Scores throng Sufi poet's shrine in Kashmir

Scores of men, women and children on Sunday paid obeisance at the shrine of 19th-century Sufi poet and saint Abdul Wahab Khar in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Dozens of local singers sang Sufi songs during the entire night to the accompaniment of musicians at Sharshalli Khrew village in Pulwama, where a free 'langar' (community kitchen) had been set up for devotees who came to attend the urs (the saint's death anniversary) and seek his blessings.

Devotees had come from as far as Doda and Kishtwar areas of the Jammu region.

Born in 1810, Wahab Khar, as the Sufi poet was popularly called, lived up to 100 years.

He had no formal education, but the moralistic, eclectic and Sufist message of his poetry made him a saint who was visited in his lifetime by the Dogra maharajas of the state and the common man with equal reverence.

Abdul Majid Wani, 60, a resident of Sharshalli village told IANS that people come to pay respects at the saint's shrine from far and near.

"As the custodians of the shrine, it is our responsibility to look after the devotees and ensure that they feel comfortable during the Urs."

The army also set up free food stalls as a goodwill gesture at Khrew where children from the area were seen enjoying the festivities.

"An occasion like this is also a rare opportunity for children to have fun while parents pray for the welfare of their wards," said Abdul Ahad, 45, another local resident of the village.

Sweetmeat shops were set up by local and outside vendors around the shrine where devotees bought 'Halwa' and 'Parathas' to both eat and also to take home for elders as proof of having attended the urs.

Urs celebrations and festivities at the local shrines built entirely in reverence of dead saints in the Valley remained subdued for nearly two decades as Islamist insurgents opposed such celebrations branding these as "pagan traditions violating the spirit of Islam".

In Kashmir, where the predominant majority of Muslims have Hindu forefathers, insurgents saw such celebrations as revival of Hindu traditions after the minority local Pandit community migrated out in early 1990s as the ongoing separatist violence began.

After violence declined in the Valley after two decades, locals have returned to Urs celebrations and visiting the local Sufi shrines in large numbers.