Dhamaal in Punjab: Lahore shrines, dancers and drummers

One festival setting at Madho Lal Hussain

Writing about Lahore’s festivals in 2022, cultural critic Sarwat Ali describes dhamaal at Mela Chiraghan around Shah Hussain’s shrine in Baghbanpura. In his account, a bonfire provides a gathering point, the dhol supplies the beat, and malangs whirl and sway, often wearing saffron or red. He places this activity within a broader festival environment that has included markets, music, theatre and jugglery. Dhamaal here belongs to a particular religious and social occasion with several things happening together. The account identifies a Lahore setting; it does not make the much better-known Sehwan shrine in Sindh a Punjabi location.[1]

Musical relationships

In a 2009 interview, Richard K. Wolf discusses recordings from Madho Lal Hussain. He obtained drummers’ names and later invited them to his Lahore apartment to discuss their relationships with dancers and demonstrate versions of rhythms. The musicians’ explanations accompany his observations at the event.[2]

Asked about the shrine’s urs, Wolf stresses its heterogeneous character. People can develop shared expectations through repeated experience while engaging with an event in different ways. His approach leaves room for distinct participant accounts within one gathering. It provides no basis for assigning one intention or identical experience to every dancer.[2]

Pappu Saeen between shrine and concert

Maheen Sabeeh’s 2021 remembrance of dhol player Pappu Saeen links his performances with the band Overload to his continuing return to shrine settings. She identifies Thursday-night playing and Baba Shah Jamal in particular, and recalls seeing an early Overload concert herself. She also describes his teaching and festival work. This named career connects devotional gatherings with other musical stages through a working performer. It helps keep the drummer visible within accounts of dhamaal, rather than treating percussion as an anonymous accompaniment. The remembrance describes his lifetime; it establishes no present schedule at the shrine.[3]