Udero Lal
Sindh has been a region of South Asia that has introduced religious tolerance to the fore. We find examples of this not only in the time of united India, but even now this process continues in the same way.
The shrines of the Sufis in Sindh seem to welcome the followers of every religion with open arms.
From Lal Shehbaz, to Bhit Shah, Summan Sarkar and Sadhu Bello, there are many such dargahs where people go on normal days, but during Urs and other events, people from other countries also come here and this participation is without any religious discrimination. Is.
But one such dargah in Sindh is still attracting people from all over the world, whose feature is quite isolated from other dargahs in Sindh.
It is known as ‘Udero Lal’ Dargah. An hour’s drive from Hyderabad, Tando Adam city is preceded by the small town of Udero Lal, where this dargah has been established for centuries.
Udero Lal is also known as the ‘water foot’ as local tradition has it that he ‘used to travel sitting on a fish in the water.’
Just as there are a few stories associated with each place and one tries to reach the truth by turning over the pages of history, similarly when we wanted to know about Udedo Lal, we got a lot.
It is a dargah where temple and mosque are side by side. Hindus worship in the temple and Muslims pray in the mosque, while Adiro Lal’s shrine is located between these two places of worship.
Hindus and Muslims have their own traditions regarding Udedo Lal, but till date there has never been any riot over this matter.
Two traditions are known regarding the birth of Udedo Lal. The 19th century historian Bhairu Mil Maharchand Advani in his book ‘Sindhi Boliji Tarikh’ writes that Adiro Lal was born in the month of ‘Chetti Chand’ in the month of ‘Chetti Chand’ in the house of Ratan Rai Chand Lohana in Nasrpur in 1007 according to the Sindhi calendar.
‘Chetty Chand’ is a month of Sindhi calendar, also known as Sindhi New Year. Chettichand originates between March and April and in this month the people of Sindh celebrate Adiro Lal’s Mela and also his birthday.
Advani in his another book ‘Kadim Sindh’ while Hussain Badshah, the author of ‘Hyderabad Ji Tarikh’, writes in his book that Tando Adam was once a part of Nasrpur, it was an administrative district during the Mughal Empire, while the Indus River was Matiari at that time. passed through Matiari was also a part of Nasrpur. When the river changed its course, the geography of Tando Adam also changed.
But there is another interesting story related to Adiro Lal, according to which there was a tyrant ruler in Thatta, Murkh Shah, who was adept at forcibly converting people in the 10th century.
Fed up with the atrocities, the Hindus started worshiping on the banks of the Indus River and prayed to God for help.
After 40 days a young horseman appeared and asked Murkh Shah to stop oppressing innocent people. 40 years later, according to Advani, a boy was born in Nasarapu to Chand Bhai Band’s house, named ‘Adiro Lal’.
One theory about the name Adiro Lal is that it is derived from the Sanskrit word adu, meaning ‘water’, which later changed to ‘Adar’, while some researchers say that it Lafat is the Sindhi word ‘Adar’, which means ‘to fly’.
Another story attributed to Adiro Lal is that Adiro Lal’s mother used to put a few drops of Indus River water in his mouth before feeding him. For this reason Adiro Lal is called Pani Varu Peer, ‘River Who Avatar’ or ‘Play Varu Peer’ but is commonly known as Jhole Lal.
Even today Adiro Lal is considered as their ‘Murshid’ by Hindus and Muslims without any distinction. Every year in the month of April, devotees from India and other countries flock to the fair, which is organized jointly by the administrators of the dargah, Hindus and Muslims.
Here, Hindus and Muslims participate in all kinds of rituals and pay homage to Udedo Lal. They sing ‘Bhajan’ and ‘Panjara’ at the Dargah. All these rituals are started by lighting a lamp, after which the devotees decorate a big plate, in which sweets, fruits and roses are kept, after which the river Indus is worshipped.
One of these rituals is called ‘Bahrano’. In which the lamp is lit in a false plate of brass and flour cakes, misri nuggets, if lamps and sweets are kept. Dandiya dance is also performed on this occasion, which is the most important part of this ritual.
Decorated in white, yellow and blue colors, a yellow tree is still present in this dargah, which devotees of Udedo say used to produce sugar many years ago, but this story has no truth to it. Not related, because that tree is still there today, but the sugar is not edible.
Adiro Lal’s shrine room is made of glass and has ceiling fans, through which cool air flows easily, and there are plenty of lamp niches in the walls where the lamps are kept burning.
Apart from this, there are also Udedo Lal utensils including a wooden shoe, known as ‘Chakhadi’. There is a donation box, where donations are collected for both the temple and the mosque.
Dargah custodian Abdullah Sheikh said that for decades we have been living peacefully with Hindus. This shrine teaches us peace and tolerance and we are its followers.’
“Whenever a fair is held here, the Hindu community also donates for the mosque and the dargah. Similarly, it is our duty to take care of the temple. There is no discrimination here as these are not only the teachings of Adiro Lal Dargah but all the people living in Sindh want to maintain religious tolerance.’
Researcher and writer Noor Ahmed Janjhi says that ‘this dargah is actually a monastery. The construction pattern of which is similar to the Mughal style of architecture. We cannot say for sure in which year it was built. It is a common heritage of Hindu Muslims in which the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan had it further built.’
‘So it also appears to be a fortress-like building. This constructed building has been transformed from a monastery into a religiously tolerant building that accommodates followers of both faiths. Before the Dargah there was a small building here which was further extended by Shah Jahan Badshah.’
Noor Ahmed Janjhi further says, ‘Whatever dargahs or monasteries there are in Sindh, they should be improved so that peace can be created as there have been influences of different faiths here. This dargah is the most important manifestation of coexistence.’
A devotee who came to Adiro Lal’s shrine said that ‘Adiro Lal is no less than a messiah for us. Whenever I have a difficult time in my life, I come here.’
‘This time we have come for the marriage of our sons so that the blessings of Adiro Lal continue to shower upon us. This is a ritual of ours which has been passed down from our forefathers and now our new generation is also following the same footsteps.
At Udedo Lal’s Shiva temple, people bring the groom here for a pilgrimage and head bowing before marriage. Where much fun is done and the groom’s clothes are torn. This ritual is done to express happiness.
While Udedo Lal is an abode of spiritual peace for people, on the other hand, visitors complain that they have to face many difficulties to attend here.
Most of the people say that there are many visa problems for those coming from India.
Just as facilities have been created for the Sikhs at Nankana Sahib, the pilgrims of Adiro Lal demand the same for themselves so that Adiro Lal’s dargah, which has become the greatest symbol of religious harmony in Sindh, Let there be no barriers for all the people of the world to see it
