By Mohammed Rizwan
Hyderabad: Mirag lagna or as Telugu-speaking people in the city call it “Mrigasira Karthi” is celebrated every year marking the end of summer and the start of the monsoon on the 18th day of the Persian month of Khordad, which falls on June 8 in the Gregorian calendar.
It has widely been believed that it always rains on Mirag day, even if it is a few scattered showers across the city.
A healthy tradition at large, as the science of today promotes eating fish as its richness in the essential Omega-3 fatty acids and also strength to fight vector-borne diseases that may come with the monsoon. The tongues of Hyderabadis crave one type of fish on their tables during Mirag, Succulent Murrel.
During the season, a 175-year-old tradition of taking fish prasadam, earlier called “fish medicine”, which claims to be the elixir for respiratory problems to the sufferer, is also carried out.
Organised by the Bathini Goud family in Nampally, the event attracts people from across the country who wait in lines for days to get their hands on the ‘magical medicine’.
After a three-year hiatus owing to COVID, the fish prasadam will be distributed from 8 am on June 9 at the Nampally Exhibition Grounds.
The hospitable nature of Hyderabadis somehow vanishes with the shortage of fish as believers rush to get their hands on the elixir they have been waiting for all year long.
Mirag & its Qutb Shahi connect
Youm-E-Mirag was elevated to the status of a national festival during the 1009 Hijri by the founder of Hyderabad, Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah, as Eid-e-Soori, meaning the scarlet festival, according to Tareeq e Qutb Shahi.
Mohammed Quli on the account of Mirag, welcoming the rains, in a sonnet wrote:
“Garja mirag khushiyan soun; singhar aao sakhiyan,
Padta hai megh phui phui; choli bhigao sakhiyan!”
“Mirag thunders with delight, come gracefully o’ beauties
The rain falls softly, come dampen your dresses o’ beauties”
‘Eid E Soori: A Walk Night’
To gain a deeper understanding of the roots of this tradition and its relevance today, the Deccan Archive is organising an Eid-E-Soori night walk on Thursday, June 8. “However, the star attraction of the walk is the dried fish at Machli Kaman,” says the founder of Deccan Archive, Sibghatullah Khan.
