On Tuesday, the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya was all yellow. It was the eve of Basant Panchmi, the day that marks the arrival of spring. Hence yellow, a colour that signifies the energy-giving sun.
The shrine’s
qawwals
(singers), who were wearing yellow scarves, offered yellow mustard flowers on the grave of Delhi’s 14th-century sufi saint. Later, they sang the Hindi
qawwalis
of Amir Khusro, the Persian poet believed to be the originator of Hindustani classical music and who was also a great disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin. Seven centuries ago, Khusro had worn yellow to bring a smile to Hazrat Nizamuddin’s face, who’d been grieving for his nephew’s death. The tradition of wearing yellow in the shrine on
Basant
has been observed since then.