Growing up, my grandmother had two fail-safe remedies any time we fell ill: a visit to the Hanuman temple in Hyderabad’s Karmanghat locality or the grave of a pir (revered Sufi saint) at the nearby Gol Masjid. The latter often took hours, with people of all faiths congregating in unruly queues with sick children and a litany of problems in tow.
I have, over the years, visited many dargahs in Hyderabad for stories and solace. For the uninitiated, a masjid is a place of worship dedicated strictly to God, while a dargah is a memorial shrine built over the grave of a Sufi saint. After a bad bout of vertigo earlier this year, an aunt suggested visiting the dargah of Hazrat Syed Nizamuddin Ahmed Jeelani, which sent me down a rabbit hole about these mystical centres that have shaped the spiritual fabric of the Deccan.
I begin my quest in Old City, around the Charminar, amidst the din of attar shops, textile merchants, street hawkers and dosa bandis. Within a few kilometres of each other, lie three dargahs enshrining Hazrat Syed Sadullah Hussaini, Hazrat Syed Shah Mohammad Siddiq Ali al-Hussain and Hazrat Shaik Ji Hali Abul-U-Lai.
