Chilkur Balaji Temple Priest Visits Historic Dargah for Basant Celebrations
On Sunday, the chief priest of Hyderabad’s Chilkur Balaji Temple, CS Rangarajan, visited the dargah of Hazrat Shaikh Hali in the Old City to take part in the celebrations of Basant, a festival with deep Sufi traditions.
The historic dargah, also known as Urdu Shariff, was adorned in yellow as devotees wore yellow clothes and decorated the premises with yellow flowers. This tradition, which originated at the Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah in Delhi around 800 years ago, involves offering yellow flowers to the saint resting at the shrine.
While Basant is widely celebrated at Sufi dargahs in northern India, it is less common in southern regions. However, Muzaffar Ali Soofi Chisti, the custodian of the Hazrat Shaikh Hali dargah, revived the festival in Hyderabad a few years ago. Historically, Basant was also celebrated as an official festival in Hyderabad during the Qutub Shahi and Asaf Jahi dynasties.
In northern India, mustard flowers are traditionally used during Basant celebrations. In Hyderabad, however, chrysanthemum flowers, locally known as “Gul-e-Dawoodi,” are prominently featured. According to historian and INTACH Hyderabad convener P. Anuradha Reddy, the Qutub Shahi rulers embraced Basant, making it a government holiday and personally participating in the festival. Chrysanthemum gardens were a common sight in Qutub Shahi Hyderabad and Golconda, and the tradition of using these flowers for Basant has endured for over 400 years.
Muzaffar Ali Soofi emphasized that reviving the Basant Sufi festival in Hyderabad is about promoting unity and respecting all faiths and traditions. The celebrations include the recital of lyrical compositions by saint-poet Hazrat Amir Khusrau. “Yellow is not just the color of Basant; it symbolizes spirituality and unity, values that Hyderabad has always upheld,” Soofi remarked. He encouraged participants to bring yellow flowers and gifts wrapped in yellow paper to honor the spirit of the festival.
