devotee belongs. So, if the devotee is from Gujarat, the invitation will be in Gujarati," said Ghulam Rasool Chishty, a khadim.
Every khadim has his own guest list from different parts of the country. "It is a traditional setup, the devotee should understand the programme details of the Urs," said Syed Ibrahim Fakre, another khadim.
With changing times the new generation is using computers and typing invitation letters to the regular devotees but the traditional method of sending handwritten invites is still popular. "This makes the invitation more personal and traditional," said Ghulam Rasool.
For preparing such handwritten invitations, khadims require clerks to complete the work on time. "The invitation should reach the devotee at least before a month so that they could prepare for the programme" added a khadim. For this the khadims need clerks who know the different languages. "We look for clerks in the market and even through our network," added Fakre.
The clerk start the work according to his convenience and write down the main body of the letter along with the program of Urs and request to attend the urs,
"Generally we finish 30 handwritten invitations in 5 hours and they pay us a handsome amount," said Suresh Bhatt, a Gujarati linguist.
There are thousands of invitations which are posted by khadims to their guests and the work started four to five months before the occasion,
"They are conscious about the style and spellings and feel happy if the outcome is perfect," said a clerk who writes in Gurumukhi.
Even languages like Hindi and English are used nowadays while Urdu is the main language for invitation letters. Hundreds of khadims go personally to different parts of the country to invite their guests and devotees for the Urs. "It is our duty to bless the devotee while moving all around with the message of khawaja garib nawaj" states a khadim.
The invitation process has also begun for Pakistan and thousands of devotees in the neighboring countries get such invitations to attend the Urs. "They have started requesting us to offer prayers in the dargah so that they can get a chance to participate in the Urs," said a young khadim Natik Chishty. He added that certainly they have facilities of computers and printers but the traditional way of inviting devotees with hand written program make the importance.
The postal department gets good work from these khadims as letters in lakhs of numbers were posted from Ajmer before Urs and just before the urs, there are thousands of letters that came as reply to dargah.
Source : The Times of India, 18 Feb, 2013
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