Hyderabad: A mood of mourning pervaded in the old city of Hyderabad as "Yaum-e-Ashura" was observed on Tuesday with solemnity and somberness.
It was all black and blood during the historic "Bibi-ka-Alam", the traditional mourning procession by Shias.
'Yaum-e-Ashura' or the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is observed in memory of the martyrdom of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussain and his followers at the battle of Karbala.
With the processions, mourning and other rituals, people remember the great sacrifices of Imam Hussain and his followers who refused to bow to despotic and tyrannical authority.
'Tazia' processions were also taken out in other towns of Telangana and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Meetings recalling the supreme sacrifices of the martyrs of Karbala and fasting marked the day in both the state.
People also organized the feeding of poor and distributed water and 'sharbat' (juice) to observe the day.
There were scenes of communal harmony as Hindus and Muslims came together in several parts of Telangana to take out "alams" in a traditional manner.
The traditional "Bibi-ka-Alam" procession in the old city of Hyderabad passed off peacefully amid tight security arrangements. Blood oozed out from the heads and chests of hundreds of bare-chested Shia mourners who flagellated themselves with sharp-edged objects.
Amid cries of "Ya Hussain" and recitation of marsiyas (elegies) and noha-khwani (poems expressing sorrow), various groups of barefoot youths using knives, blade-encrusted chains and other sharp-edged weapons, inflicted injuries on themselves to show solidarity with the sufferings of the martyrs. Others were seen weeping and beating their chests.
The massive procession began in the afternoon from "Bibi Ka alawa" in Dabeerpura with the "alam" or insignia of the martyrs kept on a decorated elephant.
The "Bibi ka alam" is believed to contain a piece of wooden plank on which Bibi Fatima Zehra, daughter of Prophet Mohammed, was given the final ablution.