On Tuesday, when the festival begins, the first sandal will be offered by the police
The Mahim Fair, celebrated in the memory of Hazrat Makhdum Ali Mahimi, a Sufi saint of the 14th century, will be held for 10 days beginning Tuesday. The Saint is buried in the Mahim dargah, and every year, a 10-day fair is held wherein people from across the country come to offer ‘sandal and chadar’ (sandal wood or its paste along with sheet of flowers). On Tuesday, when the festival begins, the first sandal will be offered by the police.
“First the dargah is cleaned, and after the sunset namaaz, attar (scent) is offered and nagada (drum) is beaten. The beating of the drum marks the starting of the 10-day festival. Once it starts, the first sandal is offered by the police around 9 pm. After this, the trust that looks after the dargah offers the sandal,” said Sohail Khandwani, trustee of the Pir Makhdum Saheb Charitable Trust that looks after the dargah.
During those 10 days, thousands make it a point to visit the dargah that draws people from all faiths. The dargah is kept open longer to ensure most number of people can take the blessings.
“We open after the morning namaaz at around 5 am, but during the festival, the dargah closes at 1.30 am instead of 10 pm on usual days and 11 pm on Thursdays,” said Khandwani. “People who come to offer sandal from long distances across the country. We have seen people come from Ooty too. Over the 10 days of the festival, around 400 sandals are presented from people representing different bodies who travel long distances,” said Naik Ghulamali, manager of the dargah.
The trust said that it makes special provisions for security. This year 40 CCTV cameras have been installed, and a larger number of volunteers will assist the police. The 10-day festival sees qawwalis organised by police, as well as games and food stalls around the dargah. A separate mela that has been gazetted as being around for over 100 years takes place at Mahim beach at the same time. A number of games and adventure sports are held there.
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