Festival of lamps: Security concerns spoil urs for vendors

Dervishes at the Madhu Lal shrine perform dhamal at the urs, as pilgrims from over the country attend the festivities.

LAHORE:

“The number of stalls set up at the urs of Madhu Lal Hussain has come down over the recent years. Five years ago, the stalls started from Copper Store near Garhi Shahu bridge and ran all the way up to Daroghawala,” said Chaudhry Muhammad Nawaz on Saturday.

Nawaz, Baghbanpura Jewellers’ Market president, said the number this year had fallen to 150. This, he said, was the lowest in 10 years he had been around.

Traditionally, the stalls have sold sweets, khussas, toys, pottery, flowers, candles, food, jewellery and gem stones. Nawaz explained the low number of stalls in terms of people from far off places deciding against travelling all the way to Lahore on account of the prevailing security situation.

The urs celebrations of Madhu Lal Hussain, also known as Mela Chiragahan (festival of lamps), kicked off on Saturday. Though the festival got its name from devotees bringing lamps to the shrine, over time candles have become more popular.

“People no longer buy clay lamps in the same numbers as they did in the past. I think it is because of the higher prices of mustard oil,” said Muhammad Hussain, the only lamp seller at the shrine.

Still, he said he would continue to sell lamps. “That’s the tradition. I don’t plan on giving up,” he said.

Karim Bakhsh , a flower seller, said he had been serving the shrine for over 50 years. He said the festival used to be a huge event in his youth. “Far fewer people visit the shrine now. It used to be a grand event when I was young,” he said. He, too, linked the low attendance to the security situation. He said only yellow and red flowers were sold at the festival. “Yellow flowers are for Madhu and red for Shah Hussain,” he said. He said Madho Lal-Hussain were also known as Lahori Peer because both belonged to the city.

The first day of the festival ended with a Mehfil-i-Naat. A Mehfil-i-Samaa and special prayers would be organised on the second and the third day.

More than 2,500 policemen have been deployed at and around the shrine for the security.

Afzal Naqvi, the Auqaf Department district manager, said he was satisfied with the security arrangements. He said they had to be extra vigilant because the festival attracted a large number of devotees from all over the province. Besides the police, he said, some private security companies were helping with the arrangements.

He said so far there had been no complaints of pick pocketing or mobile snatching.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2011.