Wednesday 13 April 2016

Tazia of Ustad &Shagird in Multan



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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