By Special Correspondent, TwoCircles.net,
Gorakhpur : For Ali Aqil Ahmed, the Baba Gorakshnath temple in Gorakhpur is his source of earning. Hailing from Badayun, Ahmed is a regular at the month long Khichdi mela in the temple compound. Wearing a skull cap, Ahmed leaves his shop of bone-china crockery as he prepares for his Friday namaz.
He is not alone in the Khichdi mela (fair) which began on January 14 and will continue for a month. Nearly half of the shopkeepers who have put up stalls in the fair are Muslims. Their strong presence in the mandir compound defies the common perception of turbulent atmosphere in Gorakhpur. Not only are the shopkeepers, even the majority of visitors in the fair are Muslims. Burqa clad women buying Ferozabadi bangles or cosmetics, is a common scene. After shopping, they head for the main temple complex which has a pond (sarovar).
Enjoying boating on a pedal boat in the mandir sarovar, they hardly have any apprehension that the Gorakshnath Peeth (trust) is perceived as a Hindu stronghold. “It is all a misnomer, the shopkeepers and visitors have been coming here for past several decades. None had any problems and they are happy here,” remarked Dwarka Prasad, the office-in charge of the Gorakshnath temple.
Dwarka made it a point to give a glimpse of Muslim friendly atmosphere in the mandir. “We have several employees who are Muslims. They have been with us for past several generations. We also have full regard for them,” said Dwarka. The list of employees at the Gorakshnath temple includes Yaseen, Inayatullah, Jaggan and several others. They all work at the farm owned by the peeth (trust) and the gaushala.
Even the hospital maintained by the trust has 40 percent Muslim patients. Inayatullah has been with the temple since two generations. His seven sons and their wives also work at the mandir farmhouse. “We are not anti Muslim, even Maharaj ji, Yogi Adityanath MP is referred here, helps the Muslim populace for Haj quota to the extent of getting their pilgrimage forms recommended. The scene here is totally different,” added Dwarka.
Interestingly, the Muslim population of the adjoining area reaches out to Baba Yogi Adityanath for settling their disputes. “Babaji even settles their marital disputes and such panchayat are a common affair here. They come here with problems and Babaji settles them,” said Dwarka.
The Gorakshnath temple is surrounded by Muslim population with several mosques. The market outside the temple also has predominant Muslim shopkeepers. It is believed that Baba Gorakshnath came here and settled which was predominantly, a forest cover.
[TCN Photos]