Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c43.t1.627

v3.c43.t1.627

An Old Fakir.—Before, however, I quit this spot, hallowed by these remains, I may mention having seen a being who, if there is any truth in Chitrakot, must be a hundred and sixty years old. This wonder is a Fakir, who has constantly inhabited the temples, within the memory of the oldest inhabitants; and there is one carpenter, now upwards of ninety, who recollects “ Babaji as an old man and the terror of the children.” To me he did not appear above seventy. I found him deeply engaged at Pachisi with one of the townsfolk. When I was introduced to this extraordinary personage, he looked up at me for an instant, and exclaiming, “ What does he want here? ” quietly resumed his game. When it was finished, I presented my nazar to the inspired (for madness and inspiration are here synonymous), which he threw amongst the bystanders, and bolted over the ruins, dragging through the brambles a fine shawl some one had presented to him, and which, becoming an impediment, he left there. In these moods none durst molest him, and when inclined for food or pastime his wants were quickly supplied. For one moment I got him to cast his mental eye back [765] upon the past, and he mentioned something of Adina Beg and the Panjab (of which they say he was an inhabitant); but the oracle deigned nothing further.