Pakistanis, Indians celebrate Urs
of Amir Khusro

     New Delhi: Indian and Pakistani Sufi singers sang traditional Qawwalis on the occasion of the 701st Urs (congregation) of 13th Century Sufi poet Hazrat Amir Khusro. Hazrat Amir Khusro was a great disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, a 12th century Muslim seer, who was revered by millions. Hazrat Amir Khusro was also associated with the royal courts of over seven rulers of Delhi The three-day long Urs, which will end on Wednesday, attracted a large number of visitors from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Hazrat Amir Khurso's "Urs" is held every year on his death anniversary. Annually, a large number of pilgrims, irrespective of their faith and religion throng the mausoleums of Hazrat Amir Khusro and Nizamuddin Aulia to pay their homage and offer their prayers at their graves.

    Speaking about the importance of the occasion and the need for India and Pakistan India to keep border routes open, Armaan Ali Sabri, a Pakistani Qawwal, said: "We want that these routes should remain open and we can continue to visit each other's country with ease. We only pray for this." Other Pakistani singers lauded India's efforts at providing aid to the quake affected people in their part of Kashmir, where 73,000 people have lost their lives on October 8.

Hazrat Amir Khusro (1253-1325 AD)

    Hazrat Amir Khusro (1253-1325 AD)  is also a household name in much of North India and Pakistan through the playful Hindi and Urdu riddles, couplets and legends attributed to him. Sufism was a reform movement of the 13th century against orthodox Hinduism and Islam. Largely mystic in nature, it preached the worship of God through devotional singing. Hazrat Amir Khusro is said to have been a multi-faceted personality with interests ranging from music to poetry and political affairs. In fact, he is considered to be the father of the Urdu language, which is a mixture of Persian, Arabic, Hindi and other Indian languages, and spoken by over 150 million Indians, besides being the official language of Pakistan. Khusro's poetry touched themes such as man's relation with God, the search for truth, self-realisation and other aspects of philosophy and metaphysics. Many of his works are now a part of school and university textbooks. Khusro was also a pioneering musicologist and is credited with being the inventor of the Indian sitar, which is a dominant element of Indian classical music.