From Karnataka to Hyderabad, an elephant named Lakshmi will lead today's Muharram procession in Old City
Muharram is a period of mourning that commemorates the death of Imam Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet, in the Battle of Karbala. Every year in Hyderabad, a procession led by an elephant on which an Alam is mounted leaves Bibi-ka-Alawa, the ashoorkhana in Dabeerpura, and reaches Ilahi Masjid accompanied by mourners. The Alam – a long plaque made of gold and studded with diamonds – from the Ashoorkhana, a place of worship, is believed to be blessed.
This year, 32-year-old Lakshmi will carry the Alam during the procession. 'We are grateful that Lakshmi is part of the procession this year. Here, anyone is welcome,' Mirza Riyaz Ul Hassan Effendi, who travelled with the elephant from Tumkur to Hyderabad, told The Indian Express.
Effendi is the AIMIM's MLC entrusted by the Congress-ruled state government to accompany the elephant. Lakhsmi is in the custody of the state of Telangana during its five-day stay in Hyderabad.
Its mahout Syed Salim said, 'It is a very friendly elephant and enjoys the company of children. They, too, love giving it food.'
Lakshmi eats 250 kg a day – mostly fruits, sugarcane, boiled lentils and rice. 'It's feasting time for Lakshmi now,' Salim said.
Not long ago, during the time of the Nizams of Hyderabad, the procession was led by elephants from Hyderabad. 'Those elephants were the Nizam's. Till the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, the tradition of the Nizam's elephant leading the procession with the Alam mounted on them continued,' said Mohammed Mirza Asgar Hadi, a young onlooker interested in the Alam's history. In the Bibi-ka-Alawa, there are photographs of Osman Ali Khan with the Alam-carrying elephants. 'In recent years, the state government and AIMIM took the lead in getting the elephants for the procession,' Hadi said.
It is not the first time an elephant from Karnataka has come to Hyderabad for Muharram. In 2023, an elephant named Madhuri from the neighbouring state led the procession. In 2024, it was Rupawati, an elephant from Davanagere.
Lakshmi will remain with the Telangana state government for four more days. 'It will be bathed, fed and looked after very well,' said Salim, the mahout. 'Here in Hyderabad, the procession is a community affair,' Hadi said. Among those who gave bananas to Lakshmi was Divya, a 45-year-old who takes the blessings of elephants in the procession every year. 'It is auspicious,' Divya said.
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