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Solemnity in the air in Hyderabad Old City
The first month of the Islamic calender, Muharram, has just started and the Shia community in the Old City is getting ready for ‘Azadari’ (mourning). Muharram is the mourning time and the Shia community abstains from culinary delights. The men in Shia dominated areas of Darulshifa,
The first month of the Islamic calender, Muharram, has just started and the Shia community in the Old City is getting ready for ‘Azadari’ (mourning). Muharram is the mourning time and the Shia community abstains from culinary delights. The men in Shia dominated areas of Darulshifa, Yakutpura, Mir Alam Mandi, Noor Khan Bazaar, Irani Galli, Dabeerpura, can be seen wearing black shirts. There are a sizable number of Shias in Moula Ali area in Secunderabad. Mehdi, a resident of Purani Haveli in the Old City, says, “It is time for ‘tark-e-lazzat’ (abstinence). Muharram has a great significance in Islamic history. The Shias world over mourn the martydom of Hazrath Imam Husain, grandson of the Prophet.
The mood and ambience in the Old City is that of solemnity. The ashoorkhanas numbering over a hundred and spread across the city turn into centres of expression of grief. The orators at the Ashoorkhanas recall the Karbala events and emphasise the martydom of Hazrath Imam Husain.
People from not just the city but neighbouring districts and states visit the ashoorkhanas in the month of Muharram. The Badshahi Ashoor Khana at Patterghatti built by the Mohd Quli Qutub Shah, is the oldest in the city and attracts a large number of people.
The other notable ashoorkhanas are the Bibi Ka Alawa, Alawa-e-Khadme Rasool and Aza Khana Zehra. People unfailingly visit the Ashoorkhanas to listen to the ‘zakareen’ (orators) during the month of Muharram.
The Bibi Ka Alam (copies of the battle standards) is kept in a strong room (the piece of wood, a relic of Hazrath Bibi Fathima is believed to have reached Golconda King Abdullah Qutub Shah and is about 1,400-years-old) in Bibi Ka Alawa in Yakutpura and is brought out for the ‘Youme Ashoora’ observed on the 10th Muharram. The Bibi Ka Alam procession is taken out from Bibi Ka Alawa in Dabeerpura to Masjid Ilahi at Chaderghat. Over three lakh strong Shias take out a ‘matam’ marching along the procession flagellating themselves with sharp weapons to mourn the martydom of Imam Husain in the battle of Karbala.
