Srinagar: Interiors of revered shrine of Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom Sahib are getting a paper mache makeover.
Located on Hari Parbat hill, the shrine is being adorned with intricate papier mache designs.
The papier mache work on the walls, ceilings, and other interiors is being carried out by a veteran Kashmiri artist Ghulam Rasool, who has been practicing art for over three decades now.
Though the work was started quite some time back, the papier mache designs have now started becoming prominent and are giving a fresh and new look to the area close to the mausoleum of Makhdoom Sahib.
“Though I have been working as an artist for over 30 years now, I have been adorning the shrine with papier mache designs for the past many months. I have been doing other art-related work at the shrine for over two years now. This papier mache on walls and ceilings requires a lot of hard work and patience and now, the designs are prominent and people are noticing the change. We hope we complete the entire work in another 12 months or so,” Ghulam Rasool told The Kashmir Monitor.
Another artist Saifuddin, who can be seen accompanying Ghulam Rasool, said the papier mache work at the shrine was being sponsored by a devotee and would cost him a huge amount.
“This papier mache work is being sponsored by a devotee and it involves a huge amount of money,” Saifuddin told The Kashmir Monitor.
He said several other renovation and construction works in the past had been sponsored by devotees only.
“These individuals do not belong to the Waqf and are not the caretakers either but they carry out several works silently. They are the true devotees, who stay away from the limelight and sponsor construction/ renovation works like khatambandh, etc out of reverence for Makhdoom Sahib. They also donate carpets and other floorings and prefer to do the same without a noise,” he said.
Makhdoom Sahib, who is also known as ‘Sultan-ul-Arifeen’ meaning ‘King of Gnostics’, is the most venerated Sufi saint of the summer capital and his followers have been paying obeisance at the shrine for nearly 500 years now.
Makhdoom Sahib lived in the 16th century and originally hailed from Tujjar Sharif in present-day North Kashmir’s Baramulla district. The sage, however, spent most of his lifetime praying at the hill, also known as ‘Koh-i-maran’ locally, where his shrine is located.
