LAILA MAJNU TOMB IN RAJASTAN ??? SURPRISE ...BUT TRUE

LAILA MAJNU TOMB IN RAJASTAN ???

 SURPRISE ...BUT TRUE

Love is known to be an overwhelming, all-consuming, intense passion. But just how intense can love be? No one knows the answer, and examples of such a love are rare. But whenever one talks about the depth of love, the intensity of passion, two names almost immediately come to mind- Laila and Majnu.

The love story of Laila and Majnu is a very famous one and is no less than a legend. Even today, people know them as Laila Majnu; the "and" in between is missing. They were two in flesh, but one in spirit. It is based on the real story of a young man called Qays ibn al-Mullawah from the northern Arabian Peninsula, in the Umayyad era during the 7th century. The love story of "Laila and Majnu" is an eternal one albeit a tragic one.

Laila was a beautiful girl born in a rich family. Being no less than a princess, she was expected to marry a wealthy boy and live in grandeur and splendor. But love is born from the heart; it knows no rules. Laila fell in love with Qays and he too loved her dearly. Qays was a poet and belonged to the same tribe as Laila. He composed splendid love poems and dedicated them to his lady-love, telling in them his love for her and mentioning her name often. Qays' friends knew about his affair with Laila and they often teased and made fun of his love. But such taunts had no effect on Qays. He was deeply in love with Laila and it was her thoughts alone that possesed his mind for all time.

It had been for quite sometime that Qays toyed with the idea of seeking Laila's hand in marriage from her parents. One day, he went up to them and put the big question before them.

But Qays was a poor lad. And when he asked for Laila's hand in marriage, her father promptly refused him as he didn't want her daughter to marry below her status. It would mean a scandal for Laila according to Arab traditions.

As fate would have it, the two lovers were banished from seeing each other. Soon after, Laila's parents married her off to a wealthy man and she went on to live in a big mansion.

When Qays heard of her marriage he was heartbroken. He fled the tribe camp and wandered in the surrounding desert. His family eventually gave up on his return and left food for him in the wilderrness. He could sometimes be seen reciting poetry to himself or writing Laila's name in the sand with a stick. Day and night, he pined for her.

Laila was no better. Seperated from Qays, she was shattered in mind, body and spirit. Not long afterwards, in 688 AD, she moved to Iraq with her husband, where she fell ill and died eventually.

When Qays' friends came to know about Laila's death, they went looking for him all over to give him the news. But they could not find him.

Not much later, their search for him came to an end. Qays was found dead in the wilderness near Laila's grave. On a rock near the grave, he had carved three verses of poetry, which are the last three verses ascribed to him.

Qays went mad for his love; for this reason he came to be called "Majnu", or "Majnun Layla", which means "Driven mad by Layla".

Such a love is hard to find today. So if ever you love someone, try to love like these two did. Even today, lovers swear by their name. It is their love affair that has made Laila and Majnu immortal in the accounts of great love stories.

The graves of Layla and Majnun,
where people come to seek blessings

Laila Majnu Ki Mazar (in Hindi लैला मजनू की मज़ार and in Punjabi ਲੈਲਾ ਮਜਨੂ ਦੀ ਮਜ਼ਾਰ) or the mausoleum of Layla and Majnun is situated at Binjaur, a village near Anupgarh in the Sri Gangannagar district of Rajasthan. According to the local legend, the famous lovers Laila and Majnu died here. A fair, held annually in the month of June, is attended by hundreds of couples and newlyweds


Mazar and its background
Many people associate this Mazar with the lovers Laila and Majnun. According to them, Laila-Qais were from Sindh and came to this place escaping from the clutches of Laila's parents and her brother, who were against love of Laila-Majnun. But, there was a huge sand dune during that time and they could not cross the desert because they were thirsty and finally Laila's parents followed them to only find them both dead in the desert. Thus, this place became a symbol of love and people come here to seek blessings of Laila and Majnu. According to the local people, on festivals, couples come to the graves of Laila and Majnu to seek their blessings for lifelong togetherness.

Some people, such as Rani Raisikh, one of the early caretakers of this Mazar, the mausoleum is not related to the mythical Laila-Majnu but are the two graves of a great teacher and his devoted student. The mausoleum is a symbol of mutual respect and love between that teacher and his student.

Development of the Mausoleum
Laila Majnu Mazar

Inside tomb people are offering prayers

Tomb of Laila Majnun where two graves are located
The mausoleum is part of old graveyard of Muslims and Hindus. In the beginning, these graves were under a shed cover. According to a local legend, miracles made people devotees of the grave and people began to visit this place. Now a small room (tomb) has been built here.

Annual fair
Laila Majnu Mazar
Inside tomb people are offering prayers
Hundreds of people visit this place for a fair, in the month of June (14 June). Many couples get lined up here to seek blessings from legendary Laila-Majnun. The visitors a lay a chadar (cloth-sheet) on their holy shrines and offer prayers.

During the fair, prasaad and Langar (free meal) is offered to the visitors by devotees. At night, devotional song's programmes are also organised by devotees.

Tomb of Laila Majnun
where two graves are located

Before the Kargil war, this place was also open for Pakistani visitors. Later, the border was closed for them