Festivals of Punjab Pakistan
Punjab is famous to the entire world for its lush soul and remarkable way of life. Blessed with the finest of natural resources, which are full of abundant soil, five rivers, mountains. We are also blessed with sufficient greenery to create it among the most incredible places to reside. Punjab represents luxury and prosperity in its very best form.
Festivals of Punjab would be the ideal time to have the civilization’s vibrancy in its greatest manifestation.
Should you plan a visit to Punjab, be sure that you check the calendar for a few of those festivals. So you get to soak into the cultural richness of the state.
Here’s a prepared list of festivals in Punjab that are celebrated throughout the year. Be sure that you include these in your travel itinerary. I bet that can make your trip even more rewarding.
The festivals of Punjab are among the gorgeous ways to find an insight into Punjab customs and culture.
Have a peek at this list of all of Punjab’s best festivals that someone ought to be part of at least once in their lifetime.
Following are Festivals of Punjab Pakistan:
Lohri
Hola Mohalla
Basant
Chappar Mela
Mela Chiraghan is also one of the celebrations of Punjab Pakistan.
Introduction
Chiraghan was on his way. Not only was my house lit up, so were the entire city of Lahore and the entire street I lived in. This was the largest lighting festival in Pakistan and I was glad I had made it out in time to see it.
Mela Chiraghan is the most popular festival in Pakistan. It’s a time to celebrate with family and friends, and many people make the trip to see how the city looks in its best light.
Mela Chiraghan is an annual Punjabi festival that commemorates the urs of the famous Punjabi Sufi poet and saint Shah Hussain who was born in 1538 AD. The festival is held at Baghbanpura, outside Lahore, Pakistan. This year’s Mela Chiraghan is scheduled to take place from 26 March. The Mela Chiraghan commemorates Punjabi Sufi Saint Shah Hussain’s urs (death anniversary).
Mela Chiraghan — Where The Light Is Stronger Than The Darkness In Lahore
For some people, it can be hard to tell when a festival is being celebrated as the celebrations go on for weeks or months. For others, events that happen on a daily basis seem to carry more significance. Festival of Lights in Lahore is a yearly event that celebrates the birth anniversary of Sufi poet Shah Hussain.
Do You Believe The Present Generation Is Aware Of These Festivals?
I’m sure they don’t know, but when I asked several of the kids, they said “What is this?” That’s unfortunate because the old traditions and festivals are being abandoned in favor of new activities and trends that are alien to their culture.
History Of Mela Chiraghan
Mela Chiraghan is one of the oldest holidays in Pakistan and celebrates the death anniversary of Shah Hussain and Madho Lal. The celebration is well-liked by the public and is celebrated with zeal and zeal. The Mela Chiraghan festival is one of Pakistan’s greatest religious celebrations. But in Islam, is forbidden such celebration.
This is a great holiday for everyone! It originated in India and Pakistan. Simple peasants, Mughal kings, Punjabi Sikh locals, and British officers all used to attend the festival, and it became a revered holiday for all.
It is also reported that Maharaja Ranjeet Singh was inspired by the Sufi saint Shah Hussain.
Maharaja Ranjeet Singh led a procession from the Lahore Fort to this festival destination during the Sikh dominion of Punjab in the early half of the nineteenth century. History says that Ranjit Singh wanted to unite both religious celebrations. In 1822, he ordered the mela and the urs to be united as Mela Chiraghan.
Thousands of Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus marched barefoot from the emperor’s palace to the shrine during Ranjit Singh’s reign in the 18th century.
Amazing Fact
It’s time to talk about how the world got so big! Mela Chiraghan was formerly known as Mela Shalimar because it extended beyond the temple’s grounds and into the neighboring Shalimar Gardens, but it was later restricted to the shrine alone.
Let’s learn more about Mela Chiraghan. It’s the oldest holiday in the Subcontinent, and it is celebrated with fervor and passion on the urs of Shah Hussain and Madho Lal. Mela Chiraghan has historical significance in Lahore.
The shrine’s popularity and the number of devotees who visit it cannot be reduced by limiting it to this site.
Since that day, hundreds of followers from throughout the country have visited this shrine to place floral flowers at the graves of Shah Hussain and Madho Lal, perform dhamal at the shrine, light candles in fulfillment of their prayers and wishes, and distribute langar (free food). But in Islam, all these things are forbidden.
The third day of urs (in the month of august) is reserved solely for females.
The primary attraction of the celebration is the big bonfire ‘Alao’ or ‘Mach’ at Hussain’s shrine, into which people pour candles, oils, wax, and lighted up cotton lamps.
Asides from the crowds of people at the alao, there are several Malangs (mendicants) clothed in exquisite and multicolored robes who sit peacefully in a corner of the shrine.
This Malang tribe is said to begin arriving in the village about a week before the urs, and build little camps in the area so that the next year there is no room and the area is more congested.
Bazaars are one of the oldest types of public gatherings found in the world. Traditionally, they served as a gathering place for people to socialize and buy or sell goods.
Why This Urs Is Honoured And Who’s Sufi Saint Shah Hussain
Let me now explain why this urs is honored and who Shah Hussain and Madho Lal are. The majority of people believe that Madho Lal Hussain and Shah Hussain are the same people, although they are not.
Shah Hussain (1538-1599. was born in the walled city of Lahore’s Taxali Gate. His birth name was Madho Lal, a 16-year-old Brahman kid. Hussain was very fond of the boy who had grown up as an orphan.
On the other hand, Madho formed a deep bond with Shah Hussain, and soon enough, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Mehboob-ul-Haq.
The shrines of Shah Hussain and Madho Lal, as well as the fusion of their names, represent togetherness. It is also believed that Shah Hussain’s love for Madho opposed the norms of conventionalists who had reduced religion to a series of procedures, rigid rules, and prohibitions, as well as the denial of love and joy and the rejection of the concept of emotions.
A few centuries ago, when Shah Hussain died in 1599, he was buried in Lahore, and when Madho Lal died, he was buried in the same Shrine as Shah Hussain. The Urs of Shah Hussain takes place in Lahore, and the shrine is outside of the old city, in the suburb of Baghbanpura.
Shah Hussain is regarded as the father of Punjabi Kafi poetry. Thousands of others have sung it since then. Shah Hussain’s poetry is entirely composed of tiny poems, usually four to ten lines long, that are intended to be performed by singing voices. Many well-known singers have performed his poetry, such as ‘Mai ni mein kinu akhan’ and ‘Ni sayion asan nena de akhay lagay.’ Today, I find that most people avoid traveling to this temple because of many stigmas linked to it, the most common of which is the presence of drug addicts. I believe that if the government takes control of this situation, it will be a magnificent Lahore festival.
Trip To Lahore For Mela Chiraghan
My trip came just a day after the Lahore playground massacre. I had to block the images along with footage of the bomb sufferers from my thoughts.
The authorities had sealed off most of the streets leading to the shrine. There was just one designated place where doorways and metal detectors were set up. It was strangely heartening to determine beefed-up safety — I was body checked on three occasions.
As soon as I entered the festival, the absence of dread among the audience was absolute. Children were running around with no care; individuals from all around the country had begun to pay tribute.
Bonfire, Candles, And Lamps on Urs
The festival also featured a massive bonfire in Hussain’s shrine. The individuals threw in oils, candles, and lit cotton-up lamps together with the expectation that it would meet their fantasies. The flame has been lit for the whole period of the Urs.
The flame is lit for the whole period of the Urs.
For children, numerous swings and merry-go-rounds offered diversion.
It happened to me the significance of that which Gautama Buddha had formerly stated,
“Your worst enemy can’t hurt you as far as your very own unguarded thoughts.”
I stuck around there for some time, attempting to comprehend the mysterious behavior of individuals.
Stopping some in their paths, I asked them why they’d come after what happened yesterday? That is a crowded area and so an attractive target for a terrorist attack, ” I pointed out.
Their answer,
“We don’t have any fear of those cowards because our perception is powerful. We’ve come here to our saint.
A devotee, who’d come, stated he sensed a spiritual relationship with Shah Hussain’s teachings. “I’ve been engaging in such Urs parties for several decades. I feel rested once I see the shrine.”
Seeing an older woman lighting an oil lamp, I walked to her and introduced the same question. Somewhat nervous of my camera, she still uttered with a grin.
Since I took a photo of her and turned to walk off. Her voice brought me a relaxation that substituted the fear I’d felt just a day ago.
Mela Chiraghan in Childhood
Once I was young, we requested to illuminate our houses with candles and oil lamps as Mela Chiraghan will be coming.
It wasn’t only my home, but the whole road and Lahore were spotted illuminated to celebrate this festival of lights.
Throughout the days of Mela Chiraghan, my parents would take us into various sections of Lahore to observe the town’s décor and lighting, and trust me.
We’d waited for this time of the year to ensure we can watch oil lamps and other illuminations.
My grandparents explained that it had been such a wealthy activity at the same time, the government also utilized to ship out oil lamps to the people so they can light them up through these days.
Do you believe the present generation has some notion of those festivals? I am sure that they don’t have any thought as I asked many of the kids, and they were just like, what’s this.
That’s sad as we’re dropping the traditional festivities and moving to other tasks using alien actions and tendencies that do not belong to our civilization.
Let’s get to understand what Mela Chiraghan is. The festival started with all the seasonal Besakhi festivals in older times. This season Mela Chiraghan has been held from 30th March until 1st April 2021.
The festival was the most significant in Punjab, but today comes next to Basant.
Next Day Of Urs
The next day of this urs is exclusively for ladies. The principal characteristic of the festival is the massive bonfire’Alao’ or ‘Mach’ in the Shrine of Hussain, where individuals throw oils, candles, wax, and lit up cotton lamps together with the expectation that it would meet their fantasies and wants and trust me it is a mind-blowing website to see. The flame also stays there for the whole period of this Urs will be three days.
These Malangs begin coming into the Shrine nearly a week until the urs and start setting their little tents around the area, and from the time the urs and festival are begun, there’s not any place found, and it’s by far the most congested location. Well, it’s the belief and religion of the men and women who come there with the hope that their dreams will be fulfilled.
Another attraction for families is a bazaar where children’s prices and countless stalls selling traditional food are put up. This is an actual standard Lahore festival, but sadly, the younger generation is oblivious to the festivity.
Now allow me to tell you this urs is celebrated and who’s Shah Hussain and Madho Lal. The majority of the people today believe that Madho Lal Hussain and Shah Hussain are the same individuals, but these are two distinct persons.
Conclusion
Today I find that almost all of the people today refrain from visiting the Shrine thanks to different stigmas attached to it, and also the most frequent one is the existence of drug addicts. If the government manages the matter, it could indeed be a fantastic festival in Lahore.
In 2019, a brand new change was observed concerning the festival since the Walled City of Lahore Authority and the Punjab Auqaf Department have joined hands to celebrate this occasion. Celebrations of all Mela Chiraghan also have been held in different shrines in which dhamal and Qawwali performances are proposed.
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