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SINCE CHILDHOOD, I HAVE BEEN OBSERVING MY UNCLE MAKING THE TAZIA; A REPLICA OF THE SHRINE OF IMAM HUSSAIN (GRANDSON OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD, PBUH), BUT I WAS UNAWARE OF THE AESTHETIC VALUES OF THIS DEVOTIONAL ART FORM. I GAINED KNOWLEDGE OF THIS PARTICULAR FORM OF ART DURING MY DISCUSSIONS WITH SEVERAL CRAFTSMEN AND BY APPRENTICING UNDER ONE MASTER-CRAFTSMAN AKBAR ALI PIRJHA, WHO BELONGS TO ONE OF THE FAMILIES WHO MAKE TAZIAS. DURING MY STAY AT CHINIOT, I OBSERVED THAT THE STRUCTURE OF THE TAZIA RESEMBLES A HINDU TEMPLE. THIS OBSERVATION COMPELLED ME TO DISCUSS THE MATTER WITH TAZIA-ARTISTS WHO ARE ACTUALLY INVOLVED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE DEVOTIONAL REPLICA. THE TAZIA IS ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE MUHARRAM RITUALS RELATED TO THE EVENT OF KARBALA (61 A.H./680 A.D.) PERFORMED DURING THE FIRST TEN DAYS OF MUHARRAM, THE FIRST MONTH OF THE HIJRAH CALENDAR AND THE TAZIA IS ALSO A TRADITIONAL ART FORM THAT EMERGED IN THE MARGINAL CULTURES OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT. IN ORDER TO GAIN MORE COMPREHENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THIS RELIGIOUS ART FORM, I BECAME SERIOUSLY INVOLVED IN OBSERVING AND STUDYING COMMEMORATIONS OF THE MUHARRAM AND ULTIMATELY DECIDED TO MAKE THE “TAZIA” THE TOPIC OF MY RESEARCH WORK. DURING MY OBSERVATIONS OF THE MUHARRAM RITUALS, I CAME TO KNOW THAT THE RITUALS ARE ALSO RELATED TO THE CUSTOMS OF MARRIAGE, LEADING ME TO DISCOVER THAT THE MUHARRAM RITUALS HAVE STRONG CULTURAL CONTEXT.
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