SHEIKHUPURA – The three-day 218th Urs of Punjabi poet and saint Waris Shah began at Jandiala Sher Khan, 18 kilometers from Lahore, on Sunday.
DCO performed the ghusal or washing of the grave of the saint. A wreath will be laid on the shrine on Tuesday (tomorrow) followed by a competition of recital of the verses from the epic poem Heer, written by Waris Shah.
Several Punjabi poets from Pakistan and abroad will participate in the competition. The government has taken security measures at the urs.
Pir Waris Shah was born in 1722 and died in 1798. Waris Shah got his early education in a mosque in Jandiala Sher Khan.
He completed his formal education of Dars-e-Nizami in Kasur from Maulvi Ghulam Murtaza Kasuri. Later on, he moved to Pakpattan and stayed at the shrine of Baba Farid for some time.
Besides Heer, he wrote Tasneef Nama, Miraj Nama, Chohery Nama, Dohay and Mahias.
