22th January 2020 Today is Ziyarat day… But I am least excited. I like all the historical places we watch but that wait is just not worth it. The more the number of people going, the more we have to wait and coordinate. And people shamelessly stop got shopping and go missing only to return…
Tag: Umrah 2020
Umrah Diaries | Day 9
21st January 2020 We arrived at 9:15 PM yesterday. We ate, prayed and slept. That’s pretty much the entire routine of every single day. Isn’t it amazing? Life’s become so easy. Being unaware about namaaz timings caused us one Jamaat in Al Masjid Al Nabawi. I got up at 5:31 AM, confident that we missed…
Umrah Diaries | Day 8 | Last Day at Mecca
20th January 2020 Painful, was the beginning. I have an infection in middle finger of my left hand. The finger hurts again, so much that I had to take a painkiller early in the morning, like 6:30 AM. All for good though, because I was up for Fajr, which otherwise is still a tough task. …
Umrah Diaries | Day 7
19th January 2020 This was our day – the young ones. Wait, I should not call myself young. Alright, the not so old ones’ day out. After yesterday’s Umrah, even though dad was on a wheelchair, he is feeling too tired. Shakeeb and I were free to do what we felt like. We did two…
Umrah Diaries | Day 6 | Third Umrah
18th January 2020 As we boarded the bus for second ziyarat, a good news awaited us. We found out that the tickets are changed and now the entire Nagpur group will fly to Mumbai, the layover will be for eight hours. It isn’t less, but compared to the 20 hours and 35 minutes in Delhi…
Umrah Diaries | Day 5 | Juma In Mecca
17th January 2020 Juma Mubarak! This is our first and last Juma in Mecca. Shakeeb and I had devised a plan to minimize our efforts maximize the time we spend inside Haram. During that planning, Shakeeb said twice – “Juma, we will keep free.” I wondered why he said so, but didn’t question him. I…
Umrah Diaries | Day 4
16th January 2019 Nothing doing. I am down with flu and fever and body ache. I haven’t even been Haram Shareef, not even once. Prayers and love for all ummah. Shabana Mukhtar
Umrah Diaries | Day 3 | Second Umrah
15th January 2020 The day began at 4:30 when we got up for tahajjud. I felt too tired and I had intentions of doing second Umrah. Shakeeb went to Haram Shareef for Fajr and I helped him get ready. Brothers are so casual and careless when getting ready. Even after all the care, he left…
Umrah Diaries | Day 2
14th January 2020 Despite my predictions, I could not sleep for more than 2 hours. Surprisingly, I was feeling fresh like I do (almost never). Fully charged and determined to make the most of the day, Shakeeb and I left for Masjid Al Haram. Today, Shakeeb and I did Tawaaf on ground floor. It is surprisingly shorter, even though the mataaf area…
Umrah Diaries | Day 1
13th January 2020 This day is as crazy as it gets. In one day, I have been in 4 different cities. Nagpur, Mumbai, Jeddah and now Mecca. Here’s a quick sneak peek into my crazy schedule. 0:55 AM – Left home 1:32 AM – Arrived at Nagpur airport: 3:50 AM – Entered the airport 4:12 AM – Security…