Double qawwalis.

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Among many other avatars, Delhi is also a city of mystics. It is known as ‘Bais khwaja ki chaukhat’, the threshold of 22 Sufi gurus. This week, and the next, the city celebrates the death anniversary of two of those mystics. One is world-famous, the other isn’t known much even within the city.

One might naturally wonder about rejoicing over a death. The inevitability has a less mournful connotation in Sufism, where a fakir’s passing is not mourned, but celebrated. Urs translates to “wedding” in Arabic and symbolizes the union of the lover with the beloved, who is God. And this year happens to be Hazrat Amir Khusro’s 721st Urs, and Hazrat Hare Bhare Shah’s 404th Urs.

The five-day Urs of Hazrat Amir Khusro began last Tuesday evening with a prayer ceremony held in the central Delhi shrine where he lies buried. A special musical qawwali will be offered at the shrine’s courtyard tonight on Friday, and is expected to last until two or three in the morning.

Meanwhile, the three-day Urs of Hazrat Hare Bhare will begin on Sunday, at his little-known shrine in Old Delhi. The qawwali will be offered for the first two evenings.

Besides staunchly linked to matters of faith, the two memorials are as inexorably entwined into Delhi’s bottomless past. Hazrat Amir Khusro lived through the years of Dilli Sultanate. Hazrat Hare Bhare belonged to the era of Mughal Dehli.

Hazrat Amir Khusro’s grave lies within the shrine of his mentor, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Famed for his poetry, Khusro was skilled in courtly Persian, as well as in colloquial Brij. A single verse by him might include both, such as… try singing this aloud:
Zihaal-e-miskeen mukon taghaful (Persian),
doraaye nainaan banaye batyaan (Brij).

Hazrat Amir Khusro’s daily life paralleled this duality in language. He was supremely devoted to his master, Hazrat Nizamuddin, an ascetic who shunned emperors. But he was also a loyal attendee at the courts of those same emperors.

Sadly, not much verifiable facts remain about Hazrat Hare Bhare Shah. His small grave chamber in Meena Bazar lies under a hara-bhara (green and lush) neem tree. In fact, every aspect of the shrine is in green: green donation box, green chaadar, green tiles, green lamps. Although no dress code has been prescribed for Hazrat Hare Bhare Shah’s Urs, it is still possible to pick the most appropriate colour to wear.