Cats and the mazaar
Near Bhatti gate is a strange, beautiful tomb that is a unique blend of South Asian and Arabian influences
By Haroon Khalid
“It’s near the Biliyon wala Mazaar (the tomb of cats), at Bhatti gate,” an old vendor at the Taxali Gate said when I asked him about Pitras Bengali Baba when I spotted a board in the area. I had never heard of the tomb, but that particular day I couldn’t visit it because of my prior commitments.
I called up my friend Iqbal Kaiser and asked him about the tomb. I was rather surprised when he also expressed his ignorance about it. Last year, we had visited a Kutoon wala Mazaar (tomb of dogs) at Pattoki, which I covered for this newspaper.
To find links with the non-Muslim past, with tombs and shrines, known as folk religion in anthropological terms – we headed to the tomb. As the name suggests, folk religion includes religious practices adhered to by the people of a particular region, which are not part of the orthodox. So for example the idea of chila, which Sufi Saints go through to garner mystic prowess, doesn’t come from orthodox Islam, but is adopted from the concept of asceticism in the Hindu Tantric tradition.
Similarly, one doesn’t find any tradition of going to shrines and tombs with a chadar (a cloth), for the grave and praying in the orthodox tradition, however, on the other hand, one can make parallel comparison with the concept of offering Durga Mata (a powerful female Hindu deity) a chunri (a cloth) on her religious festival and the supplication after that. Iqbal Kaiser explains this phenomenon, saying, “Whenever any new religion is adopted, people retain some of the old traditions to increase the appeal of that religion.”
Think of this in the following way: If I were to explain to a fellow Muslim the basic beliefs of Hinduism, who knows nothing about it, I would use Islamic symbols and terminology to convey my point.
While I was reading a book called, ‘Daily life in ancient India’, by Jeannine Auboyer, I came across an interesting Hindu-Vedic concept that resonated with the aforementioned idea. There are four Vedic books, containing philosophies about Hinduism. It is important for a Brahman to learn all of them before becoming a priest. The language is classical Sanskrit, not vernacular, so not many people can understand it.
However, the Hindus believe that to read the Vedas in the original language, even without understanding it brings blessings. One can also draw another parallel in the learning of the Quran by heart and the Vedas in case of a Brahmin.
It was the idea of a common link with the non-Muslim past that I decided to visit the mazaar. As one takes a turn towards the Bhatti Gate coming from the Data Darbar, this tomb appears on the edge of the road, where the curve ends. It has a petit entrance, adorned with colourful calligraphy. The entrance read, ‘Hazrat Baba Ghulam Rasool, Bilyaan wali Sarkar’. There is a small courtyard inside, with the grave of the Saint and a mosque, which takes about 2/3rd of the space of the shrine.
There are two small enclosures towards the main gate, for shoes and slippers. Next to it was an earthen-pot, containing milk. A few kittens, appearing to be ruffled, gathered around it. Some lay on the floor, unconcerned of our movements, whereas there were numerous others inside the enclosure. There were no adults. I went inside the mosque to talk to someone.
It was a hot summer afternoon and most of the young bearded men inside were sleeping. A kitten tried entering the mosque with me, but then decided against it. There was a young, clean-shaven man, sitting on a bench, outside, near the ablution area. I went up to him, and asked him to tell me about the occupant of the grave.
However, he gestured for me to wait, while he slipped out. Minutes later he returned with a short, round man, wearing shalwar kameez and a prayer cap. Forty-year-old Muhammad Tanveer has lived here all his life and regularly comes to the tomb. He says that there was a time when there were numerous kittens here, “but we don’t encourage people to bring them anymore. People drop their unwanted kittens here. They fall prey to the traffic outside. Some of them die, while others get severely injured.”
The number of kittens has reduced in the last four to five years. When we were visiting we saw around 20-25 kittens. There is no one who looks after them, and they run out on the main road, where they are killed by the fast moving traffic. So a few years ago, some people decided to rid the ‘tomb of cats’ of cats. They picked them all up and threw them in an open ground far from the place. But somehow new kittens have arrived.
The tomb of cats is a unique blend of South Asian and Arabian influences. It combines the tradition of loving cats and the shrine culture particular to South Asia. However, this culture is under a threat as the exclusivist-purists are gaining strength. The recent purging of the kittens, even though explained through a social purpose comes in the backdrop of a changing perception and interaction with the Sufi Shrines, where they are being redefined from a purist perspective.
Re: Cats and the Mazaar
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Re: Cats and the Mazaar
"So for example the idea of chila, which Sufi Saints go through to garner mystic prowess, doesn’t come from orthodox Islam, but is adopted from the concept of asceticism in the Hindu Tantric tradition."
Erm no it doesn't.....The Sufi spiritual masters in the Arabian lands also went through these "Chilas" and i doubt they thought it as a Hindu Tantric tradition.
Isn't a chila just basically going out in the wilderness and mediating and praying and not having other worldly distractions?
I shall now continue reading the article ................... :)