Feeding the Faithful | Baba Nagri’s langar nourishes 70,000 during Urs days, over 1000 every day

Wangat, June 10:  Baba Nagri shrine has one of the largest free community kitchens also known as ‘langar’ that serves almost 1000 people every day and on Urs days, the food is cooked and served to over 70,000 to 80,000 people.

The langar operates 24 hours a day. Besides the management, many volunteers serve food to a large number of devotees.

According to the shrine management, a 24-hour free langar (community kitchen) is put in place for the devotees visiting here throughout the year.

“The shrine management on Urs days arranges a special langar where food for thousands of people is prepared,” Mian Mehar Ali, who was looking after the arrangements, told Greater Kashmir.

The volunteers said that on Urs days, special sweet rice is served to the devotees.

The special sweet rice is made of rice, ghee, and dry fruits.

“One can only imagine how difficult it is to serve these many people every day. But the volunteers or workers make it look like a simple task. There are about 100 permanent workers and the rest are all volunteers who together make sure that the food is cooked and delivered on time,” a member of the Langar said.

Baba Nagri shrine also known as Darbar Laar Sharief Wangat is one of the most sacred shrines for Gujjar, Bakerwal, and Pahari people of Jammu and Kashmir and outside the region.

The Gujjar community from all over J&K and various parts of the country have a great spiritual attachment to this shrine.

Tens and thousands of people with deep devotion assemble at this shrine every year on June 7 and 8 to observe the annual Urs of Sufi saint Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi (RA) and pay their obeisance.

Known as Hazrat Baba Ji Sahib Larvi, Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi (RA) was a Sufi saint and social reformer of the 18th century.

The shrine is situated at the base of a mountain in the scenic village of Wangat known as Baba Nagri.

Surrounded by still surviving forests, the shrine and its vicinity become the hub of religious activities throughout the year and on Urs days, a confluence of devotees throng Baba Nagri shrine every year.

Mian family is the custodian of the shrine and responsible for all the arrangements for thousands of people visiting the shrine throughout the year.

The family of the Larvis includes Mian Altaf Ahmad, the present Sajadh Nasheen who inherited the chair from his late father, Late Mian Bashir Ahmad Larvi.

Before Mian Bashir Ahmad, the chief patron of Baba Jee Sahib’s shrine was Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanwi.