Despite the scorching sun, they arrive in their multitudes; fakirs and folk singers, land owners and the landless, political officials, businessmen, traders and vendors, the well-heeled and destitute. They all flock to the shrine of Qalandar Lal Shahbaz to celebrate the three-day annual Urs of the saint held from 18 to 20 Shaban, which fell in the first week of June this year.

From the Sehwan Sharif bus stop to the shrine, mobs of people were headed for the Qalandar’s shrine, the golden dome of which is visible from a distance. Outside the premises of the shrine, Devotional songs like Dam mast qalandar Ali Ali, Ali da pehla number, Daman lagiyan maula main to terihaan and Aao mushkilkusha ki shaan suno Ali hai bolta Quran suno, Hyder Maula Ali Maula and Aaye sehwan melay were being sung by different pop and Sufi singers. Faqirs clad in red danced in a trance to the beat of the dhol along with the visitors.

In the public van from Hyderabad to Sehwan Sharif, I met Rizwan Ali, a resident of district Sanghar and a painter by profession. “We visit the shrine of Lal Sarkar every year for the last 18 years. We accept and respect the Pirs and Faqirs. We recite the Quran at the Holy Shrine for peace of mind.”

He said that approximately 200 buses come from Punjab annually during the Urs, and some people arrive on bicycle and motor cycle. “They often leave for Sehwan Sharif three months before the Urs. I have also seen foreigners arrive for the Urs,” he said.

Thousands of devotees gather annually to celebrate the Urs of Lal Sain

Qalandar Lal Shahbaz (RA) is also called ‘Lal sain’ by his devotees. The word lal means red and it is believed that this saint loved red colour while Sain in Sindhi denotes respect of the highest degree.

The Langar

The shrine has two main gates, the golden gate and the old gate. On entering the shrine from the golden gate, I saw that the courtyard was full of children and women, young and old alike absorbed in offering dhamaal, a form of spiritual dance performed to please the saint.

Dressed in a dhoti, kameez and turban, a devotee from Punjab said, “I have been coming to Lal’s Urs for the last 30 years. I always enter the shrine offering dhamaal. He is our well-wisher and helper and among God’s most loved ones.”

Lal Sain was born 40 miles from the famous city of Tabrez in 538 AH. He belonged to the royal family of Marwand. His father, Syed Ahmed Kabir was also a saint. According to historical accounts, a group of qalandars once met him and asked him to marry and they started to sing about a boy who would be born in the home of Ahmed Kabir and who would be the chief of all qalandars.

The prophecy of a group of Qalandars soon came true and a son was born to Ahmed Kabir and his wife. Lal Sain of Sindh was a great scholar, poet and a social reformer. The mother of Lal Sain was the princess of Marwand, while his maternal grandfather was the ruler of the state. His paternal grandfather, Ibrahim Jawabi, was Mujawar (care taker) of the shrine of Imam Hussain (AS) in Karbala and was also buried there.

The drum beaters, Photos by the writer

During the Urs celebrations, bazaars and markets were decorated with colourful lights and colourful bunting. Stalls were set up by visitors from Punjab which sold rings, bracelets, mobile phone batteries, caps, watches, frankincense, joss sticks, paans, shawls, etc. They also brought with them items of daily use like pots, pans, spoons, cups for tea, glasses for water, firewood, charpoys, bed sheets, pillows, bags of flour, rice, red chili, ghee, and other condiments to cook large amounts of food for other visitors as well as offering cool drinking water to others throughout the Urs.

Meat biryani, channa biryani, qorma, haleem, naan, chapatti, paya and other delicious food items are cooked by devotees of Lal Sain. Abdul Khaliq Solangi, the cook and temporary caterer at the langarkhano of Yaseen Rind said, “We have been cooking the feast since last four years and the langarkhano takes orders from customers to prepare large amounts of food to be distributed free to the devotees..”

Javed Hussain, a tabla player from Lahore and his student Shahida Khan, who were also visiting the shrine said, “We love Lal Shahbaz Sain and have come here to mark our attendance.

I asked a shopkeeper if I could meet anyone who would know more about the saint and his life. He replied, “Sain, go to the autaq of Syed Shah Hussain Subzwari. Sabzwari Syeds are the Sajjada nashin of Qalandar Kibriya.” Sajjada nashin is a family member or relative of the saint, while anyone can be a gadi nashin and take care of the shrine.

Following the shopkeeper’s instructions, I reached the bungalow-styled air-conditioned autaq of the (Late) Syed Fateh Ali Shah Sabzwari, father of Syed Shah Hussain Sabzwari.

After enjoying the Langar (feast) at the autaq, I was offered a cup of strong tea, after which Syed Shah Hussain Sabzwari and I settled down to talk about Lal Sain. According to him, the Urs is for people who come from different areas of Pakistan and many parts of the world. The Urs of Qalandar has a message of unity, inter-faith and inter-sect harmony, peace and love.

Talking about their connection with Lal Sain, Syed Shah Hussain Sabzwari said, “We are the Sajjadanashin of Qalandar Lal Shahbaz (RA). When Qalandar came from Marwand to Sehwan Sharif, my great-great grandfather, Syed Mirkalaan Shah became hisfirst disciple. This was the time when the people of Sehwan could not raise a voice against King Charbat and his bad governance but Lal Sain defeated him with his spiritual powers”. Apparently, some other saints presented a cup of tea to Lal Sain meaning that he should leave but Lal Sain put a rose petal in the cup which meant that he would stay. Lal Sain also recited and memorised the Holy Quran at the age of seven. In respect for the saint, Sehwan became known as Sehwan Sharif.

The naqara at the shrine of Lal Sain has its own significance, Syed Shah Hussain said: “The recent naqara is given by the Mughals. Its beat has a different meaning in the first 10 days of Muharram, as those are days of mourning. Apart from that, the regular beat is on happy notes and symbolic.”

He concluded by saying that the government needs a long term policy for the city of Sehwan Sharif so that the visitors are facilitated. “Hotels, guest houses, research centres for study on Qalandar Lal Shabaz (RA) and libraries should be set up in order to find better ways to propagate the Qalandar’s message of peace, love and harmony.”

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, June 28th, 2015

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