Ayodhya of the South – A timeline of ‘time immemorial’

The masterchef of Malayadipatti

Last Christmas, 52-year-old Syed Abutahir woke his family up before dawn. It was time for the annual pilgrimage to the hilltop dargah just outside Madurai dedicated to Sufi saint Hazrath Sultan Sikandar Badshah Aulia. It is a three-hour drive from his home in Rajapalayam to the foot of the hill in Madurai.

If things hadn’t gone horribly wrong that day, it would have been the 22nd time Abutahir made an offering at the mausoleum of the saint. Before the truck arrived to take them to Madurai, Abutahir snuck away with his goat to the hillock right behind his house. He wanted to graze his pet one last time before sacrificing it. 

“I raise a goat every year like my own child. Some rich people simply buy an animal for sacrifice,” he said. “Sacrifice counts when you give up something dear to you.” 

Abutahir named his elder son Sikkandar Bhatshah (sic.), believing that his birth is a boon from the patron saint of the dargah. 

Until a few years ago, he would make the pilgrimage during the Deepavali holidays. But that meant his Hindu neighbours in Rajapalayam could not join him for the trip to the spectacular hilltop shrine from where all of Madurai is visible. 

For the last few years, this Sunni Muslim family has moved the date of their Sufi pilgrimage to Christmas. Just so their non-Brahmin Hindu neighbours could join the feast.

At first light on December 25, 2024, Abutahir’s friend Pacakivel Eswaran arrived with his mini-truck and they set off for the hill – 20 excited men, women, and children – some Hindu, some Muslim.

“Apart from Eswaran, there were eight other Hindus. We travelled like one family – very jolly, all looking forward to a feast,” Abutahir said when we spoke to him over the phone on July 4.

When they reached the foot of the hill around 6 am, everybody first trooped to a nearby mosque to refresh and rest for an hour before scaling the hill. Ten minutes into their climb, all the revelry came to a sudden halt. 

“Police Sub-Inspector Kamban was waiting for us with his men on the path leading to the dargah. It was like they knew we were coming,” Abutahir said. “They told us that animal sacrifice at the dargah had been banned.” 

The pilgrims immediately protested and demanded to know who issued the ban orders and why. Members of the Sikkandar Dargah committee, the local jamaat, and several community leaders soon joined the agitated pilgrims. 

The police allegedly responded with an instant crackdown. They hauled Abutahir, 20 other Muslim men, and the goat to the Thiruparankundram police station half-a-kilometre away.