Raunaq Yar Khan, a descendant of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, was honoured on the occasion of the 10th day of Muharram by Syed Abid Hussain, owner of Ali Lodge, the only private residential estate that the procession enters.
For the second time, Raunaq Yar Khan offered the “Dhatti” (sacred offering) to the Bibi Ka Alam, which is mounted on an elephant and taken out in a traditional procession.
The procession, associated with the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain, passes through 27 designated points and enters select religious shrines. Its entry into the private Ali Lodge has continued as an annual practice for 76 years.
The tradition dates back to the period when the Alam, originally installed at Golconda Fort by the Qutb Shahi rulers, was reinstalled at Bibi ka Alawa near the Charminar by the Asaf Jahi rulers.
Bibi Fatima-tuz-Zehra, daughter of the Prophet of Islam and wife of Hazrat Ali, is regarded as the sole link through whom the Prophet’s lineage continued, through her sons Imams Hassan and Hussain.
Siraj’unissa Begum, a descendant of the family of the seventh Nizam’s wife and a first cousin of Syed Abid Hussain, said the practice reflected the high regard the Nizam held for the family of Abid and their ancestors.
Raunaq Yar Khan said, “During this sacred month of Muharram, I feel privileged to pay my humble tributes to Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S.) and the martyrs of Karbala, and to honour their timeless sacrifice at this historic residence.”
