Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi (Rahmathullahi Alaihi)
Name
of the Dargah: - Dargah-e-Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi
(Rahmathullahi Alaihi) urf Annasalai (or) Mount Road Dargah.
LOCATED AT
Annasalai CHENNAI
This is the most famous Makham
of all Chennai Dargahs and attracts people of all faith from all walks of life
including music director, A.R. Rahman, who visits every Thursday, Arcot Prince,
High Court Chief Justice and various famous icons of various industries.
Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri
Baghdadi (RA) arrived from Baghdad Shareef in the middle of the 17th Century
(450 years back) and lived on the site of what is now better known as the Mount
Road Dargah. In life, Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi (RA) is said to
have had great healing powers. When he died, he was buried next to his house
and here his family raised the Dargah Shareef. And to it have flocked the sick
over the years, seeking the benefits of healing from his spirit.
When a British engineer in the
past ordered the shrine to be demolished for road-widening, his workmen refused
to proceed with the work when, at the first attempt at excavation around the
building, blood spurted from the soil. When the engineer forced them to resume
work, he collapsed - dropped dead, say some - the moment trenching began again.
It is the faith in Hazrath Syed
Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi (RA) that draws people of all faiths to the Dargah
Shareef every Thursday, seeking assurances of good health, answers to their
prayers and the blessings of the holy. The Dargah Shareef, looked after by the
descendants of Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi (RA) from the time his
Dargah was raised, is however, only a part of the campus today. Dominating it
in recent times has been one of the largest mosques in South India, with a
100-feet tall minaret. The five-storeyed Makkah Masjid, with its five 5000
sq.ft. halls that can accommodate 5000 worshippers at a time, may be a
landmark, but it is the spirit of Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi (RA)
that make this, one of the city's holy sites.
The Minar-e-Pak at
Dargah-e-Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi (RA) is quite prominent apart
from the LIC building and the Tarapore Towers in Mount Road.
Dargah-e-Hazrath Syed
Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi (RA) is located in Anna Salai, formerly known as
Mount Road, is the most important arterial road in Chennai, India. It
starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George connecting with St. Thomas
Mount in Saidapet. This 15 km stretch of road running diagonal across the city
has become the hub of business for the city. It has been developing in a large
pace in the past century. The British developed this road during the colonial
era, and they named it as Mount Road, after Little Mount, till which the road
extends. Later on, the road was renamed as Anna Salai by ex - Chief Minister of
Tamil Nadu. The word 'Salai' in Tamil translates to road in English. Anna Salai
is maintained by the National Highways Authority of India. This is the only
road in Chennai where lane system of traffic is followed.
Needless to say, anywhere from
India, you have access to Chennai through air, roads and railway. If you are
reaching Chennai via bus, please get down at Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus
(CMBT), Koyambedu and from there, please pick up a bus for "Anna Salai urf
Mount Road and ask anybody about the Dargah and they may guide you well.
