Srinagar: Holding a religious significance mainly for the Shia Muslims, the Persian New Year Navroz was celebrated with traditional and religious fervor in the Valley on Tuesday along with the other parts of the world.
Many locals here in Srinagar told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that while marking the celebrations, families mainly from the Shia community wish and greet each other ‘Navroz Mubarak’, with children wearing new dresses.
“The day starts with the special prayers and during the day friends and relatives visit the families to greet each other, wearing new clothes children go to the parks with their peers”, Imran Ahmad, a local Srinagar resident said.
He said that on this special festive day Muslims mainly from the Shia community during pre-dawn hours go to the graveyards to pray for their deceased family members or relatives and that a day before the marking of the festival they also prepare special dishes, which include fish, meat, chicken and Nadroo.
On the day of Navroz, people traditionally prefer to go for leech therapy which is considered to be an old practice for the treatment of various ailments as the practitioners believe that leach therapy cures many diseases like skin diseases, arthritis, chronic headaches, sinusitis, etc.
Many people think attaching live leeches to the human body can cure chronic diseases. This old-age traditional method of curing diseases is still prevailing in Kashmir.
Navroz, which literally means a ‘new day’, is the beginning of the New Year of the Persian calendar. The day also marks the beginning of farming and plantation in the Kashmir valley, the festive day also marks the formal arrival of the spring season in the valley, while farmers believe that seeds sown on Navroz blooms into healthy plants.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha also extended his warm greetings to the people, on the occasion of Navroz. In his message, the Lt Governor said that the auspicious occasion of Navroz symbolizes new beginnings and celebration of seasons.
“May the festival bring happiness, health and prosperity to all,” the Lt Governor said—(KNO)
