Ahead of Holi, mosques covered with sheets on Ram Baraat, Laat Saaheb procession routes in UP

“We held a meeting with clerics in the district on Friday and they have been told that the mosques will be properly covered so that no mischievous element does anything to disturb communal harmony. All clerics expressed satisfaction with our arrangements. A posse of police personnel will accompany the yatra which, after passing through many areas in the city, will return to the Narsingh Temple,” the SSP said.

Ahead of Holi, mosques covered with sheets on Ram Baraat, Laat Saaheb procession routes in UP

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In Shahjahanpur, a Laat Saheb ki Baraat is taken out on Holi from the Phoolmati Devi Temple. It features a unique tradition, reportedly prevalent since the 18th century, in which revellers hurl footwear at the procession featuring a buffalo cart and a hapless man. Earlier, the procession was called the Nawab Saab ki Baraat and the person sitting on the cart was depicted as a Nawab, but since Independence, it is known as Laat Saheb ki Baraat in which the person on the cart is portrayed as a Britisher.

Mosques located along the procession route remain covered with plastic sheets and the law and order machinery in Shahjahanpur is on high alert to avert any untoward incident.

“The baraat is a unique tradition here and I have been witnessing it since childhood. The person who sits in the buffalo cart is chosen nearly a month ahead and is housed at a secret location for the period, during which he is well-fed. People viewing the procession from their houses hurl footwear at him from their balcony. Once the baraat ends, the person is given new clothes and money by the organisers,” Gopal Sharma, a resident of Siddhivinayak Colony in Shahjahanpur, told The Indian Express over the phone.