Shah Abdul Latif Death Festival

Shah Abdul Latif Death Festival

14th-16th days of Islamic month of Safar

This festival commermorates the death of poet-musician Shah Abdul Latif (1689-1752) at Bhit Shah, Sindh, Pakistan. He was one of the most beloved of Pakistan's mystic Sufi poet-musicians who founded a music tradition based on popular themes and using folk melodies. He was the author of the Risalo, the best-known collection of romantic poetry in the Sindhi language; its heroes and heroines have become symbols of the oppression of Sindh by foreign occupiers.
At Latif's urs, or "death festival," a huge fair takes place outside the poet's shrine. There are wrestling matches (a popular entertainment in Sindh), a circus, theater, and numerous food and souvenir booths. Inside the shrine the atmosphere is quiet, and there is devotional singing by well-known Sindh groups. The main event of the urs is a concert at which the annual Latif Award is presented to the best performers.

CONTACTS:
Sindh Department of Tourism
114-115, Block C
Sea Breeze Pl., Shahrah-e-Faisal
Karachi, Karachi Pakistan
92-6064-7788530; fax: 92-6064-7782706
www.sindh.gov.pk
Culture and Tourism Department, Government of Sindh
Sindh Secretariat
Karachi, Sindh Pakistan
92-21-0590607; fax: 92-21-9212060
www.sindh.gov.pk