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Every year after the monsoons have
washed away the heat and the dust of summer, a colourful
procession—Phoolwalon ki Sair or the festival of flower-sellers
winds it way down the flower-sellers’ promenade in Mehrauli. Led
by shehnai players and dancers, it moves from the temple of jog Maya
through the Mehrauli Bazaar to place curtains made of flowers on the
tomb of Saint Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. This is one of the few
festivals in which both Hindus and Muslims participate with equal
fervour. Watch out for it this year in October.
Phoolwalon Ki Sair, a three-day
festival, is observed by practically everyone in Mehrauli. It is
celebrated simultaneously at the dargah of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki and
at the ancient shrine of Devi Jog Maya. Floral tributes are offered
at both places. Kathak dances, qawwalis, a blaze of lights, huge
pankhas (fans) made of palm leaves, decorated with tinsel and
flowers, and acrobats delight a vast audience. A huge procession, led
by fire dancers, takes the flower pankhas through the streets of
Mehrauli.
The cultural
programme takes place at jahaz Mahal (ship palace) built by the
Lodhis on the banks of Shamsi Talab (once a large pool) at the end of
the Mehrauli Bazar. Behind Adham Khan’s (Emperor Akbar’s
foster brother) tomb, stands the temple of Jog Maya, after which
Delhi was once known as Yoginipura. Nothing remains of this temple
except the name and the stone idol.
Muslims come from
distant lands on pilgrimage to Kaki’s Tomb. Kaki or Qutub sahib
earned the sobriquet Kaki because during his long hours of
meditation, he sometimes forgot to eat and had to be fed with
cakes—kaki. He succeeded Muenuddin of Ajmer as head of the
chishtiya order of Sufis. People still tie colored strings to the
trellis-work to beg favours of the saint. On his death anniversary
qawwalis are sung and the poor are fed. Village boys entertain
visitors by jumping into an adjoining bauli (well) from seemingly
dizzy heights.
But
how did Phoolwalon ki Sair begins? It goes to the days of the Mughal
Emperor Akbar Shah 11in the 19th century. However, the
festival’s popularity reached its peak during Bahadur Shah
Zajar’s reign. Zafar was the prince chosen by the British to
succeed Akbar
Shah 11. But the latter was persuaded by his
favourite Queen, Mumtaz Mahal to change his decision in favour of her
son, Mirza Jahangir. The British did not agree. Mirza Jahangir was a
spirited but spoilt boy who, to show his resentment against the
British, took a shot at the British Resident, Seton. The attempt
failed, Seton’s hat was merely knocked off, but the British
annoyed with Mirza Jahangir, exiled him to Allahabad. His grieving
mother then took a vow that if her son were allowed to return to
Delhi, she would make an offering of a four-poster flower bed at the
holy shrine of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki at Mehrauli.
After
some time, the British agreed to Mirza Jahangir’s return to
Delhi but only after the King had guaranteed his good behaviour and
agreed not to question Zafar’s status as heir apparent. Mirza
Jahangir returned amidst great fanfare. Mumtaz began elaborate
preparations to fulfill her vow. A beautiful flower canopy was
created to which flower-sellers added an elaborate flower pankha at
their own cost. Both these were then ceremoniously carried in a large
procession to the saint’s tomb.
Mirza
Jahangir, an incurable alcoholic, did not change his ways. He was
exiled again and finally died in Allahabad at the age of 31.But the
pilgrimage of the court and the people of Delhi to Mehrauli became an
annual event.
The
King, Queen and their court would leave Delhi in palanquins a few
days before the festival. They visited Humayun, Safdar Jung, the
tombs of Nizamuddin Aulia where they lunched, then moved on to
Mehrauli to accredit a reception. The Jahaz Mahal, near the dargah of
Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki, now in ruins, but then in all the glory of a
royal palace, was richly decorated with carpets and chandeliers. The
King went to the Jharna (a beautiful garden with cascades and
fountains built by Feroz shah Tughlaq) the next day—where,
in the seclusion of kanats and curtains, the court ladies relaxed.
When there was a light drizzle, the royal party moved to the Amarian,
a mango grove to the east of the Jhama and a beautiful picnic spot.
Here the delicacies of the season were prepared by the royal ladies
themselves.
On
the first day of the festival, the procession of fans and flowers
started from the Jharna with musicians, athletes demonstrating sports
and fencing, and soldiers in their colourful uniforms. It passed
through the brilliantly lit Mehrauli Bazar to Jog Maya Mandir. The
next day, another elaborate procession owing its way to the tomb of
Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki.
What
began, as a Muslim Woman’s obeisance in gratitude at the shrine
of a Muslim saint became an occasion of pilgrimage and celebration
for the whole city, transcending barriers of community and class. The
King went both to the tomb of Khwaja Bakhtiyar and to the Jog Maya
Mandir. Muslims and Hindus alike followed him. Ghalib refers to the
secular nature of the festival. He wrote: “In this city, is a
festival called the flower men’s festival. Everyone in the city
from the nobles to the artisans goes off to the Qutub Minar. There
they stay for two of three weeks. All the shops in the city of
Muslims and Hindus alike stay closed throughout this time”
So
Phoolwalon Ki Sair became an annual celebration and something that
the people looked forward to every year in the months following the
monsoon. In 1942, with the Quit India Movement, The British suspended
the festival for reasons of security. But Jawaharlal Nehru, who
responded instinctively to its beauty and gaiety, reinstituted it in
1962. Since then history has been beautifully reenacted every year.
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