3-Days Of Urs Of Shah Jahan To Commence At Taj Mahal Premises
07 May, Uttar Pradesh
The three days long 360th urs of mughal emperor Shah Jahan, will commence here at the Taj Mahal premises on May 15.
It is the only time of the year when the original graves of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal, located in an inner chamber of Taj Mahal, are open to the public so that they can pay homage. Entry to the monument is free during the three days.
The 360th year celebration will start with the washing of the graves of the emperor and his favourite queen. . The celebration will witness offering of hundreds of ‘chadar’ at the graves. Other events will include reading of poetry and qawwalis.
Shah Jahan urs committee organiser Munawar Ali said here today that as May 15 is Friday, so after afternoon prayers, locks of the inner cenotaphs will be opened at 1400 hrs and all the traditional rituals will be performed. Special prayers will be read out and people from across the country will take blessings. On May 17, a huge community kitchen will be held.
On May 15 and 16, entry of tourists will be free from 2 pm to sunset. On the last day, May 17, free entry throughout will be there the day also on this day, a procession will carry a very long ‘chadar’ of 810 m of seven colours depicting the unity and intregrity of the country from the inner gateway to the cenotaph chamber in observance of a tradition that goes back several hundred years.
Till a few decades ago, the Urs used to be a private affair with the khadims, traditional custodians of the mausoleum, observing it quietly. It has become a much-publicised event in recent years.
ASI officials said arrangements are being made to ensure that the event is commemorated peacefully. Elaborate security arrangements will also be in place to control the crowd as more than one lakh people are expected on May 17, the last day of celebrations.
CISF official here said they would to hold a meeting with ASI and local police to chalk out security preparations. There will be police extra deployment on the three days.
Meanwhile, Yakub Habibuddian Tucy, who claims to be a descendant of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, will come here from Hyderabad to participate in the celebrations.