Bandipora : The Urs of Sufi saint, Syed Rasool Mashadi popularly known as Nanga Baji concluded with greater religious fervour at Malangam village of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Wednesday.
The Urs lasts annually for seven days, from August 4 to 10 . During the Urs, religious supplications are held while scholars of the Sufi order from both the country and outside pay obscene and also deliver sermons.
“This year the gathering during the Urs was more than it was witnessed in recent years as the three years including COVID-19 restricted people from visiting the shrine,” Syed Shafat Kazmi, one of the family members of the saint said.
On the August 10, the concluding prayers are followed by the flag hoisting event and sheet spreading, which is led by Syed Vilayat Hussain Shah Kazmi, the successor of the Sufi Chishti order at the shrine.
The free kitchen, Kazmi said runs for 12 months at the saint’s shrine in Malangam, however, “during these days, it remains over busy serving the devotees and poor as well.”
Moreover, makeshift market places also come up where devotees and visitors buy their merchandise. This year, the administration which anticipated huge gatherings had made special arrangements from basic amenities to keeping available emergency services for the devotees.