The 814th Urs of the holy shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, Rajasthan began with the flag hoisting ceremony on Wednesday. The ceremony of hoisting the flag on the historic Buland Darwaza created an atmosphere of devotion and spirituality in the entire Dargah complex. Thousands of devotees were present from all over the country and overseas. As soon as the flag was hoisted, the atmosphere reverberated with slogans of “Khwaja ki Nagari”, marking the formal start of the Urs. Gauri family performed the flag hoisting ceremony. The flag hoisting ceremony at the Dargah of Khwaja Garib Nawaz is performed by the Gauri family of Bhilwara. This year, the Gauri family followed the historical tradition by hoisting the flag at Buland Darwaza. Dargah caretaker Hasan Hashmi said that this ritual has been performed at the Dargah for centuries and every year a flag is hoisted with Aqeedat. He said that with the beginning of Urs, a message is sent from the Dargah that anyone irrespective of their religion can come here and seek their wishes. When did the ceremony of raising the flag at the gate begin? According to the Gauri family, the flag hoisting ritual was started in 1928 by Fakhruddin Gauri’s pir-murshid, Abdul Sattar Badshah. Later, in 1944, this responsibility was handed over to his grandfather Lal Mohammad Gauri. His son Moinuddin Gauri has been performing this ritual since 1991, while Fakhruddin Gauri has been performing the flag hoisting ceremony since 2007. It is said that when the flag was hoisted on the Buland Darwaza, it was visible from distant villages. However, due to increasing population and construction, this view has now declined. Crowds of devotees used to come together to kiss the flag. During the flag hoisting ceremony, people of the Khadim community went to the main gate of the Dargah, accompanied by drums, police band and Sufi songs like “Bhar Do Meri Zoli Khwaja”. A large number of devotees gathered to kiss the flag and accept the rose petals showering from it as blessings. Heavy police force was deployed around Nizam Darwaza and Buland Darwaza to control the crowd. Dedication, discipline and Sufi traditions were clearly visible throughout the program. Share this story Tags