Video of ‘miracle fish-shaped light’ entering Ajmer dargah goes viral. Here’s the science to it

The video, first shared Sunday by an Ajmer-based Facebook user, has seen users hail the visual as a 'miracle'.

A screengrab from the video shared on Facebook.

New Delhi: A video of light refraction atop the Sharif Dargah, or the Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Dargah, in Ajmer has moved many social media users to claim it as a miracle. The video, which according to those who shared it on Facebook was shot on 18 September (Saturday), has gone viral since Sunday.

Ajmer-based Facebook user ‘Bajigar Bhai’ shared the 19-second video Sunday morning, and called on his account followers to look at it closely. The post has been shared over 13,000 times since and has been ‘liked’ by nearly 4,500 users.

Those who re-shared the video on Facebook include Jalore-based user Acharya Gulshad, who shared it Sunday evening, with the same caption as Bajigar. Gulshad’s post received over 5,000 shares and over 1,000 likes.

On Monday morning, another Facebook user, Javeed Javeed Khan, uploaded what is purportedly a KTN News clip reporting on the viral video. “A fish-like shape is seen entering Khwaja sahab’s Gumbad”, the KTN News presenter said, also labelling the phenomenon as “miraculous”. Javeed’s video has received 32,000 shares and over 9,000 likes since.

While several users in the comments sections of each Facebook post called out Bajigar, Acharya and Javeed for sharing false information, and referred to the video as ‘editing deception’, the vast majority of comments hailed the “miracle”.

Fact check

The phenomenon captured in the video is more Physics than miracle. The person who shot the video simply captured a light refraction, seemingly caused by the drizzle of rain that can be seen in the video.

Refraction occurs when light changes direction or bends, either due to a change in the medium or due to passing from one medium to another, such as from air to water or vice-versa, or from air to a camera lens, in this case.

A closer look at the second half of the viral video reveals that not only does a bright yellow, apparently “fish-shaped” light appear atop the white dome of the dargah, but the dome itself, as well as the surrounding buildings and street lights also show refraction of light on camera.

In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer.