LAHORE, March 29: Gates to joy and gaiety for the devotees of Sufi saint and Punjabi poet Shah Husain will swing open on Saturday (today) with the beginning of annual three-day Festival of Lights (Mela Chiraghan) which will be attended by scores of people from all across the country.

Lahore, also a city of festival and gardens, will be a centre of activities for three days as people from different faiths and religions will gather at the shrine of Shah Husain in Baghbanpura to celebrate his 414th urs (death anniversary).

Every year, the city hosts this magnificent festival. It is a unique festival because of the procession of lights, a time aged tradition attached with this spiritual carnival.

On the first day of Mela Chiraghan, every year the devotees of Shah Husain organise a procession after dusk. This occasion is marked by a lot of revelry and merriment. They sing to the beat of drums and dance on different instruments such as harmonium, ik tara and dhol. They take out a procession in the evening carrying lights and reach the shrine while dancing in frenzy to the beat of drums.

On Saturday (today), devotees carrying lights will move from Ghaas Mandi on GT Road to Darbar Shah Husain to lay wreaths at the shrine.

A seminar on Shah Husain by the Pakistan Punjabi Adabi Board in collaboration with the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC) is also being organised at the PILAC office on Saturday.

Scores of people from every corner of Pakistan and every religion come to attend the festival.

One can find ethnic foods in the bazaar and roads around the shrine from gol gappas to katlamas and from sweetmeats to fruit chat and specially prepared halwas.

With food a distinctive part of the festival, the local handicraft on display are also of great attraction for visitors. The festivities and handicraft reflect the folklore and traditional rituals of Punjabi mystics and culture.

Whirling dervishes dance to the tunes of drums leaving people in a realm of frenzy. Pilgrims sit by a bonfire where by doing so they believe their prayers will be answered and others come and toss candles into the bonfire hoping that their wishes will be granted. People dance and celebrate throughout the night.