1640-Metre Rainbow-Coloured Chadar Offered On Concluding Day Of Shah Jahan's 370th Urs At Taj Mahal

Qawwalis, recitation of holy Quran, langar and offering of rainbow-coloured chadar marked the concluding day of Shah Jahan's 370th Urs at Taj Mahal.

Agra:A 1640-metre-long rainbow-coloured 'chadar' (ceremonial cloth) was taken across iconic Taj Mahal on the concluding day of the celebrations of the 370th birth anniversary cum Urs of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan on Tuesday. The chadar, prepared by people from all communities, was offered at Shah Jahan's tomb.

The 'Urs', which began on Sunday, was marked by the recitation of the holy Quran, qawwalis and langar, apart from the 'chadarposhi' on the concluding day today. The rainbow-coloured chadar, symbolising religious harmony, was brought inside the Taj Mahal from the south gate as people gathered on the occasion, praying for peace and progress of the country.

People arrived in Taj Mahal with drums (ETV Bharat)

Since afternoon, devotees started arriving at the Taj Mahal with drums and cymbals while tourists captured the unique scene on their cameras. The chadar entered Taj Mahal at around 2 pm and then from the south gate, it reached the main dome via Fort Court, Royal Gate and Central Tank. While one end of the chadar was at the south gate, the other end reached the basement of the main mausoleum. It appeared as if the Taj Mahal was covered by a rainbow-coloured sheet with the entire complex wrapped by seven shades. Crowds of domestic and foreign tourists were amazed to watch this scene.

Rainbow-coloured sheet wraps Taj Mahal complex (ETV Bharat)

The 'Urs' is celebrated every year on the 25th, 26th and 27th of the month of Rajab as per the Islamic lunar calendar. This year, these dates are on January 26, 27 and 28. The celebrations began with the ritual of symbolic bath on Sunday afternoon. In view of the 'Urs', the Taj Mahal's basement, where the graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are located, was opened and rituals were performed.

On the second day of Urs, sandalwood paste was applied on the graves. Now, on the morning of the third day of Urs, Kul Sharif, Qurankhwani and Fatiha were recited at Taj Mahal. After gul-poshi, the process of chadarposhi was started in the afternoon. The preparations for offering the rainbow-coloured chadar was taken by the Khuddam-e-Roza Committee.

Qawwalis marked the celebrations (ETV Bharat)

In view of the huge turnout of devotees and tourists, additional personnel of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and local police were deployed at Taj Mahal. Along with Taj Mahal, security was tightened at Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri and other monuments.

Tourists gather at all monuments in Agra (ETV Bharat)

Tourists were allowed free entry at Taj Mahal since morning. They were allowed to go to the main mausoleum in groups and followed a zigzag route. The volunteers of the Urs Committee also helped in managing the crowd.

Qawwals sitting near the main mausoleum's gate resonated the air while langar was distributed along with 'sherbet' at the Fatehpuri Mosque located at the western gate outside the Taj Mahal.

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