Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Remembering a Sufi saint

Special Correspondent

HISTORIC TOMB: The dargah of Khwaja Bande Nawaz in Gulbarga.

GULBARGA: The five-day 602nd Urs-e-Sharief of the 14th Century Sufi saint Hazrath Khwaja Bande Nawaz Gesudaraz, whose universal message of love and compassion draws both Muslim and Hindu devotees, will be held here from Thursday.

Thousands of devotees from all over the country will arrive in this historic city, which was once the capital of the Bahamani Sultanate, to participate in the urs and offer obeisance at the Dargah Sharief.

Khwaja Bande Nawaz was a disciple of Hazrath Khwaja Pir Naseeruddin Mahmood, popularly known as Chirag of Delhi. After studying under his master, Khwaja Bande Nawaz moved to Daulatabad, now in Maharashtra, and later made Gulbarga his abode, for 22 years, at the invitation of the Bahamani king Firoze Shah Bahamani.

Khwaja Bande Nawaz, who was a prolific writer, is considered to be the first prose writer in Urdu. He penned 195 books in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. Scholars around the world revere the Sufi saint's writings, and he also occupies a place among the famous Urdu poets of that period. Some of his works are preserved in the library at the Dargah Sharief here, and most of his works have been abridged and translated into Urdu. Research scholars from different parts of the world visit the Dargah Sharief to study his works.

Syed Shaha Mohammed-ul-Hussaini, a descendant of Khwaja Bande Nawaz, will lead a procession from the public garden here, carrying sandalwood paste, signalling the beginning of the urs on Thursday evening. The tomb of the saint is anointed with the sandalwood paste on Friday after morning prayers.

As part of the urs, seminars on the teachings and works of the saint, and on different subjects, particularly Sufism, will be held. Eminent scholars from different parts of the country will present papers at the seminars.

As part of the urs, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly N.Y. Gopal Krishna will inaugurate a ten-day industrial exhibition on Wednesday.

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