[jyotirmoy]

Sarhad  was an Armenian  merchant from Sindh who used to come to Delhi to  trade. In Delhi he  fell in love with a Baniya boy. However the young  boy was married off  and Sarhad was heartbroken. He renounced the world  and became a mystic  wandering the streets of the capital. He even  removed all signs of  clothing from his body and took to walking around  naked, singing sufi  hymns.  Legend is that word got round to Aurangzeb who ordered him to offer  prayers clothed  at Jama Masjid. But Sarhad refused to comply.  Finally he was taken  captive, forcibly clothed and made to stand in front  of the head  maulvi at Jama Masjid. While prayers were being  offered Sarhad could  divine that the maulvi's mind was on other matters –  namely, the lunch
waiting for him at home and he loudly proclaimed in  front of the  congregation – "Mulla ki neeyat mere pair ke  neeche!!".
Aurangzeb ordered him to be beheaded in public in  front of the jama  masjid. But miraculously, after being beheaded his  headless body  started to dance holding its own decapitated head in  its hands.  Aurangzeb was disturbed and the public thought that  calamity had  struck. The king begged forgiveness and requested  sarhad to stop  dancing, which he did. To this date his grave,  painted bright red (to symbolize his blood), lies at the foot of the Jama  Masjid and is  called Sarhad Shaheed.

[captmahajan]

More!!

[barsha]

where you heard these stories.

[jyotirmoy]

barsha, on May 2 2008, 09:18 AM, said:

where you heard these stories.

Can't tell you exactly where most probably some one at the shrine told me and that is at least four decades ago.

[dzibead]

barsha, you should search for Jyoti's other stories here - it's a treasure trove!  Old Delhi, Rajasthan, memories of Kolkata and West Bengal (with a little fiction thrown in now and then, too!