Mela Chiraghan

By Shahab Ansari, *Festival of Lights kicks off* - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan; Saturday, March 26, 2011

‘Mela Shalimar Ka’ is a decades old poem by the late Ghulam Mustafa Tabbassum, known as Sufi Tabbassum, which still echoes in the mind of those belonging to the generation of the 60s and 70s since its about the golden days of the Mela Chiraghan (Festival of Lamps), also known as Mela Shalimar Kaí which started on Friday here in the provincial metropolis.

The Mela Chiraghan is a jewel in the crown of the culture of Punjab, the Land of Five Rivers, the land of peace, tranquillity, love, open-heartedness and hospitality that it was just a few decades back.

The Mela Chiraghan has been associated with the great Sufi saint, poet, revolutionary and a crusader of human freedom and rights, Shah Hussain, who is buried in Baghbanpura, near Shalimar Bagh.

People of the locality, the adjacent and nearby villages and from all every nook and corner of the province come over to the great Sufi saint's shrine to light a lamp on his grave only to get their wishes fulfilled.

Mela Chiraghan (Festival of Lights) or Mela Shalimar Ka is a three-day annual festival to mark the Urs of Shah Hussain. The festival used to take place in the Shalimar Gardens also until President Ayub Khan ordered against it in 1958. The festival used to be the largest in the whole Punjab, second to Basant. It is still one of grand events in the provincial capital and hundreds of thousands of devotees from all over the country take part in the festivity.

Shah Hussain, also called the poet of love, was born in 1538 AD. He was a radical thinker. His poetry has a spellbinding effect on the listeners at the shrine illuminated by thousands of lamps and candles. ‘Mai Nae Main Kinon Aakhan,’ ‘Mahi Mahi Kookdi’, ‘Rabba Meray Hal Da Mehram Toon’, ‘Mandi Han Kay Changi Han, Sahab Teri Bandi Han’ and ‘Mein Vi Jana Jhok Ranjhan Di Nal Meray Koi Challay’ are among some of his famous Kafees.

He was the first Punjabi Sufi poet whose writings were a mixture of five languages, i.e. Punjabi, Pothohari, Hindi, Persian and Arabic. His Kafees are so simple that one can understand his message without any difficulty.

‘Knowing God by knowing ourselves’ is the main theme of his poetry.

His work is romantic and has all symbols of rich romantic tradition. Shah Hussainís Kafees have been sung by lovers of Sufi poetry for centuries. His poetry will continue to mesmerise the next generations with its message of peace and love.

Dr Mohan Singh Diwana collected 163 of Shah Hussainís Kafees and according to his findings, Shah Hussain was a true scholar and intellectual. Some researchers wrote that Guru Nanak was the first poet who wrote Kafees in Punjabi language but, the Kafees of Shah Hussain, Bulleh Shah, Sachal Sarmast, Khawaja Ghulam Farid and Pir Qutab Ali Shah are gems of the Punjabi literature.

Devotees attribute a number of Karamaat (miracles) to Shah Hussain. One may or may not believe them, but no one can deny the literary genius of the saint. Even today, his poetry attracts a great audience.

The marble-domed memorial of the Sufi poet at Baghbanpura, near the Shalimar Gardens, does not appear to be old. It is said that after his death in 1599 AD, Shah Hussain was buried at Shahdara, on the western bank of the Ravi, but a few years later, the tomb was swept away by a flood. Then, it was shifted to its present site.

Besides the grave of Shah Hussain under the same dome, there is also a grave of Madhu Lal, a son of a Hindu Brahmin, with whom the saint was deeply attached. Therefore, a large number of Hindus also come to attend his Urs.

During the festival, drummers perform at the shrine and youths and women dance to a deafening beat. The festival attracts a large number of artistes who sing his Kafees and dance to the drums. Locals said the shrine was a focal point for celebrating Basant before the partition.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh used to celebrate Basant at the tomb. Once, Maharaja gave robes of honour to all his cabinet members and ordered them to reach the tomb in Basanti dresses. The infantry was ordered to dress in the same colour and stand on both sides of the road from the Lahore Fort to the Shah Hussainís tomb.

One of the attractions of the festival is its bazaar. In the past, it was a major point of shopping, but presently it has been reduced to the sale of general goods, toys, edibles, garments and bangles.

[Picture: The Shalimar Gardens in Baghbanpura, Lahore. Photo: Wiki.]