Khaja Dagh Dehlvi, son of the Nawab of Loharu, famously wrote:
Hyderabad aur Langar yaad hai, Ab ke Dilli mein Moharram kya karen
Tr: I remember Hyderabad and the Langar, How can one observe Muharram in Delhi now?
Muharram observances started in the Indian subcontinent soon after the Battle of Karbala in which the youngest grandson of Prophet Muhammad drank the elixir of martyrdom along with his companion, subsequently over the centuries these traditions evolved into multifaceted customs involving peoples of all faiths in India.
The Muharram commemorations started in the Deccan with the advent of the Bahmani sultans and reached its zenith during the era of Feroz Shah Bahmani and his successor Ahmed Shah Wali Bahmani. When the Bahmani kingdom disintegrated in the year 1518 and the Qutb Shahis of Golconda gained sovereignty over Telangana, the Ashoorkhana-e-Shahi was constructed in Golconda to mark the beginning of this new realm. The Qutb Shahi sultans constructed various ashoorkhanas in cities, towns and villages. Jagirs, or endowment lands, were allotted to the custodian for feeding destitutes and travellers. Most ashoorkhanas are under the supervision of hereditary custodians or mutawwalis who are adherents of Hinduism.
During Muharram, various dishes such as Qubooli, Kanduri, Butti & Daliya are prepared and “Fateha" is offered. Since time immemorial meat and eggs are avoided during Muharram & only vegetarian dishes are preferred. Often Fateha is offered on sweetmeats such as Chonge, Dum ke Roat, and Kadai ka halwa. These are usually prepared on the 7th day of Muharram in memory of Shahzade Qasim. Sharbat prepared with Sandal, Gud (jaggery), Gulab (rose), Khas, Misri (sugar), Kafur (camphor) and Doodh (milk) is also consumed.
Hayath Bakshi Begum, the daughter of Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah, started the tradition of the ‘Langar’ procession on 5th of Muharram when her only son and heir apparent returned to the palace safely, after he went missing in the jungles of Hayathnagar on his rogue elephant Moorat for nearly three days. The young prince Abdullah Qutb Shah was made to walk from the Golconda Fort to the Hussaini Alam ashoorkhana. A Langar (a chain) made of gold weighing around 40 maunds, 40 maunds of misri & crushed rose petal sharbat and 400 maunds of rice and curry was placed in front of the Hussaini Alam, Fateha was offered and the sacrament was distributed.
Dhattis or banners embroidered with gold and silver strips were offered to the Hussaini Alam and ‘salamati ki dua’ was recited in the sultan's name. Every year Langar ka juloose was organised and ‘Fateha e Salamati’ was offered in the monarch's name. During the Asaf Jahi Era, 3 langars were offered to Hussaini Alam ashoorkhana. The first one was known as Sarkari Langar, the second one was Salamti ka Langar and the third one was Saruf-e-Khas ka Langar.
Sarkari Langar was a military parade of various regiments and battalions. Each battalion was separated by a band of 20 bhaldaars or Lancers, battle drums were played, elephants garbed in green and yellow chadars and red howdahs mounted on their backs were paraded and battle standards unfurled. The first tukdi was headed by a group of city police jawans followed by Wheelman Warriors aka the Nizam's Bicycle Boys' Corps., African Guards, Arab Cavalry Guards and other traditional army units.
Salamti ka langar was quite simple. Eleven shaddas or votive alams earlier made up of gold were offered to the Hussaini Alam. Dishes like Khichdi and Qubooli were offered. Six candles measuring six feet in height and joss sticks measuring seven feet in height, guldans or flower vases and dhattis were offered. Dua-e-Salamati was offered in the name of the ruling monarch and his dauphin. The third langar was the smallest and simplest. A cauldron with cooked rice and lentils, sweetmeat and other benedictions were offered to the Hussaini Alam standard by the Nazim of HEH Nizam's Sarf-e-Khas.
The tradition of Langar continued till the 1930s and gradually turned into a low key affair. Officially, the Sarkari Langar was the only to be stopped and other langars were offered at Badshahi ashoorkhana instead of at Hussaini Alam. The exact reason for discontinuing the iconic Langar procession is still unknown. It is believed that the disputes caused by the mujawirs and the cold war between risalahdaars resulted in the disruption of law and order.
The last official langar was taken out from Haveli Manjli Begum and it was offered at Badshahi ashoorkhana. Today, few families observe langar on 5th and 9th of Muharram respectively but on a very small scale.
Lady & Lord Curzon had witnessed the pomp and grandeur of the Langar procession in the year 1902. The Lady Curzon writes:
"There never was anything more quaint than this show, which is a procession of nobles and their retainers hordes of wild Arabs dancing and screaming, elephants covered in with nawabs, palanquins, silver carriages, horses of every colour, shaps, dyed and undyed leaping past persian fashion"
Written by Mir Mubbashir Ali Khan Edited by Navin Sigamany
The views and research are author's own.
I'm in love with the first picture of the alams at Badshahi Ahsoorkhana! It looks like it could have been from a National Geographic collection! So good, props to the photographer!