KARACHI: A documentary on the beliefs of the Qalandaria Sufi order of Sehwan titled Shahbaz Qalandar was screened in the Aga Khan University auditorium on Monday evening.

Before the film Dr Hasan Ali Khan, who has researched the subject especially with reference to the Alevi community and its commonalities with the Sufi order, briefly addressed the audience. He said when the documentary was first launched at Habib University some members of the audience left the screening midway. He cleared that the film was not a sectarian statement, and a sequel to it would focus on the popular aspects of the order.

Dr Robert Langer, a researcher at the Orient Institut Istanbul, who has worked together with Dr Khan on some projects, spoke via video link from Turkey. He said they were [during research] exploring commonalities between groups present in Pakistan and Turkey. The Qalandari dervishes arrived in Syria and Anatolia probably from Khorasan. Their love for the Ahl-i-Bayt, their marked feature, became very present in Anatolian Islam. The Qalandari dervishes subsequently emerged as the Bektashi order. During the rule of the Ottoman Empire the order successfully integrated all sects of Islam.

Documentary on the saint screened

After Dr Langer’s speech, the documentary, directed by Hasan Ali Khan and Shabbir Siraj, was shown. It began with the shots of some devotees marching to the beat of the dhol towards the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, carrying a big red cloth. The narrator’s voice says that the exact beginnings of the order in Sehwan were unclear, but what’s known is that small parties 800 years back came from Syria to India.

The film then intercuts with many a shot of the devotees moving towards the shrine and in between indulging in different rituals. One of the men exclaims, “Qalandar ko samandar bhi salaam kerte hain” [even the seas salute the Qalandar]. The narrator then informs the audience that every morning the shrine opens its door to various faiths. The focus of the film is the 10 days in Muharram at the mazar and the tragedy of Karbala’s connection with the Sufi saint.

The main person that’s interviewed during the course of the film is the custodian of the shrine, Syed Mehdi Shah Sabzwari. Among the many pieces of information that he gives, one is about the golden door to the mazar. According to him, it was given in 1975 by the king of Iran Mohammad Raza Shah Pahlavi to honour Shahbaz Qalandar’s Iranian roots.

Mr Sabzwari then sheds light on the meaning and genesis of the dhammal. He also says that the shrine is visited by people from all walks of life because the message of the saint is universal –– it is the message of humanity that wishes everybody to be happy.

A shehnai player Wali Mohammad and a naqqara beater Ahsan Ali are interviewed as well. Ahsan mentions that he plays the percussion considering it a form of ibaadat (worship). Wali points out that his ancestors had been playing the shehnai at the shrine for centuries, and now he’s doing it.

After the screening, Shabbir Siraj, Hasan Ali Khan and Nofil Naqvi (cinematographer) took the stage for a panel discussion. Shabbir said the whole journey started with Khan’s research. He hadn’t set foot in Sindh prior to making the documentary. The heat in the region was intense. It made even the camera suffer.

Nofil said the challenge was that there were a lot of rituals involved in the whole process. He had to capture thousands of people who carried the alam, running with them, sometimes going ahead of them, and on other occasions following them.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2018