Imambara

Imambara is ‘Dargah’ (Islamic shrine built over the grave of a religious figure) of the revered Muslim saint, Roshan Ali Shah. It was built in the 17th century and is about two km from the Gorakhpur Railway Station. As beautiful as it should be, the Imambara stands as a pristine white limestone structure to honor the Sufi saint who gave so much to the world in form of his life philosophies and words of wisdom. Do you know that this Dargah is known to preserve a continuous smoke fire? It is called ‘dhunj’.It is also famous for its gold and silver ‘tazia’. A tazia is a replica tomb of Husain, the martyred son of Muhammad. It is carried in processions and plays mainly during the festival of Shia Muharrum. Devotes from different places visit the Imambara to honor the deceased saint and seek his blessings. Mulsims may visit the shrine for ‘ziyarat’ (Arabic term for ‘visit’) that is, for religious visits and pilgrimages. Not only Muslims, the shrine is held in high esteem by people of all faiths who regularly visit the Dargah to offers prayers and light little clay lamps. If you are lucky, you may as well get to hear the musical offerings in form of ‘Qawwali’ and ‘kafi’.