Shah Hussain and Madho

Early Age: Shah Hussain was the son of a weaver called Nusikhia (apprentice) Sheikh Usman belonged to the Dhudha clan of Rajputs. He was born during the reign of Sher Shah Suri (1540-1545) Shah Hussain is one such mystic who is still fondly remembered by millions of ordinary Punjabis four centuries after his death. He was born in Lahore in 1539 A.D. into a family of the Dhatha Rajput tribe. This tribe had recently converted to Islam, hence the epithet “Shah” attached to his name. Even as a child Hussain showed a marked preference for red clothes, which explains why he was also called Lal (Persian for “red”) Hussain. Hussain`s strong mystical inclinations were apparent very early in his life. In childhood itself he managed to memorize the entire Qur`an under the guidance of his teacher, Shaikh Abu Bakr. Then, at the age of ten he was initiated into the Oadiriyah Sufi order by the renowned saint Bahlul Shah Daryai of Chiniot. For the next twenty-six years he lived under the strict supervision of his Pir (spiritual master), faithfully following all the rites and practices of orthodox Islam, and leading a life of great austerity. Turning Point for Shah Hussain. At the age of thirty-six an incident occurred that was to completely change Hussain`s life. One day while at a madrasa studying a tafsir (commentary) on the Our`an under the tutelage of Shaikh Sadullah of Lahore, he came across the Qur`anic verse: “The life of this world is nothing but a game and a sport.” He asked the Shaikh to explain the verse and was told that it meant that the world should be shunned. Hussain refused to accept this interpretation and asserted, instead, that the words of the verse must be taken literally. He told his teacher that, in accordance with his understanding of this verse, he would spend the rest of his life in enjoyment. It was during this period of his life that Hussain met Madho, a Brahmin lad. Relation between Shah Hussain and Madho The two men became so closely associated that in the popular mind the saint is most commonly known as Madho Lal Hussain, as if the two had been fused into one. The intensely close relationship that blossomed between them has been the subject of much speculation and controversy, starting in their very lifetime. John Subhan, an expert on Indian Sufism, writes that their contemporaries saw this intimate connection between a Hindu boy and a Muslim faqir of “questionable character” as “a disgrace”, though he himself sees this “irresistible attraction” between the two men in terms of “fervent love”Like wise, the Punjabi historian Shafi Aquil speaks of the relationship between Madho and Hussayn as one of “boundless love” and for this employs language generally used to describe male-female relationships. Thus, he writes, “Shah Hussayn was in love with Madho and Madho himself, too, desired him” (Madho se Shah Hussayn ko pyar tho aur khud Madho bhi unko chahte the). He goes on to add that, “Under no condition could Shah Hussayn bear to be separated from Madho’’ Nur Ahmad Chishti, author of the Sufi chronicle Tahqiqat-i-Chishti, suggests that some among the couple`s contemporaries saw their relationship as `improper`. He writes that Madho`s relatives, “seeing him sleeping in the same bed with Lal Hussain, came to murder them both.” However, as luck would have it, he adds,that “the power of Hussain made them blind and, as they could not find the door, they returned”. Lajwanti Ramkrishna, a recognized authority on the Punjabi Sufis, relates that many people “had become suspicious of the un-natural relationship” between the two. Whatever the case might be, the story of the two lovers is a fascinating one that is unparalleled in the annals of Punjabi Sufism. First Meeting or encounter of Shah Hussain and Madho. The historical records give varying accounts of Hussain`s first encounter with Madho. The author of the Tahqiqat-i-Chishti writes that Hussain first saw Madho riding through the main market of Lahore on a “majestic horse in a fashionable manner.” So wonderstruck was he at Madho`s beauty that “he then tried in vain to possess the lad for sixteen years, at the end of which he succeeded.” Rizvi, an acclaimed authority on Indian Sufism, also writes that Hussain first saw Madho riding in the market and says that upon seeing him he felt instantly “under the intoxication of a mystical trance.” Thereafter, he adds, Hussain shifted to Shahdara, the suburb of Lahore where Madho lived and “began following him like a household slave.” Ramakrishna says that some believe that Hussain`s first meeting with Madho took place during a liquor-drinking bout at a wine shop but he prefers to believe that it was Madho`s regular attendance at his Sufi preaching sessions that attracted Hussayn to “the handsome youth.” “The love of Hussain for Madho”, writes one biographer, “was unique and he did all that lay in his power to please the boy.” It is said that not for a single day did the two fail to meet each other. So overpowering was Hussain`s fascination for Madho that he would often rise in the middle of the night, cross the river Ravi and walk for several miles to Madho`s house. Madho`s parents, however, did not approve of their son`s relationship with Hussain. Once they plotted to take Madho away with them to the Hindu holy town of Haridwar for a pilgrimage, hoping that separation from Hussain might cause Madho to forget him. Hussain, however, could not bear the thought of being kept apart from his dear one. Accordingly, he refused to let Madho`s parents take him along with them but promised them that he would send him to Haridwar later. When Madho`s parents reached Haridwar, so the story goes, Hussain made Madho shut his eyes and then, after striking his foot upon the ground, made him open them again. Madho did as he was told and found himself miraculously transported all at once to Haridwar. His parents were amazed at his sudden arrival all the way from Lahore. Thereafter, it is said, Madho left his parents` house and began living with Hussayn. It is possible and, indeed, very likely that Hussain`s relationship with Madho had a deep impact on his thinking, his mystical poetry and, most of all, on his religious life. In his passionate love for Madho he bravely defied the norms of his own society, expressing a stern indictment of the orthodox theologians, for whom religion had been reduced to a set of soulless rituals, rigid rules and strict restrictions, drained of love, joy, compassion and emotion. Hussain’ and Madho relationship effects: Hussain`s relationship with the Hindu Madho also appears to have made him profoundly tolerant in his attitude towards other religions. To please Madho he celebrated with great enthusiasm, Basant, the Punjabi spring festival, as well as the Hindu festival of Holi. During Holi, for example, Madho and Hussain would follow the Hindu custom of throwing coloured powder on each other. According to the medieval Persian text Hasanat-ul-Arifin, Hussain is said to have asserted that he was “neither a Muslim nor a pagan”, thus suggesting an eclecticism and breath of vision which few in his generation possessed or appreciated. Ramakrishna also notes that Hussain had close spiritual links with the Hindu mystic Chhaju Bhagat and Guru Arjan of the Sikhs. Hussain`s undying love for Madho is also clearly reflected in his poems or Kafis which are still considered as some of the most precious gems of Punjabi literature today. True spiritual realization, he believed, could only be attained through infinite love, for, as he wrote: This youth will not come back again So laugh and play while you can with your lover. Love, believed Hussain, can so intimately unite two souls (or a human being with God) that they lose their individualities and separateness and merge completely into each other. In much the same way, Madho and Hussain became so inseparable that they became known by one single name-Madho Lal Hussain. Perhaps it was referring to this that Shah Hussayn wrote: Ranjhe Ranjha Menu Sab Koi Akho Heer Na Akho Koi Let everyone now call me Ranjha, not Heer [for no longer am I Heer since I have become one with Ranjha.) Shah Hussain’s Death Hussain breathed his last in 1599 and was buried in Lahore on the banks of the Ravi. Madho survived him by forty-eight years, and he was put to rest in a tomb next to Hussain`s. The shrine, containing the graves of the two inseparable lovers-united in death as they had been in life-continues to attract large numbers of faithful pilgrims to this very day. Urs of Madho Lal Hussain / Mela Cheraghan The festival marked the annual anniversary (Urs) of great Sufi saint Shah Hussain, popularly known as Madhu Lal Hussain, who lived in Lahore in the 16th century. Thousands of devotees from all over the country flock to the shrine in the last few days of March, to pay their respects and honour the memory of the beloved saint. The festival is a pre-Partition legacy and continued in the Shalimar Gardens even after Independence, until president Ayub Khan banned the location from being used in 1958. The celebrations then relocated to the winding streets and sloping terraces of the shrine in Baghban Pura. It is perhaps the biggest festival of Punjab after the Urs of Data Ganj Bakhsh (RA) and Baba Farid (RA) of Pakpattan. Mela Chiraghan has many distinctions particularly the singing of ‘kafi’ of Shah Hussain in Punjab, who was perhaps the pioneer of Kafi that carried rich intellectual and spiritual values. Main Features of Mela  Charaghan The shrine is decorated beautifully with paper and plastic flowers and fairy lights. Devotees line up to pay their respects and present chadar and offerings to the saints. The shrine is beautifully lit up over the course of three days. The path leading up to the shrine is choked with devotees holding up chadars that they have carried for several kilometres on foot. People throw their offerings in the chadars and dance to renditions of Shah Hussain’s timeless kaafis (short poems) and the beat of the dhol. Malangs robed in saffron and red, bellow out deep sorrowful notes with their horns. The whirling dervishes on the tunes of drums sing kafis at the Mela. It is a rare event of whirling and dancing on the beats of drum. Its rhythm is a heart catching as Shah Hussain’s Kafis carry rich musical values and element of entertainment, liked by folk of Punjab The alao at the center is the main attraction of the festival. Hundreds gather around it, throwing packets of oil and candles into the flames as chants of Naraa-i-Haideri followed by Ya Ali, Ya Ali (RA) resound through the packed arena. The alao is ringed with tiny oil lamps and candles. Every now and then a person approaches the fire, dips a finger in an oil lamp and anoints himself with it. “It’s a sign of respect,” explains a bystander. “This oil is holy. The lamps represent the light that kills the darkness within.” The devotees make their mannats (wishes) by offering candles and oil to feed the fire that gives Mela Chiraghan its name. The fire is lit up  for the entire duration of the Urs. Another attraction is the bazaar set up at the road inside Baghbanpura where handicrafts, utensils, earthen pots, indigenous merchandise and products of different regions of Punjab, traditional food items, theatres, merry go rounds swings, circus etc beautify the event. For children, a number of swings and merry-go-rounds offered recreation The opening day witnessed thousands of devotees from across the province and parts of Lahore. The City District Government declared Saturday as local holiday. The final day on Monday will be reserved for ladies. The ladies from the City slums and rural Punjab visit the shrine to pay home to the saint and for the realization of their wishes.