The preparations for the annual annual Urs of Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty at Ajmer are in the last stages as the shrine management has awarded the Rs 2.7 crore contract for cooking rice porridge in two cauldrons.

This year it’s the 809th death anniversary of Khwaja Moinudin Chisty, sufi saint and spiritual leader, who came to India from Iran in the twelfth century. he is called Ghareeb Nawaz, the one who honours the poor.

The 10-day festival is visited by lakhs of people of all religions. Cooked rice-wheat porridge is served as a ‘tabruk (blessed food) to the visitors. Night-long singing of Qawalis with spiritual significance mark the occasion.

The traditions of cooking in mega cauldrons was started by Mughal emperor Akbar  who visited the shrine in 1562 after hearing locals sing in praise of the Sufi Saint.

He offered the huge brass cauldron, called degh, for cooking of food for the visitors. This is placed at the entrance of the shrine.

The second ccauldron was offered by Jahangir in 1614 and it was placed opposite the first one.

Both cauldrons are in use today and only begetarian food is cookedin these. 

Devotees offer sacks of rice and wheat for the gruel that is cooked there.