Tazia of Ustad and Shagird in Multan (Pakistan)
Dr.Mazhar
Naqvi
The
historic city of Multan is a leading center of Taziadari. Two of the oldest and
huge Tazias of Indian sub-continent are taken out on Yaum-E-Ashura every year
ibn Multan. Thousands of devotees assemble on both sides to have a glimpse of
both the tazias, popularly known as Tazia of Ustad (Teacher) and Shagird (Student).
The Tazia of the Ustad is a remarkable 27-feet structure with seven storey. It
is made of teak wood completely. Ustad Mundo Khan and his 23 companions took
thirteen years to produce the Tazia. They built the constituents of Tazia painstakingly by hand after starting work in
1812 and finally finishing in 1825.
While Ustad
was busy in preparing Tazia of his dream, one of his student Salman Ali also
began preparing another Tazia. He worked as part of Ustad’s team in day time
and worked on his Tazia in the wee hours of the night. Ali completed the Tazia in
1854.It is 32-feet high and larger than the Tazia of the Ustad. The Tazia of
the student was reportedly burnt by fundamentalists in 1944.It was however
quickly repaired with the financial help of the local
tribes, especially the Gardezis of Afghanistan.
A 1950 Photograph of Ustad's Tazia
Every year during Muharram,
both the Tazias are taken out together
in a procession. The Tazia of the Ustad leads the procession with the Tazia of
the Shagird at the back, symbolizing the student’s respect for his teacher. Around
150 people carry the Ustad’s Tazia while 200 are required to carry Ali’s masterpiece
prepared in memory of Imam Hussain. The first official license for the Muharram
processions was given by the British government to the Tazia of the Ustad in
1860.Since then Ustad’s Tazia has been main attraction of Muharram ceremonies in
Multan (Pakistan).Tazia refers to replica of Imam Hussain’s mausoleum in Karbala
(Iraq) and they are taken out to mark his martyrdom of 10th of Muharram
every year.(References
available on request. Photo Courtesy-Google Images)
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