Mela Chiraghan in 2024

When is Mela Chiraghan?

Mela Chiraghan ("Festival of Lamps") is a local holiday in Lahore in spring each year, usually in the last week of March.

What is Mela Chiraghan

Mela Chiraghan or Mela Shalimar is a three-day annual festival to mark the urs (death anniversary) of the Punjabi poet and Sufi saint Shah Hussain.

Shah Hussain was a 16th Century Punjabi Sufi poet who is regarded as the pioneer of Kafi from Punjabi Poetry. He lived during the ruling period of Mughal emperor Akber and his son Jahangir.

Shah Hussain is often known as Dervish King due to his polite and extremely humble Sufi personality.

He is widely regarded as a symbol of love and harmony between different religions and is venerated by both Muslims and Hindus in the region.

commonly known as Madhu Lal Hussain. His tomb is situated in Baghbanpura near Shalimar Garden, Lahore. On his shrine every year in spring people celebrate his festival and usually a public holiday is also announced on that day.  The festival is an important cultural event in the region and is a symbol of interfaith harmony and unity.

The most significant ritual is the gathering of devotees who carry Chiraghs (light lamps) in the honor of Shah Hussain and some of the pilgrims toss lamps into a huge bonfire. The legend associated with this activity is that prayers of the devotees will be heard soon by the Almighty and they will get the reward.

He died in 1599 and was buried at Shahdara but his tomb was destroyed by the flood and then he was buried in Lahore. The poetry of Madhu Lal Hussain was related to love and humanity and his verses are called “Kafis”.

The festival also used to take place in the Shalimar Gardens, until President Ayub Khan ordered against it in 1958.

The festival used to be the largest festival in the Punjab, but now comes second to Basant. Everyone from common peasants to Mughal rulers, the Punjabi Sikh residents and even the British officers during their British Raj used to show up at this festival.