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In a rare display of communal harmony, hundreds of Hindus in Orissa on Monday and Tuesday observed Muharram, a Muslim religious event.
While about a hundred Hindu families joined the Muharram procession at Jatni in Khurda district, some Hindu families took out tazias (replicas of Prophet Mohammad's martyred grandson's tomb) in western Orissa's Sambalpur town.
The tazias are either buried or immersed in water at the end of the procession.
The Hindus had also contributed funds for the event, said 75-year-old Mohammad Ali who organized a procession in Jatni, 20 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.
Lal Mohan Padhiari, a resident of Sambalpur town, took out a large decorated tazia on the occasion of Muharram, district police chief Lalit Das said.
The Padhiari family has been doing this every year for the last 338 years, he said, adding other local Hindu families also participate in the festivities.
Many years ago, some of Padhiari's ancestors had been to Mecca and Madina (holy places for Muslims) with their Muslim friends, he said.
Impressed by the rituals, they started observing the event on returning home, Das said.
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