The Art of Cutting your Forehead

The Art of Cutting your Forehead, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

The dagger is held by both hands firmly, head low, the blade will pass through the cleavage of your skull as though parting the hairy waves , creating a path so to speak.
The crowd normally chants Ya Ali Ya Ali and you begin the spontaneous slow choreography , silenced emotions and no pain whatsoever..pain has fled along with its
sibling Fear..you continue the strokes till you feel a cold drop of blood on the tip of your nose this is Kama Zani done poetically capturing the moments on the sand dunes of Karbala and the pain and passion of Imam Hussain..the trials tribulations , sufferings of his erstwhile family.
Normally the people surrounding you grab the dagger from your hand as in my case..
There is another band of Kama Matam or forehead cutters who hit hard on their foreheads with inhuman strength , like the members of Sadka e Sakina..
It all depends on the fervour of each individual..
This is called Ghame Hussain.. the Tragedy of Hussain.
The hosting of Moharam , the Majlis, the Sabils, the Tazias the house Imambaras is known as Azadari e Hussain..
In Lucknow the Tazias or replicas of Imam Hussain are buried on Ashura day at the cemetery , the most famous being Karbala Talkatora..
All this is on my homesite shot last year..
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