Every year, a great many people visit the mazar of Sirkutta Pir, located near women’s jail Larkana. Women in particular visit the mazar so that their dreams may come true. They come to the mazar along with a drum-beating procession and distribute lungar or sweets among the poor as per their financial status.
At the time of the annual Urs that takes place on Nov 9, 10 and 11 every year, people from various parts of Sindh come and pay homage to the pir. Sufi singers sing Aarifana Kalam on the occasion. This year the date of Urs might be shifted to the next month if the holy month of Ramazan coincides with it.
The disciples of the pir are mostly educated people serving at various government and private institutions. They arrange all programmes of the Urs. The amount gathered from the mazar in the shape of charity is spent on the maintenance of the site for which a flawless system of accounts is put in place. The mazar of the Sirkutta Pir is one of those places where no mawali can step in.
Thursday is considered an important day for the followers who come regularly to this holy sight. They light agarbatis, lay floral wreaths at, and shower petals on, the mazar, recite verses from the Holy Quran, and offer fateha. The arrangements for boarding and lodging of visitors are also made here. Some special followers are served with food and after the sunset they narrate stories of the pir to each other.
Anwar Khokhar is a prominent social figure of Larkana, who runs an NGO which has recovered more than five thousand missing children. That’s why the president of Pakistan has honoured him with a Sitar-i-Imtiaz. He told this writer that the real name of the Sirkutta Pir was Abdul Majeed Abro, a resident of village Sultan Kot, district Shikarpur. Majeed was a dacoit and had committed various crimes in his area. Once such crime was a murder that he committed, after which he ran away from the region.
Later on, he started living in village Khandu of Warah taluka in the Larkana district where he herded goats. It is said that after committing murder, he felt some changes in his life and began to lead a pensive life. This kind of behaviour was not liked by the people who used to ridicule him. Because of this situation, he left the village and came to Larkana city. Majeed had very few friends. According to Anwar Khokhar, Majeed used to sit in the sun; whenever his mother shifted his cot under some kind of a shade, he would get up and again sit in the sun. Majeed seldom ate anything. On many occasions he asked Anwar to prepare food for him whenever he felt hungry; but when food was ready to be eaten, he wouldn’t eat it. Perhaps, it was not ordained as such, so he did not eat.
Majeed’s personality became very powerful during his time. His eyes always burnt like flames of fire. No one dared to talk to him in a free and frank manner.
One day Majeed asked Anwar to see him immediately at the railway crossing. As Anwar tried to reach him, a person came to Anwar and told him that Majeed had placed himself under an incoming train, and as a result his head was severed. When Anwar reached that spot, he saw no traces of blood there. As he took Majeed’s head in his hand, he saw that Majeed’s face had a smile on it. A doctor, after conducting the postmortem, told Anwar that someone had cut Majeed’s head off with a sharp blade. This was a strange thing because a lot of people were witness to the suicidal act. According to Anwar, Majeed was a real Faqir of Allah whom he and others never saw committing any sin.
Nazir Ahmed Katpar, a government servant and resident of Sultan Kot, frequently visits the mazar of the Sirkutta Pir and has become his disciple. He told this writer that after committing murder, Majeed visited Budhal Faqir on many occasions. Before him, one of his associates had also been visiting Budhal Faqir after giving up criminal activities. He said at the time of the suicidal act, had Majeed’s head been treated, he could have survived. It was also surprising to note that the train cut only his head and did not harm any other part of his body.
Raham Ali Gadahi, a Muzawar at the mazar, disclosed that his late father had told him that the driver of that train had seen two lions crossing the railway track, of which one was able to cross the track and the other came under the wheels of the train.
Narrating another incident he said during the construction of an underpass of the railway track near the mazar, a railway officer ordered excavation at the site. Despite requests from the pir’s disciples, the officer was bent upon implementing the plan, which resulted in the death of a few labourers. One day, when the soul of the pir appeared in that railway officer’s dream, he warned him of dire consequences. The officer stopped work and apologized.
Despite the fact that he never did any job and wasn’t a zamindar, the Sirkutta Pir had a lot of currency notes of various countries with him, but he would always pay in Pakistani currency. He also fell in love with a beautiful girl from Rawalpindi who had come to visit Moenjodaro. He had gone with her to some place but after a few years returned to his land.
The wife, sons, daughters and other relatives of the pir live in another city. They do not visit the mazar.
Every year, a great many people visit the mazar of Sirkutta Pir, located near women’s jail Larkana. Women in particular visit the mazar so that their dreams may come true. They come to the mazar along with a drum-beating procession and distribute lungar or sweets among the poor as per their financial status.
