There is a village called Bagoriya in Bhopalgarh tehsil in Jodhpur district which can be singled out for its rarity in terms of religious harmony. Here, in a temple of Goddess Durga a Muslim priests Jamaludin Khan offers prayers on a daily basis.
For the last 600 years, his family and forefathers have been serving as head priest in this temple and that has become a norm.
This is the oldest Durga temples in Rajasthan where there is no restriction applied for the devotees.
The priest says, 600 years ago due to massive drought in Sindh province his family came here in search of food and shelter and stayed there.
Jamaludin has his Namaz simultaneously while worshipping the goddess. He keeps Rozah and also does fasting during Navratri. The villagers have said that according to Hindu belief, Jamaludin also performs havan and rituals.
When family members were on their way to central India, two camels suffered fracture and the caravan had to stop in the middle of the desert. All the family members had to spend several days and nights in the desert without food or water. They were on the verge of death when Durga appeared in the dreams of one of our forefathers and showed him the way to a nearby step, where they quenched their thirst. After which his family stopped here and a tradition of worshipping started.
It is believed that if the goddess is not happy then the water of the dam near the temple turns red, after which the people of the village perform kirtan following which the water again regains its originality.
