The annual ‘Sandana Urs’ festival of the Kattu Bawa Pallivasal Dargah Sharif in Pudukottai district was held with fanfare on Wednesday, with approximately 10,000 people congregating at the Islamic shrine on the Thirumayam-Madurai highway to participate in the rituals.
Dedicated to Syed Bawa Fakhruddin, also known as ‘Kattu Bawa’, the shrine, which includes a mosque and the saint’s mausoleum, conducts the ‘Sandana Urs’ festival on the 14th night and early hours of the 15th day of the Islamic lunar month of Rabi-ul-Akhir.
“As per tradition, members of the Mukkolathur community from Nallur village prepared the sandalwood paste that was applied to the saint’s grave. This is a festival that Hindus and Muslims celebrate with great harmony,” Shahul Hameed, treasurer of the historic shrine, told The Hindu.
An ornately decorated temple car was taken out in procession on Wednesday night. The celebrations started at 6 p.m. and concluded in the early hours of Thursday.
On November 11, a public banquet called ‘Aranmanai Kandhuri’ will be held for 3,000 persons of all communities, marking the end of the ritual observance which began on October 26.
