Pir Baba shrine in West Bengal draws all faiths

BURDWAN: Every year on this day, thousands of Hindus offer prayers, complete with flowers, sweets and incense sticks, at Pir Baba’s shrine in East Burdwan’s Pir Pukur. Sunday was no different as 6,000 people, mostly Hindu men and women, turned up to offer ‘puja’ at the decked-up shrine.
“I remember coming with my mother to offer puja as a child, but the shrine was nearly abandoned.Around 13 years back, several local businessmen and residents wondered why the shrine should remain neglected when Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Saraswati Puja were organized with fanfare. That’s when this annual festival started. People of all faiths look after the shrine,” Tapan Saha, a resident, told TOI.
Debasis Patra, among the organisers of the ritual, said: “We hold the festival on the second Friday of February every year. This year, we are celebrating on Sunday. We arranged for bhog for nearly 6,000 people and distributed clothes to the poor. We try to reach out to everyone when offering bhog. Private security guards are deployed to keep order. The entire cost is met by donations from residents. We have spent over Rs 2 lakh on today’s event.”
Rina Tah, who stays beside the shrine, said: “This is my father-in-law’s home. I came here 35 years ago and have been celebrating this day for 13 years. Instead of cooking, residents queue up for bhog. The Pir Baba has been very kind, not letting any major harm befall any of us.”
Though Pir Baba is popular across Burdwan, residents told TOI they are not aware when he came here. “He may have come during the Sher Shah Suri period but we have no historical evidence,” an elderly schoolteacher said.