SHEIKHUPURA, July 21: The 207th annual three-day urs of Sufi poet Syed Waris Shah will begin on Saturday (tomorrow) at Waris Shah Memorial Complex in Jandiala Sher Khan, 14km from here. District Coordination Officer Sheikh Zafar Iqbal will inaugurate the urs by performing the ‘Ghusal’ at the tomb on Saturday. Later, Quran Khawani will be held. In the afternoon, Kabaddi matches and horse dancing will be held. A Punjabi poetry session will be held at 9pm.

A Heer-reciting competition will take place on July 24, which will be attended by a large number of vocalists. A floral wreath will be laid at the shrine on July 24 by chief guest Punjab Culture Minister Shaukat Ali Bhatti.

This year’s main event is the Waris Shah International Conference which is being organized by the World Punjabi Congress. The three-day moot which also begins tomorrow will also be attended by delegates from India and some other countries. A prominent poet of the 18th century, Pir Waris Shah was born in 1722 and died in 1798. He belonged to Jandiala Sher Khan, a town situated on Hafizabad Road.

About 40 saints rest in peace in and around Jandiala Sher Khan, a small town. Known among them are Pir Bahadar Shah, Sakhi Ahmad Darvesh, Pir Khaki Shah, Pir Maskeen Shah, Pir Qasim Shah, Pir Bhogi Shah, Mian Muhabbat Shah and Bibian Pak Daaman.

Waris Shah got his early education in a mosque in Jandiala Sher Khan. The mosque still exists in the north west of the tomb. He completed his formal education of Dars-e-Nizami in Kasur from Maulvi Ghulam Murtaza Kasuri. Later on, he moved to Pakpattan and stayed at the shrine of Baba Farid for some time.

Besides Heer, he wrote Tasneef Nama, Miraj Nama, Chohery Nama, Dohay and Mahias.

The present building housing the tomb was constructed by Waris Shah Memorial Society in 1983 with a cost of Rs8 million. Spreading over 64 kanals, the building has a library, 17 shops, a rest house and a stage.