“Some Call It Coincidence. We Call It Purpose.” Haji Syed Salman Chishty brings Sacred Blessings to Bungalow, New York on Its Historic 786th Day
Abdul Qadir, Ajmer india
21st May 2026
NEW YORK, USA — In a moment that transcended planning and entered the realm of the divine, Haji Syed Salman Chishty — the 26th-generation Gaddi Nashin of the sacred Dargah of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (r) in Ajmer Sharif, India, and Chairman of the Chishty Foundation arrived at Bungalow, the celebrated New York restaurant by legendary Master Chef Vikas Khanna, on the very day it completed 786 days since its opening.
In the Sufi spiritual tradition, the number 786 holds profound sacred significance it is the numerical representation of Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim (In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful). Neither Haji Syed Salman Chishty nor Chef Vikas Khanna had planned this alignment. When Vikas Khanna called his “Sufi Musafir brother” at 3 a.m. to request a prayer and chadar for Bungalow’s 786th day, he discovered that Haji Chishty was already en route to New York without any knowledge of the milestone.
Haji Syed Salman Chishty arrived carrying a blessed chadar inscribed with 786 from the Dargah of Ajmer Sharif, along with blessings from the Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi. The sacred chadar was placed at the entrance of Bungalow so that every guest entering would walk through its prayer and spiritual energy. He also prepared the heart-shaped dates blessed with love and prayer from the Dargah Sharif, which were shared with guests throughout the evening.
Some moments cannot be planned. Some blessings cannot be explained. This was one of those rare convergences where faith, timing, love, and the universe all arrived together at the same doorstep.
Also present at this blessed gathering were Jimmy Rizvi, Bungalow’s partner and entrepreneur; Yakub Mathew, author of “Seeking the Infinite” and investment banker; Jonathan Granoff, Executive of the Peace Pledge; and Shaila Rizvi, the acclaimed interior designer of Bungalow.
Bungalow is more than a restaurant. Under the vision of Chef Vikas Khanna, it has become a spiritual and cultural embassy of India in the heart of New York — a space where the sacred traditions of Indian hospitality, langar, seva, and inner connection are shared with the world through the language of food. On its 786th day, that purpose was made visible in the most extraordinary way.
“In the living spiritual traditions, we do not believe in coincidences, we believe in purpose as divine appointment. We did not know Bungalow was completing 786 days. We were simply being carried here by a force greater than ourself. When the chadar from Khwaja Gharib Nawaz(r) was placed at the entrance of Bungalow, it was not just fabric, it was 800 years of prayer wrapping itself around a space already built on love and seva. Vikas Bhai has created not a restaurant but a living sacred space of hospitality, where every guest is a seeker and every meal is soul’s nourishment. The number 786 confirmed what the soul already knew: Bungalow is blessed.”
— Haji Syed Salman Chishty, 26th Generation Gaddi Nashin, Dargah Ajmer Sharif & Chairman, Chishty Foundation
“Last week, monks from the office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Bungalow to pray with us for Buddha Jayanti. And then, without any planning, my Sufi Musafir brother Salman Bhai arrived from Ajmer Sharif on our 786th day carrying a blessed chadar and heart-shaped dates filled with prayer. Some moments cannot be planned. Some blessings cannot be explained. Bungalow was always meant to be more than food — it was meant to be a space where faith, timing, love, and the universe all arrive together at the same doorstep. This was that moment.”
- Posted By:- Abdul Qadir || Date:- 23 May 2026
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