Curse of Zayn Khan - The Djinn

The ruins of an old mosque still exist in 'Meera Saddo', the locality. The mosque is believed to be built in 13th Century. This belief makes it the oldest mosque in Amroha. It is also believed that a servant of the mosque invented a practice of sacrificing goats and cocks for the fulfillment of prayers. The prank, somehow, started working and this practice became popular which changed the nature of this place of worship. People from all faiths began to crowd and a chain was hanged for demented patients in the central dome. At present its a disputed site as Muslims and Hindus both claim its link to their religions. The ruins are also believed to be haunted. There is also an interesting story about the curse of Djinns at that place.

Meera Saddo Mosque, Image credit: ahmedkamalnaqvi

The Story:
Once upon a time, there lived a learned man called Meer(invented name). He was a servant of the mosque and lived in its compound. One day he overpowered a djinn. Zayn Khan, the djinn, was a good djinn who always stayed away from doing wrong to others. Zayn was very powerful and was able to travel thousands of kilometers within seconds. When his master realized Zayn's powers, he decided to use him for his selfish purposes. He asked Zayn to kidnap a princess. Zayn warned him that its wrong and doing such things is going to harm him. But Meer ignored his warning and forced Zayn to fulfill his orders. Still, Zayn put a condition before abiding to his master's order. He told him, "I will bring the princess to your room as per your order, however, when you come out of that room you have to be in pure state (paak)". To which his master agreed. Meer was a smart fellow. He arranged a big clay pot and filled it with water. He used that water for taking a bath(ghusl) before coming out of that room.

This way it continued and the princess was kidnapped several times. The princess told this to Najoomis at her place but they were all helpless in front of Zayn's powers. One aalim(a learned man) asked her about the place where she was taken. She had no clue about the place. However, she told them about the room and the big clay pot there. The aalim advised her to break the pot if next time anything similar happens.

After few days, she was again kidnapped and taken to that room. This time she broke the pot which drained all its water. This made Meer shout out of fear but it was of no use. The water was already gone. Meer knew that now Zayn is not going to leave him. He made a plan.

He got out of that room. Zayn was there, waiting for him. Zayn told him that his days are over. He requested Zayn to let him choose how he wanted to die.

Zayn agreed and asked him where and how he wanted to taste death. Meer, being a smart fellow, was aware of Djinns' behaviour, asked him "Please take me to a dry place or mountain". He knew Djinns never obey when they are out of your control. Even when they do they have trickster nature and they twist events for the worse. This way, he believed, Zayn will drown him into a water body or some ocean. And he thought as soon as Zayn will drop him into water, he will again be pure(by doing ghusl) and will be in a position to control Zayn.

However, Zayn understood his plan. He told Meer that although Djinns always do the opposite, he will fulfill his last request. This way Zayn punished Meer by taking him to an unknown place.

Nobody knows if there is any truth behind this story but the place remains haunted. It is believed to be occupied by Djinns.

5 Famous Amrohvi Naat Khawans

Naat is a form of poetry in praise of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Naat Khawan is a person who recites a Naat. It is popular in whole South Asia and Amroha is no exception. There are many reciters in Amroha. Following are the most famous of them in recent times:

1. Saad Amrohvi

    

2. Zubair Ibne Saifi

   

3. Master Sajid

  

4. Hafiz Shameem

       

5. Umme Habiba

 

5 Famous Trees In Amroha

With rise in population and urbanization, the green cover in and around Amroha, is decreasing really fast. In city's modern homes there is no space left for trees. Unlike the older generation, young Amrohvis do not have any childhood memories of climbing, swinging and playing under a tree.
This post is about some of the those lucky old trees which are still alive maybe because they are famous and are in use as a landmark.

1. Anar Wali Zyarat
The tree which lives by the blessing of the sufi saint who was buried next to it. Even the tomb is known as "Anar Wali Zyarat". The pomegranate tree goes unnoticed by hundreds of people who pass by it through out the day. Some occasional passers-by shook their head or recite a prayer in respect of the saint who is resting next to it. This place is located midway between Bazar Shafat Pota and Chauraha Kot.

2. Gullu Neem
This Neem tree is very large and is a very popular landmark. Even the whole locality is known by it. The tree provides shelter to many rickshaw-walas who park their rickshaw in its shadow. Even some shops have came up around the tree's base. This tree is located near Amroha Tehsil.

3. Imli Hakeem
A hakeem lived near this Imli tree. He became famous as the hakeem who lives near the Imli(Tamarind tree). The tree still exists so is the Hakim's Dawakhana.

4. Bad Chahgauri
This tree stands tall in Mohalla Chahgauri. Not as famous as others however it is a local landmark. There is a big Chabutra(dais) around this tree where children play. Banyan tree is known as "Bad ka Ped" in Urdu.

5. The Tree at Dargah Shahwilayat
A legendary tree which is believed to have grown by the braid of Daadi Bakhoee, the sister of Dada Shahwilayat. The tree's branches grew entangled like a braid of a women. Although it is believed to be existing even today, its difficult to locate it. Daadi Bakhoee still remains one of the few women sufis in Amroha.

Five Strange People from 80s in Amroha

In 1980s, the time when Amrohvis were yet to hear about Computers and Mobile phones were beyond imagination. There were limited medical facilities. The time when mental disorders were related to something mystical and supernatural. And people who suffered from them were considered possessed and became victim of notorious sluggards. They were teased regularly and their reactions became a source of entertainment. They were known by strange names. Some of them were violent, some very funny. Five of them were:

1.  Mauli:  He was a 6 feet high man. He used to randomly shout "Mauli aa gaye". He is believed to have lost mental balance after sudden death of his elder sister. He carried eating stuff with him all the time and used to roam around the whole city. He called every women in burqa,"Anno", in memory of his sister. He used to gift women the eatables he carried. Women used to get really scared, although he never harmed anyone. And not just eatables, he is also believed to have gifted many valuable things to random women.
2. Joda Garam: He was a man who carried a big stick with him all the time. He was violent and people were really scared of him. He used to run after boys who teased him by calling "Joda".
3. 447 : This man was famously known by the number 447(Chaar-Sau-Saytalis). He had very strange and violent behavior. The strange thing is that he never harmed the person who slapped him. A slap used to work as a trigger which activated the anger in him. He used to keep walking angrily in search of target. As soon as he encountered the next person on the road. He used to get closer and slap the person really hard. Everybody knew that he is mentally disturbed, by his appearance, so people just walked away after shouting at him. Notorious boys of localities used him on many people.
4. Pakodi: A women who used to roam around the whole city and abused everyone who teased her. She was even spotted during summer afternoons, walking around with no destination in her mind. It is believed that she was lonely and even enjoyed the teasing. She used to shout "Sab mar gaye kya..!!", on finding that there is no one to tease her.
5. Ghaseeta: This person also had a very strange behavior. He used to stare at the Sun for minutes(I was told hours) continuously without blinking his eyes. Another characteristic was his love for lighting matchsticks. He was harmless but asked shopkeepers for matchbox. He used to just light the matchsticks and enjoyed it. Some superstitious shopkeepers near bazaar Katra even considered him lucky and happily gave him matchboxes to burn.

It all sounds strange however many old people have encountered at least one of them.