With the arrival of the month of Muharram comes a flurry of activity throughout the ancient city's "Ashoorkhana." Muharram is observed by the Shia Muslim community as a time to reflect on and mourn Hazrat Imam Hussain's martyrdom during the "Battle of Karbala." On the first night of Muharram, the mourning period starts and lasts for the next two months and eight days.
 
Among the important places that see huge gatherings are the Alawa –e Sartooq – Darulshifa, Azakhana e- Zehra – Darulshifa, Bade Shahi Ashoorkhana – Pathergatti, Naal –e Mubarak – Pathergatti, Khad –e- Rasool – Gulzaar Houz.

A significant location is the Bibi ka Alawa in Dabeerpura, where the Bibi ka Alam (the standard of Bibi Fatima) has been placed for generations and where several religious events are held during the month.
 
According to Syed Hamed Hussain Jaffery of the telangana Shia youth Conference, "Special prayer meetings are held throughout the Muharram month, especially in the first ten days, with a host of dignitaries cutting across religious and political affiliations to make an offering to the Alam."

The custom of placing the standard here originated during the Qutb Shahi era, when it was first placed in golconda in honour of Bibi Fatima by Muhammad Qutb Shah's wife. It was then relocated to Bibi ka Alawa, which was constructed especially for that purpose, during the Asaf Jahi period.
 
A portion of the wooden plank that Bibi Fatima used to take her last bath before being buried is included in the standard. According to Jaffery, the relic is thought to have travelled all the way from Karbala, Iraq, to golconda during the reign of golconda king Abdullah Qutub Shah. Mir Osman ali Khan, the builder of Azakhana-e-Madar-e-Deccan, contributed six diamonds and other gems to the "alam." Six black bags holding the jewels are knotted according to norm.
 
Thousands of barefoot and barechested mourners from around 50 "anjumans" join in the procession, which spans about 6 kilometres on the tenth day of the Muharram month, also known as "Ashura," when the alam is borne on a caparisoned elephant.

"The alam was first carried by Hyderi, an elephant, in the 1980s. Rajani, the elephant's youngster, eventually took up the task. AIMIM MLC Riyaz ul Hassan Effandi stated that Hashmi, another elephant, also carried the alam for a few years.
 
However, the HEH The Nizam Trust, the Fatima Seva Dal, and local Shia groups have been transporting elephant from other States to carry the Bibi ka Alam after the courts denied authorization for the usage of captive elephant for religious procession. The standard was carried by a pachyderm named madhuri from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, in the years that followed, and an elephant named sudha was imported from Bijapur, Karnataka, in 2019.
 
 
 

 
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SIBY JEYYA

15/07/2024 07:53 AM