Elephant trial for Bibi-ka-Alam procession ahead of Muharram in Hyderabad

An elephant trial for the Bibi-ka-Alam procession observed on ‘Ashura’ the 10 th day of the Muharram month, –first month of lunar Hijri calendar was held in the old city.

Hyderabad: An elephant trial for the Bibi-ka-Alam procession observed on ‘Ashura’ the 10 th day of the Muharram month, –first month of lunar Hijri calendar was held in the old city on Monday.

A pachyderm Madhuri, from Kolhapur, Maharashtra was brought by the organizers to carry the Bibi –ka-Alam in a procession to be taken out on Saturday from Bibi-ka-Alawa to Masjid-e Ilahi grounds Chaderghat, covering a distance of around seven kilometers.

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The elephant rehearsal is done every year prior to the main procession to familiarize the animal to the crowds and the atmosphere that prevails during the Ashura procession wherein thousands of people participate.

The elephant passed through the procession route from Bibi-ka-Alawa, Pather ka Makaan, Shaik Faiz Kaman, Yakutpura Road, Alijah Kotla, Charminar, Panjesha, Mandi Mir Alam, Zehranagar, Darulshifa and reached Chaderghat.

The Telangana State Wakf Board sanctioned a budget of around Rs. 4 lakh to meet the expenses of the rent, transportation and accommodation of the elephant.

Syed Hamed Hussain Jaffery of Telangana Shia Youth Conference explains that the practice dates back to Qutub Shahi period when Muhammad Qutb Shah’s wife installed an alam in the memory of Bibi Fatima at Golconda. Later, during the Asaf Jahi era, the alam was moved over to Bibi ka Alawa at Dabeerpura specially built for the purpose.

The alam contains a piece of the wooden plank on which Bibi Fatima was given her final ablution before burial. The relic is believed to have reached Golconda all the way from Karbala in Iraq during the reign of Golconda king Abdullah Qutub Shah, said Jaffery. The ‘alam’ has six diamonds and other jewels donated by the builder of Azakhana-e-Madar-e-Deccan, Mir Osman Ali Khan. The jewellery is kept in six black pouches and tied to the standard.

In 1980’s, the alam was carried upon an elephant named Hyderi, and later the job was done by Rajani, its calf. For some years another elephant, Hashmi, also carried the alam. “During Nizam era there was four elephants and the number dwindled to two later and finally a lone elephant is part of the procession,” said Hamed Jaffery.