90th urs of Syed Saman Shah underway

The festivities of the 90th annual urs of Syed Saman Shah Sarkar continue in full swing at his shrine, some six kilometers from Pangrio town of Badin district.

Syed Saman Shah, one of the revered Sufi saints of the 20th century, is also known as ‘Larr Jo Laal’ or Pir of roosters. PPP MPA Tanzila Qambrani, who formally inaugurated the seven-day celebrations of the urs few days back, told media persons it was an honor to pay homage to Sarkar.

“Hazrat Syed Saman Shah was one of the greatest saints of the 20th century due to which tens of thousands of people gather every year at his shrine to pay homage and fulfill their vows.” she added.

A large number of devotees from various parts of Sindh and other provinces poured in at the venue, most of them carrying roosters, which has been the main feature of the event as according to the area people, the Sufi saint was very fond of roosters.

The devotees sacrifice the roosters and cook them in rice to distribute as langar (free public meal) among poor people. Hundreds of makeshift stalls of sweets, traditional costumes, toys, books and other cultural items have been set up in the mela.

Theatres from various areas of Punjab and other provinces have been set up with the performers to entertain the visitors. A cattle pen has also been set up at the venue where people bring camels, bulls. goats, horses and other animals to sell out to traders from different parts of the country. Popular singers and artists also arrived at the venue to perform during the urs celebrations.

Hanif Samoon is a senior journalist based at Thar/Badin and contributes reports from different districts of Sindh to Minute Mirror. He has won a number of awards, including the Agahi Award twice for his stories on health and child rights. He tweets @HanifSamoon1 and can be reached through email at [email protected]