Serving Hope! This Ajmer Hotelier Provides Free Food And Stays For Pilgrims During Ramadan

Not all heroes wear capes, and one such hero is Aditya Goyal, whose endearing spirit shows that even in the present world, people leave no stone unturned to serve society in their own little way.

Ajmer city in Rajasthan is world-famous for Ajmer Sharif Dargah, the domed shrine of the Muslim Sufi saint Garib Nawaz, recognised globally for attracting millions of pilgrims every year. The shrine is swarmed with people, mainly during the holy month of Ramadan.

However, Aditya decided to step in and do something for the sake of humanity.

Providing Free Food And Stays

Following his father's footsteps, Aditya set out on a mission to provide free stays and food for pilgrims visiting the famous Ajmer Sharif Dargah during the month of Ramadan.

Aditya's family has been in the hospitality business since 2011, starting with one property in Ajmer. His father was leading the business and currently owns three properties in the city. Being locals of Ajmer, Aditya's father noticed that during Ramadan, many people come to visit the Dargah, and some of them end up not finding accommodation.

In 2016, his father decided that they will start offering one of his properties to pilgrims free of cost, besides providing them food. He believed that they had abundant earnings during 11 months of the year, so why not give away one of their hotels to people who come to worship at the Dargah. However, COVID-19 put a stop to it since the nationwide lockdown was announced in early 2020.

"After graduating in 2020 from BSE Institute, I got a job at Blackrock as an investment associate. I was working in Bombay but returned home during the lockdown. Here, I learned about the family business which was running offline and got increasingly involved in it," Aditya told The Logical Indian.

As the family's business is doing comparatively well now, Aditya once again wanted to reinitiate the excellent work his dad began six years back.

Aim To Serve At Least 500 Pilgrims

This year, he started running his property Hotel Vaibhav for free from April 2 and will continue it till May 2 with a goal to serve 500 pilgrims, irrespective of any religion. Over the years, he has observed that it is not just Muslims who visit the shrine, but 40 per cent of people are from other religious backgrounds as well.

With an inherent philosophy of 'serving free but serving well', Aditya and his family ensure they treat the pilgrims staying on their property exceptionally well and ensure they get everything they need for a comfortable stay. Therefore, he goes beyond just providing free stays.

As a part of this noble gesture, he offers guests Iftar (an evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset). Fruits, dates, dry fruits and other items are served free to all the pilgrims staying at the hotels.

"There is no limitation to food, guests can have it as much as they want," he shares.

In addition, the family makes arrangements so the guests can pray comfortably on the terrace.

IPL Screening On Terrace

Besides free food and accommodation, Aditya has also organised an IPL screening on his hotel terrace to relax the minds of his guests. "We wanted to gather each and everyone from their rooms and wanted them to spend some time together. There was no better way than organising IPL screening," Aditya said.

More Such Initiatives Needed

The young entrepreneur believes that whatever one does for society is never going to be enough. "We will be serving around 500 people this year, i.e., only 0.5 per cent of people who will visit Ajmer in Ramadan. It means 99.5 per cent are still there to be served. So, we need more such initiatives to make it 100 per cent," he said.

Giving his message this Ramadan, Aditya urged people to burn all the impurities from their bodies and negative energy around them.

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