It was Ashura day, the 10th of Muharram, when the spiritual leader of Bohras would deliver his annual sermon on the tragic martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the prophet, at Saifee Masjid in the old city of Mumbai. Since his sermon is considered sacred, nearly 200,000 Bohras from across the world travelled to Mumbai. More than 30,000 Bohras got a place to seat inside of the mosque for the service session. A much bigger crowd was waiting outside of the mosque in Bendi Bazzar to have a glance at the spiritual leader who would pass over a temporary-built bridge across the road (from where I took the picture). While the ladies in their colorful dress are waiting in the foreground, you can see men in their whitewashed dress in the background.
This affluent Shi’a Muslim community dispersed around the world during the colonial era, while Mumbai remains their community capital city. The commemoration of Ashura is an annual gathering that maintains social solidarity among this diaspora community, when the idea of home, travel, pilgrimage, the commemoration of Ashura tragedy and the sense of belonging are simultaneously experienced.
This affluent Shi’a Muslim community dispersed around the world during the colonial era, while Mumbai remains their community capital city. The commemoration of Ashura is an annual gathering that maintains social solidarity among this diaspora community, when the idea of home, travel, pilgrimage, the commemoration of Ashura tragedy and the sense of belonging are simultaneously experienced.
Waiting for a Glance at the Spiritual Leader: The old city of Mumbai during Muharram Commemoration, December 2010 © Reza Masoudi
Dr Reza Masoudi, an urbanist and anthropologist, is Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, SOAS University of London. Reza is the author of The Rite of Urban Passage: The Spatial Ritualization of Iranian Urban Transformation (2018), amongst other works.