Open palms slapped bare chests in rhythmic intervals. This, even as other groups of men clad only in black trousers or shalwars, the colour of mourning, whipped their backs with chains tipped with sharp objects, or knocked their heads with blades, heads, and torsos - trickling with streams of blood.
The scenes on Ashura, the tenth day of the month of Moharram, on Saturday, were sombre and reminded Hyderabad of the martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson - Hazrat Imam Hussain.
The centuries-old Moharram procession began at the famous Bibi Ka Alwa in Dabeerpura, a little after 1 p.m. As is the wont of Hyderabadi tradition, an elephant, Madhavi, carried the alam (standard), thousands of mourners, performing maatam, in tow, and accompanied an increase in constabulary to keep untoward incidents at bay.
The procession trudged its way to Shaikh Faiz Kamaan around 1.30 p.m. and reached Charminar around 3 p.m. Keeping in with decades old tradition, C V Anand, Commissioner of Police, previously known as kotwal, offered dhatti. Other senior police officers joined him.
Along the way, women who too were dressed in black either peered over windowsills, or stood in balconies and paid their respects.
The procession moved towards Khadme Rasul, and then reached Mandi Miralam. It then trawled towards Darul Shifa and peacefully culminated near Masjid-e-Ilaahi in Chaderghat.
In their effort to facilitate the smooth passage of the procession, the as many as 750 police personnel from outside the South Zone were pressed into service. Two companies of the Rapid Action Force and eight platoons of the State police were requisition as well.
