Connect with us
Tuesday,01-July-2025
Breaking News

Maharashtra

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

Published

on

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. 

Maharashtra

Mosques Turn To Low-Volume Tech And Mobile Apps For Azaan Amid Noise Rule Enforcement

Published

on

Mumbai: With mosques adopting new ways to summon the faithful for prayers after the enforcement of noise levels on loudspeakers, the sound of the azaan, or call to prayers, in Mumbai has become fainter.

Yusuf Ansari, who has an office in Govandi, said he cannot hear the azaan from the Madina Mosque, which is just 100 metres away. The mosque has replaced the loudspeakers with sound boxes that have lower volumes. The police commissioner of Mumbai has said that loudspeakers have been removed from 1500 mosques and other religious institutions to comply with the Bombay High Court’s directions.

After the enforcement of the noise rules, mosques that used loudspeakers to call devotees for the five daily prayers said they are adapting to the new requirements. While many have subscribed to mobile applications that allow mosques to send a live broadcast of the azaans on their phones, others are using sound equipment with sound levels below the legal limit. 

Bilal Mosque on Maulana Shaukat Ali Road (Grant Road), one of the largest mosques in the city, said the shrine is planning to buy new sound equipment that have noise levels lower than 55 dB (decibels) during the day, the legally permissible upper limit according to the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000. Aslam Lakha, mosque trustee, said that they are using microphones inside the mosque for prayers, but have stopped using loudspeakers for azaan. 

“The ban on loudspeakers has affected us, but we will have to follow the law. The trust is meeting to decide the next step. There is sound equipment that features noise levels up to 54 dB. We will install that,” said Lakha, who thanked the Mumbai police commissioner for handling the issue with sensitivity. “We have been told that we will have permission to use loudspeakers for festivals.”

Mahim’s Bismillah Mosque, one of the first to employ a mobile application that helps mosques play their azaans live to subscribers, recently shifted from a New York-based service to an app developed in India called ‘OnlineAzan’. Trustee of the mosque, Moinuddin Ali, said that around 225 people have subscribed to the mosque’s live azaans. “We also have our sound equipment, but adjust the noise to meet legal requirements,” said Ali.

The largest mosque in Mahim, the Juma Masjid, has registered with the same app. Till Monday, around 1200 devotees had subscribed to the service. Fahad Pathan, the mosque’s managing trustee, said that they preferred to subscribe to the Indian app after concerns about data stored in the service. “People were concerned about where their personal phone numbers and other data were going. This app is free and is financed by a Tirunelveli-based philanthropist,” said Pathan.

The meticulous registration process for the app means that data on the app is less likely to be misused. “Another feature is that the app only provides a live azaan service from the mosque of your choice. There are no advertisements or other services. You can leave one mosque and move to one closer when you are traveling,” added Pathan.

The enforcement of the noise rules created friction between the police and the Muslim community, with the former being accused of acting arbitrarily without warnings. A few residents of the city have filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court, seeking relaxation in the rules. Ansari’s Hazrat Khwaja Garib Nawaz Maharashtra Committee has collected 40,000 signatures from Muslims who want lenient rules. “We are also hoping that the Bombay High Court listens to the petition filed by community members,” said Lakha.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Mumbai: Powai Police Book 7 For Using Fake Candidates, Forged Certificates In Currency Note Press Recruitment

Published

on

Mumbai: The Powai police, on Monday, registered a case against seven persons for allegedly obtaining jobs at the Currency Note Press (CNP) in Nashik through fake candidates and forged documentation.

The accused arranged for proxy candidates to appear for the recruitment examinations and submitted fake Industrial Training Institute (ITI) and diploma certificates to secure employment. A zero FIR was registered at the Nashik police station and was transferred to the Powai police station, as the examination was conducted in Powai.

The accused – Ravi Ranjan Kumar, Sandip Kumar, Shishupal Kumar, Ayush Raj, Rajeev Singh, Sandip Kumar, and Ashutosh Kumar, all residents of Nalanda, Bihar, are currently absconding. According to the police, examinations were held for the posts of junior technicians (print), junior technicians (electrical), and supervisors.

These examinations were conducted at Aurum IT Park on March 4 and March 13, 2022. The case has been registered under Sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board, and Other Specified Examinations Act.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Demand for action against Mankhurd, Shivaji Nagar, Kurla Scrap and SMS Company. Assurance of action by the Environment Minister in the House on the demand of Abu Asim Azmi

Published

on

abu aasim aazmi

Mumbai: Abu Asim Azmi demanded strict action against environmental pollution and illegal soap making in Kurla scrap factory in Mumbai Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Due to air pollution, public life has become unbearable. He told the House that due to pollution from legal Kurla scrap factories and SMS company in Mankhurd Shivani Nagar, the average life expectancy of the residents here has come down to just 39 years. Residents are forced to live amidst dirty, smelly water, air pollution and diseases. Despite this issue being raised in every meeting, the government has not taken any meaningful steps to resolve this issue and no action has been taken. Azmi drew the attention of the minister to this and demanded action as soon as possible, on which during the meeting, Environment Minister Pankaja Munde assured positive action on this serious issue and announced to call a meeting in this regard on Friday. She said that if any illegal activity or factory is going on, action will be taken against it. The local assembly member has also been invited to this meeting.

Continue Reading

Trending