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Prayers, Food, & Games: Lakhs Expected To Visit Mahim Fair That Starts Tomorrow

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1 year ago

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The 10-day annual fair at the dargah of  Makhdum Ali Mahimi at Mahim will start on December 27 as it has always, with a procession of personnel from the Mahim police station walking to the shrine bearing gifts of a chadar, a shawl to cover the tomb, and scented offerings. The fair starts six days after the Urs, or the death anniversary of the saint which was observed last week. 

The shrine of Makhdum Ali Mahimi

The shrine is revered as the tomb of a religious scholar believed to have lived between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Stories of miraculous cures bring thousands of pilgrims to the dargah which is the city’s second-most-visited Sufi shrine after the Haji Ali dargah.The shrine observed the saint’s 610th death anniversary or Urs on December 21 which corresponded to the eighth day of the Islamic month Jamadul Akhir which began on December 14. The Urs began last week with the unfurling of the national flag and singing of the song ‘Sare jahan se acha’. This is followed by the raising of the flags of the police and the dargah.  

Event is a ‘gazetted mela’

Sohail Khandwani, trustee of the Pir Makhdum Saheb Charitable Trust, said that the fair that takes place around the shrine during the Urs is a ‘gazetted mela’ as the event is listed in government gazettes from the pre-independence days. “The fair started in 1910, so this is the 113th year,” said Khandwani.  

For a religious place, the shrine has an unusual feature – a copy of the preamble to the Constitution of India mounted on the wall near the Ashtana or the shrine’s inner sanctum which houses the saint’s tomb.

Mansoor Khan of the Sufi Islamic Board said that the idea behind placing the preamble’s copy is to show that no place in the country is untouched by the theme of nationalism. “As things are today, shrines are shown in a negative light. We have to show that there is no religious discrimination at this place. Dargahs are inclusive and embracers of national culture,” explained Khan.  

More about ‘Mahim ka Mela’

Apart from the spiritual aspects of the festival, the ‘Mahim ka Mela’, organised like a carnival, is an attraction for visitors. As the number of visitors to the fair has grown, the event, which was once confined to the narrow Dargah Street, has shifted to Balamia Street and extends to Mahim Beach. More than five lakh people are expected to visit the fair.

Ashraf Ahmed Shaikh, a lawyer and resident of Mahim said, “It is like a traditional fair, with amusement rides. Shopkeepers come from all over India to sell different kinds of food. The main dish at the fair is ‘Halwa Paratha’. As kids we were excited about the fair,” said Shaikh.

There is no authentic record of how the Mumbai police became involved with the shrine’s annual festival, but it is said that personnel prayed to the saint when there was a particularly difficult crime case to be investigated. Other than the police, officials from the traffic police, the Brihahmumbai Municipal Corporation, and the Mumbai Port Trust are involved in managing traffic and stalls at the fair.  

 1st dargah trust to get an ISO certification in 2007

The shrine is the first dargah trust to get an ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certification in 2007 for management practices. The certificate has been renewed till July 2025. The certificate acknowledges the trust’s calibre in organising the Urs, the religious research it facilitates, and the library services charity activities of the trust.

The shrine houses a 600-year-old Quran believed to have been written by the saint. An annual exposition called the ‘Quran Sharief Ziyarat’ is held on a day in the month of Ramzan when the book is displayed to the faithful for a few hours. During the rest of the year, the book is kept in a silver box in the Ashtana. The shrine’s managers said that the book was stitched together a century ago with pages written by the saint. 

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: 27-Year-Old Man Gets Stuck In Iron Fence At Mumbai Central Station While De-boarding Local Train From Wrong Side; Dies

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9 mins ago

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June 5, 2025

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Mumbai: A 27-year-old man died after his neck got stuck in the iron fencing while alighting a local train from the wrong side at a platform of the Mumbai Central railway station on Thursday morning, officials said.

About The Incident

The incident took place at around 9.45 am at the station located on the Western Railway network.

During the attempt to get down from the local train, the man’s neck got damaged after being stuck in the fencing, a railway police official said.

The man was found hanging at the iron fence with bleeding injuries, he said.

He was rushed to the Nair hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, the official said, adding the postmortem was being conducted.

As per some passengers who were travelling on the same train and witnessed the incident, the man tried to get down from the opposite direction, which is the fencing area, he said.

During the attempt, his neck got stuck in the fence and was damaged, the official said.

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Maharashtra

Abu Asim’s letter to the state chief minister and DGP, threatening Nanded Muslims not to sacrifice, demanding action against miscreants to ensure peace

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19 hours ago

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June 4, 2025

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In Nanded, Maharashtra, Bajrang Dal goons have threatened Muslims with weapons in the area so that Muslims do not sacrifice on Eid-ul-Adha, which is a threat to the state’s atmosphere and there is also a fear of communal violence. In such a situation, the police and administration should take strict action to maintain law and order and curb the miscreants because terrorism by Bajrang Dal goons is on the rise here.

To ensure law and order in the Degulur taluka of Dharmabad district of Nanded district of the state, state Chief Minister and Police Chief DGP have been demanded by MLA and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi to take action against sectarians and miscreants. Azmi has made a serious allegation that Bajrang Dal workers are patrolling the Dharmabad area with weapons and are threatening Muslims and trying to intimidate and spoil the atmosphere so that they do not sacrifice on Eid-ul-Adha, and Hindu extremists have warned Muslims not to sacrifice. Abu Asim Azmi has also sent a letter to the Chief Minister and DGP, demanding immediate intervention from the administration in this matter.

He has said in the letter that a local from Dharmaabad, Sheikh Lal Ahmed, has informed him about the mischief of the miscreants. He has alleged that the miscreants of Bajrang Dal are instructing not to offer sacrifices on Eid-ul-Adha and are also threatening Muslims. He said that the terrorism of Bajrang Dal and RSS should be banned and action should be taken against those who spoil the environment so that peace and security is maintained in Dharmaabad on Eid-ul-Adha. Azmi has appealed that strict police security arrangements be made in Dharmaabad on Eid-ul-Adha so that social harmony is maintained and Muslims can celebrate their festival peacefully.

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Maharashtra

Animal markets will remain open for sacrifice, Gauseva Aayog withdraws controversial order

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22 hours ago

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June 4, 2025

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Mumbai: The Mumbai GauSeva Ayog has withdrawn its controversial order to keep cattle markets closed from June 3 to June 8 until Eid-ul-Adha. It has only said that it should be ensured that there is no slaughter of prohibited animals during the sacrifice. After a meeting of Muslim representatives along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister had issued an order to withdraw the circular, after which the Gau Seva Ayog has withdrawn its controversial circular and order. This circular had said that animal markets in all districts of the state should be closed till June 8 to prohibit cow slaughter on Eid-ul-Adha. Muslims opposed this and during the meeting of Muslim representatives, the Chief Minister had announced the withdrawal of this order. Therefore, the GauSeva Ayog has officially withdrawn the circular and instead issued a new circular, which has lifted the ban on animal markets. Along with this, strict implementation of the cow slaughter law has also been demanded.

The state government is responsible for implementing the cow slaughter law and the police and administration are ready for it, but after the GauSeva Aayog issued such a controversial circular, Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Rais Sheikh had declared it illegal and said that the circular issued is completely illegal and controversial, while the Aayog has no authority to issue orders, it can only make recommendations. In such a situation, after the order of the Chief Minister, now animal markets will continue during the sacrifice period and there is no ban on the market of buffaloes including goats, therefore Muslims have been appealed not to pay attention to rumors.

Deonar Slaughterhouse General Manager Kaleem Pathan also said that the Deonar Goat Market will continue and the order issued by the Gau Seva Aayog has been withdrawn, so the public should not pay attention to rumors about the Deonar Goat Market. He said that along with the facilities in the Goat Market in Deonar, arrangements have been made for the convenience of buyers. Along with stalls, other facilities are also available here. He said that more than 150,000 goats have arrived in the Deonar Goat Market and along with this, more than 80,000 goats are left.

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