The saviour saint of Karachi: Ghazi Baba’s Urs kicks off with fervour

Large number of devotees flock to pay homage to Sufi saint amid tight security

KARACHI: Devotees flocked en masse to the shrine of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi's to celebrate his three-day urs [death anniversary] on Friday.

'Ghazi Baba', as he is commonly known among his devotees and admirers, is believed to be the saviour of the metropolitan city. According to lore, the renowned Sufi saint, who settled down in Sindh in the ninth century, challenges and prevents all kinds of natural calamities from hitting Karachi at the coast of the Arabian Sea. Even though there are a number of Sufi saints celebrated and revered in Sindh, Ghazi Baba enjoys special status being the 'saviour' of the people of Karachi, especially the one living off the coast.



The urs is celebrated between Zilhaj 20 and 22. The 1286th urs of Ghazi started at his shrine following its inauguration by Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan who paid a visit and laid down a wreath of flowers at the tomb on Friday morning.

Devotion and spiritual connection

People from as far as the northern areas of the country had arrived to attend the urs celebrations. Mansoor Shigri, climbing up the staircase of the shrine along with his family of six, told The Express Tribune that he has come from Skardu as he believes that all his children were born with the blessing of Ghazi Baba. "Every year, I get a spiritual call to attend the urs of Ghazi Baba," he said.

Similarly, Ahsan Mushtaq, who had especially come from Oman for the occasion, said that even though he lives in the Middle East to earn his livelihood, he makes sure that he visits the shrine every year on the urs as he believes that all that he has achieved so far is because of the blessing of the Sufi saint.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Rehman Baba, a regular visitor of the shrine, said that these places are spiritual. "The oppressed or poor, after visiting the shrine, know that their problems will not be immediately solved," he said. "But they enter with heavy hearts and exit with a relaxed feeling as if they have conveyed their problems to a close one."



When asked about the popular belief that Ghazi Baba is the saviour of Karachi, Rehman said that people have a right to disagree but a large number of them believe in this notion. He recalled that during Cyclone Phet in 2010, thousands of people having similar beliefs took protection at the shrine and, like previous storms, the cyclone eventually changed its direction away from the city.

Minting money

The attendees complained of the costly chador being sold at the site. According to a visitor, Aashiq Ali, the holy piece of cloth is usually sold for Rs150 but the prices have soared up to Rs300 and Rs400 during the festivities as the demand has gone up.

Heightened security

Visitors were satisfied with security arrangements as dual security checking points had been set up on the venue. The manager of the Auqaf department, Ahmed Ali Unar, said that they cannot afford any lapse in the provision of security. He added that apart from personnel of law enforcement agencies, around 100 volunteers have been deployed to guide the attendees of the urs. In case of any possible mishap, a medical camp and two ambulances are also present at the spot.

Boat Basin SHO Naseer Tanoli told The Express Tribune that more than 100 policemen have been deployed for the urs celebration while security within one-kilometre radius of the shrine has also been tightened. He added that Rangers have also deployed alongside police to deal with any untoward incident.

Apart from tight security, the courtyard of the shrine was also cleaned. Besides the management, a number of people had also set up 'sabeels' providing mineral water and juices.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2016.