WHAT is your wish,your prayer? asked Peerzada Rais Mian Chishti,the custodian of the Salim Chishti dargah at Fatehpur Sikri. Pray for my son,and pray I have another, said a veiled Carla Bruni. Rais Mian turned to his son for a red thread (kalava),recited the ayat-ul-kursi,and blew. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Bruni were to be protected by the prayer from harm. The dargah is famous for its peer,Sheikh Salim Chishti,blessing Emperor Akbar with a child. Rais Mian said he recounted the story to the French first couple,of how the childless Akbar had come here praying,and had been told by the saint that he would have three children. I told them this dargah grants wishes to jobless,non-married and even childless. He (Sarkozy) asked me to pray for him and wish him success. While they were tying the thread,Carla said she wanted a son and I prayed for them, Rais Mian told PTI. Together the couple walked to the screen on the left and tied the kalava,Sarkozy kissing his. The couple do not have children,but Sarkozy has three sons and Carla one from their previous partners. Bruni asked Rais Mians elder son Arshad Faridi about the quiet at the shrine,asking: Do many people come here? Its so empty. It is always bustling,Rais Mian clarified. Today was different,with the shrine being closed for the general public ahead of the State visit. For the past two weeks,the French secret service has been scouring the monument. They surveyed each nook and cranny,sought vantage points,and sent out messages furiously,one of them warning that the location was too risky. A scattered unauthorised colony had an abundance of rooftops looking upon the 52 stairs leading up to the shrine potential threats,the secret service called them. However,Sarkozy was clear,sources said. He wanted to fulfill Brunis wish to see the ancient city that was briefly the capital of the Mughal empire. Used to State visits,the custodians were fine with closing the mosque as long as it remained open during prayer times. The visit lasted 20 minutes. We could not extend our invitation a minute longer prayers should never be interrupted, said Rais Mian. The couple offered a chadar of roses,and also listened to qawwali arranged as per their request. Hours of preparation went into those 20 minutes. Let the marble be covered in honey for the French Presidents visit, joked a man suspended on a rope above the 54-metre door leading into the dargah mosque,banging at the hives on the dome to chase the bees away,ahead of the visit. As he struck,clumps of honey fell on the ground. Nearer the mosque,a young girl ventured towards a wicker basket covered with a red cloth. She lifted it up to reveal bandni dupattas. Imam Anwar,moving swiftly,struck her on the hand not for you. He hid the basket deeper inside near the mausoleum,next to the flowers. In anticipation of the Sarkozy visit,the custodians had kept 50 red and yellow dupattas aside but the First Lady came prepared with her own plum coloured stole. Sarkozy,sources said,borrowed a skull cap from one of the officials,as the one arranged for him didnt fit well. As the time of the visit drew nearer,the number of men in khaki swelled,standing in between arches to make themselves invisible. They also started moving the other visitors out yelling across courtyards and along pavilions. At the Oberoi,as they finished a light lunch with some bubbly,the couple were informed that the prayers would begin soon. They finally reached the dargah around 3.40 pm. Twenty minutes later,as the French first couple left via the backstreets of Fatehpur Sikri in a 17-car entourage,the town breathed a sigh of relief. The Imam of the mosque was asked whether he knew of a proposal to ban veils in France. He creased his brow,and waved it off. A half-yes and a half-no.
