Scenes of mourning the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Husaain, Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, and rhythmic self-flagellation punctuated the city on Tuesday, which corresponded to the 10th of the Islamic month of Muharram.
Mourners. predominantly from the Shia sect, formed streams of black in several parts of the city, especially the south of the Musi, as the Bibi ka Alawa central procession carrying the alam (standard) began in Dabeerpura around 1.30 pm. The alam sat atop the elephant. Several bare-chested mourners offered the annual khooni maatam, the practice of self-flagellation with sharp objects, leading to bloodletting, as mark of remembrance of the martyrdom in Karbala.
Thousands of mourners travelled with the procession from Dabeerpura. From here the procession moved towards Shaikh Faiz Kamaan, Etebaar Chowk, and reached Charminar. It was here that keeping in with tradition, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner C.V. Anand made a dhatti offering. Other officers were present. From here, the procession proceeded towards Chaderghat. Water stalls dotted the route and other places where mourning was seen.
Given the presence of a large number of people, various wings of the police made elaborate security arrangements so as to avoid any untoward incident.
