Devotees pray at the mazaar in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Feb. 20: For those who can’t help taking to the dance floor when they hear Tumse milke dil ka hai jo haal kya kahen — from the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Main Hoon Na — here is some good news. The three-day long annual Urs of Hazrat Shaheed Sayyad Ghulam Safdar Pir Murad Shah — popularly known as High Court Baba — started off today.

The religious festival will of course be more devotional in nature than the Anu Malik number. But there is a special treat for qawwali lovers — the devotional songs will have a local Bhojpuri flavour to them.

“About a decade ago, we used to bring qawwali singers from Pakistan to perform at the festival. But the practice could not be continued because of security reasons,” said Mohammed Farookh, a member of the Urs organising committee.

Farookh added: “The original qawwalis are sung in chaste Urdu. But that is a little difficult for everyone to understand. Now, the qawwalis that are sung are a blend of Urdu, Hindi and a smattering of Bhojpuri. Local colour makes the festival popular for the common man.”

A qawwali ki raat (night of qawwalis) has been organised on February 22 and 23.

“There will be a competition between Patna-based Khursheed Kadri Faizi’s team and Meena Tabassum’s team from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. Both the teams have popular and talented singers. We are expecting a large crowd,” said Farookh.

The next night, Chote Aziz Najjan from Asansol in West Bengal will combat Heena Varsi from Muzaffarpur on the qawwali stage.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and LJP boss Ram Vilas Paswan are also expected to visit the mazaar.