About Phool Walon Ki Sair |
| Event | Phool Walon Ki Sair | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | Mehrauli | ||||||||||||||||
| State | Delhi | ||||||||||||||||
| Category | Festival | ||||||||||||||||
| Date | Dates not confirmed | ||||||||||||||||
| Main Attraction | The highlights are the floral 'Pankhas' and 'Chaadars' in the procession. | ||||||||||||||||
| Overview/History | Phool Walon Ki Sair is an annual celebration held in Delhi by the flower sellers of the city and is organized by 'Anjuman Sair-e-Gul Faroshan' society. The festival is held just after the monsoon season in the Delhi and is observed as a symbol of communal harmony and mixed culture in Delhi. The festival is celebrated by both Hindus and Muslims. The origin of this festival goes back in history during the Mughal era. At that time the British appointed Bahadurshah Zafar as the Mughal emperor. This made Mirza Jahangir, his half-brother annoyed as he was being ignored. To release his frustration, he shot the British Resident, Sir Archibald Seton. Although uninjured Sir Archibald Seton at once exiled him to Allahabad. Mirza Jahangir's mother made a vow that if her son returns to Delhi, she would walk from the tomb of Nizamuddin Auliya to Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. Mirza Jahangir was pardoned and his mother duly fulfilled her vow. This practice is still continued today as the Phool Walon Ki Sair. The Festival was stopped by the British during Quit India Movement in 1942, following their Divide and rule policy. Around 1961, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India revived and restarted the Festival. The Festival has grown since then and is known for its communal harmony and national integration. | ||||||||||||||||
| Celebration | The festivities carry on for a week. It begins with the procession from Nizamuddin's Dargah to Kaki's Dargah. The procession is led by musicians, dancers and flower-sellers to Kaki's tomb. Here floral 'Chaadars' and 'Pankhas' are laid on the Dargah and the same ceremony is repeated at the Devi Jog Maya temple. The festivities are continued with cultural programmes, Kathak performances, Qawwalis, etc. Shehnai is played during the festival and a 'Pankha' is presented to the Lt. Governor of Delhi, the Chief Minister of Delhi, the Vice President and the President of India on a day according to their availability. They give their thanks and blessings for the Festival. An amusement fair is also organized with stalls, kite-flying competitions, wrestling bouts, traditional sports, etc.
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