Srinagar: the city of shrines

Srinagar is often described as a city of shrines. Even Jesus and his mother are said to have their own sanctuaries in Kashmir.

Islam came to the valley through Sufi influence, and the shrines of these saints remain deeply venerated during their urs— the anniversaries of the saints’ passings. Thousands of pilgrims gather to pray, to ask, to weep.

Mosques are typically frequented by men at prayer times, though a separate space is reserved for women. During the ursand other religious festivals, however, the shrines fill with women. They come to the tombs of the saints seeking blessings — for harmony within the family, for children, for fertility. In a society where emotions are seldom expressed in public, the shrines become a place to release sorrow, to cry, to be seen.

The inner sanctum remains closed to women and to non-Muslims. Their requests are written on slips of paper and passed inside through the men, often with a banknote attached — an offering believed to lend weight to the prayer.

At prayer time, the women leave for their separate room, while the men begin the rhythmic recitation of Zikr.