The marble trellis covered with yellow marigolds, men dressed in yellow and a mellow quarter moon overhead was the perfect setting for celebrating Basant, with what else, but qawwali.
Age-old tradition
The Dargah Hazrath Sheikh ji Hali at Urdu Shareef came alive with the compositions of Amir Khusrau on Wednesday evening. Beginning with a poem about spring and mustard fields, the qawwals of Sabir Habib and his group took the audience on a mystical journey with Mohe apne hi rang me rang de rangiley and other qawwalis.
According to Muzaffar Ali Soofi of Markazi Majlis-e-Chistia, the celebration of Basant among Muslims was started by 13th century Sufi saint Amir Khusrau.
“We are continuing the tradition, most of the songs are his creations. And the celebration of Basant happens without any distinction about Hindus or Muslims,” he added.
