trailoftwocities: Phoolwalon ki Sair: An Afternoon of Stories

It started in 1812, as a thanksgiving gesture by a Mughal queen whose son returned from exile by the British; turned into a celebration of harmony and togetherness over the years; and Phoolwalon Ki Sair or Sair e Gul Faroshan (the festival of flower-sellers) is still being held every year in Mehrauli, amongst the monuments and heritage structures in the oldest city of Delhi.

I traced the route of the festival quite a few times (https://trailoftwocities.blogspot.com/2019/02/exploring-mehrauli-part-1-google-map.html?m=1) (https://trailoftwocities.blogspot.com/2019/02/exploring-mehrauli-ii-tracing-route-of.html?m=1) but never got the opportunity to go there during the course of the event. The wish came true yesterday, during a heritage walk led by Asif Khan Delhvi of Delhi Karavan, which covered the traditional spots associated with the annual extravaganza, and offered the participants a chance to re-live the history of Phoolwalon Ki Sair, sharing tales of its former glory, its significance and its sights and sounds in minute details.

Phoolwalon Ki Sair traces its origin to the reign of Badshah Akbar Shah II, one of those unknown later Mughal rulers and father of Bahadur Shah Zafar. His Queen Mumtaz Mahal, fulfilling a vow, offered a chadar of flowers at the dargah of Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki in Mehrauli and floral “pankhas" at the nearby Yogmaya temple in gratitude after her young son Mirza Jahangir, imprisoned by the British, was freed. The festival then turned into an annual celebration of amity which reached its pinnacle of glory during the time of Zafar, the last Mughal, who is known better in history for his poetic abilities and his role as a patron of the arts rather than his military prowess. We were told that the festival did not happen in the tumultuous year of 1857, but was revived again. In 1942, during the Quit India movement, the British, like any government following the principle of divide and rule, targeted symbols of harmony and banned it. The event was restarted again in 1962 and is being held every year since then. Floral chadars and pankhas are still offered at the dargah and the temple, while Qawwali, musical storytelling and other cultural programmes are organized in the backdrop of the Lodhi-era Jahaz Mahal.

I have visited these historical sites several times in recent months, but it was still a memorable experience to listen to the stories of pomp and show, fun, frolic, food and festivities, kite-flying and horse-riding during the fading years of Mughal rule, sitting at the Zafar Mahal around the time of sunset, in front of the grave of Akbar Shah II and the sad empty space kept by Bahadur Shah Zafar for his own burial, which is still awaiting the remains of the emperor who died in exile in Rangoon.

I did not attend the cultural evening at Jahaz Mahal, but took some pictures quickly, amidst irritated gestures by a posse of hassled policemen trying to keep a large number of curious onlookers away from the gate of the monument which at other times remain largely empty except by a few localites resting here and there.