Every year lakhs gather at Husain Tekri, the famous shrine in Jaora in central India, forty days after Ashura.
This year too, devotees from all over India, including Shias, Sunnis and also members of other communities reached Jaora town in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh.
It is one of the biggest gatherings on Chahallum anywhere in the sub-continent. Hundreds of thousands take part in the rituals every year [40 days after the tenth of Islamic month of Muharram].
Lakhs attend the Chahallum rituals in this town every year. People come from as far as Kashmir and from Deccan, from Uttar Pradesh and Bengal, and even from other countries. The photos are taken by Mustafa Vilayati.
This 19th century shrine was built during the reign of former Nawabs of Jaora, a princely state in British India. Over the years, it has emerged as a major town for Shias in India, because of the scale of the Muharram and Chehallum rituals.
While Arbaeen in Middle East draws attention, this huge gathering in a small town in India generally fails to make it to the headlines. For more information about the rituals, read a post on this blog published last year.
READ: Lakhs take part in Chehallum rituals in Jaora
