BABA NAGRI, India (AP) — The road to the Baba Nagri forest shrine in India-controlled Kashmir was a colorful spectacle. Tens of thousands of men in vibrant attires, henna-dyed beards and bright headgears thronged the Muslim shrine nestled at the base of a mountain to pay their obeisance last week.
Worshippers raised their hands and cried their wishes. Some also tied multicolored threads around the trees at the shrine, which represented their prayers.
The shrine to Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi has its origins in the 19th century and provides free meals all year to the devotees, most of them from Kashmir’s nomadic pastoral community. Devotees believe their wishes are granted at the shrine.
Kashmiri Nomadic devotees prepare to leave the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi after attending the special prayers in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
A Kashmiri man belonging to nomadic Gujjar tribe ties a sacred ribbon at a forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Kiyanwi, originally from Kashmir, migrated to the Hazara region of modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan during the late 19th century. There he was mentored by a Sufi saint and later returned to Kashmir to preach Islam. After he died, the shrine was built as a mark of respect towards him — a manifestation of the region’s unique ties with Sufism.
Abdul Razaq, a devotee, said that he has been visiting the shrine since he was 6 and feels blessed by paying obeisance there.
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“I remember as a kid we had to travel a lot by foot, but things have changed, and today we can reach the shrine in a day,” he said.
Another devotee, Mohammad Farooq, who is blind, said: “It would have been great if I could see things for myself, but I find peace when I visit the shrine.”
Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety, is a Muslim-majority region.
Rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir’s independence, a goal supported by a large number of Muslims in the disputed territory.
The region has remained embroiled in civil strife for decades and the shrine, including hundreds of others strewn around its landscape, has been and continues to be, far more than a mere spiritual retreat for Muslims.
Many worshipers find these shrines a rare space far removed from unrelenting political tensions in the region.
Kashmiri nomadic devotees belonging to Gujjar tribe gather for special prayers outside the forest shrine of Miyan Peer, in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Kashmiri Nomadic men belonging to Gujjar tribe travel towards the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi to attend special prayers in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
A nomadic Kashmiri man watches from a tree as volunteers prepare to distribute sweetened rice among devotees outside the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi, in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Kashmiri Muslims belonging to nomadic Gujjar tribe serve big platters of special sweet rice to devotees outside a forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Kashmiri cooks belonging to nomadic Gujjar tribe prepare special sweet rice outside a forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Volunteers carry a tub of sweetened rice before distributing among devotees outside the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
A nomadic Kashmiri man, center, checks the quality of woolen shawl before buying it from a roadside vendor on a road leading to the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Zaffar Iqbal, a Kashmiri Nomadic devotee belonging to Gujjar tribe poses for a photograph outside the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. Zaffar who along with his religious teacher is visiting for the first time said it feels great to be here and he intends to visit again in future. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Nomadic Kashmiri men look through the window of community kitchen as they wait for the special prayers to start outside the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Nomadic Kashmiri men chat as they gather outside the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
A nomadic Kashmiri man, center, along with his son eats pudding on the road leading to the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Nomadic Kashmiri men drink tea as they wait for special prayers to start outside the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Mohammad Azam, a Kashmiri Nomadic devotee belonging to Gujjar tribe poses for a photograph outside the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Nomadic Kashmiri women wait for the distribution sweetened rice prepared for devotees outside the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
A Kashmiri priest, right, distributes taweez, a religious writing put inside amulets for protection and invoking blessing, to devotees outside the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Lal Hussain Gojar, a Kashmiri nomad belonging to Gujjar tribe poses for a photograph outside the forest shrine of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
A view of the forest shrine of Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi, the revered Muslim saint of the nomadic Gujjar tribe in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
