Tazias of chiniot | Hassan Zaidi

My new poetic Documentary about Tazias Of Chiniot With the arrival of Muharram, the unlevelled streets of Chiniot present sombre scenes as the local Shias mourn the death of the Prophet’s (pbuh) grandson. Chiniot is in fact home to the oldest and finest tazias in Indo-Pak subcontinent. A total of nine tazias are produced at the commencement of the holy month and are eventually assembled at Maidan, the city centre, on the tenth day of Muharram –the Youm-e-Ashur. The first and the oldest tazia, which now rests in Shadi Malang Imambargah was created in the year 1934. It was a multi-storied structure, with a dome and a crescent atop, was an expensive piece of art. While constructing the upper stories, Ilahi Bux shifted to a place now famous as taal and only saw daylight when the tazia was brought to Maidan. Being a complex artefact, the tazia is carried out in parts on different dates in the first ten days of Muharram. The takht (base of tazia) is the first piece to be carried out on day one, followed by the palanquin and finally, the jhoola. Thetazia is then reconstructed on the tenth day. When completely assembled, the tazia reaches up to 42 feet and weighs one and a half ton. Sixteen men are deployed to lift the enormous artefact