Phool Walon Ki Sair: what it is, how it is made and what it means

Phool Walon Ki Sair is a three-day flower festival held each September in Mehrauli, New Delhi. Florists and locals carry large flower-embroidered fans in a procession to both a Hindu temple and a Sufi shrine, offering prayers for the coming year and celebrating harmony between communities.

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Held every September in Mehrauli, New Delhi
Procession offers floral fans at both Hindu and Sufi shrines
Started in 1812 during the Mughal era
Revived in 1962 with national participation
Celebrates unity between Hindu and Muslim communities

What is Phool Walon Ki Sair?

Phool Walon Ki Sair is a flower festival and procession in Delhi, where florists and residents carry large fans, called pankhas, embroidered and decorated with flowers. These floral fans are offered at both the Yogmaya Temple and the dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki. The event features music, dancing, and cultural performances, with the main function held at Jahaz Mahal in Mehrauli. The festival brings together people from different faiths and backgrounds in a shared celebration.

Where does Phool Walon Ki Sair come from?

The festival began in 1812 during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar Shah II. It started when the emperor’s wife, Queen Mumtaz Mahal Begum, vowed to offer a floral chadar at the dargah of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki if her exiled son was released. After his return, she fulfilled her vow, and the imperial court joined her in Mehrauli, turning the occasion into a week-long celebration. The Mughal king also ordered a floral offering at the Yogmaya Temple, making the event a symbol of unity. It became an annual tradition after the rains, with both Hindu and Muslim communities participating.

How Phool Walon Ki Sair is made

The central act of the festival is the making and offering of large floral pankhas (fans) and chadars (sheets). These are crafted by embroidering and decorating cloth with fresh flowers. The procession, led by musicians and dancers, carries these offerings through the streets from Chandni Chowk to Mehrauli, stopping at both the temple and the dargah. The festival also includes cultural performances and community gatherings.

Tomb of Sufi saint, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki , Mehrauli.. Photo: oigs, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When and where Phool Walon Ki Sair is used

Phool Walon Ki Sair takes place each September, just after the monsoon. It is attended by people from across Delhi and beyond, including dignitaries and cultural troupes from different Indian states. The festival is both a religious offering and a public celebration, with prayers for a good flower season and performances of music, dance, and drama. The event promotes communal harmony and national integration.

Forms of Phool Walon Ki Sair

Since its revival in the 1960s, the festival has included cultural troupes from various Indian states, broadening its scope beyond Delhi. The main traditions—offering floral pankhas and chadars at both shrines—remain unchanged, but new performances and participants have been added over time.

What Phool Walon Ki Sair means

Phool Walon Ki Sair stands as a symbol of religious harmony in Delhi, with joint offerings at both a Hindu temple and a Muslim dargah. Once patronized by Mughal emperors, it is now supported by the Prime Minister of India. The festival’s revival in the 1960s reinforced its role in bringing together people of different faiths, and it continues to be a celebration of unity and shared heritage.

Traditions that use it

Phool Walon Ki Sair

Questions people ask about Phool Walon Ki Sair

Where does Phool Walon Ki Sair take place?

Phool Walon Ki Sair is held in Mehrauli, a historic area in New Delhi, India. The procession travels from Chandni Chowk to Mehrauli, stopping at both the Yogmaya Temple and the dargah of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki.

What is the main activity of the festival?

The main activity is a procession where large floral fans and chadars are offered at both a Hindu temple and a Sufi shrine. The event also features music, dance, and cultural performances.

When is Phool Walon Ki Sair celebrated?

The festival is celebrated over three days in September, just after the monsoon season, marking the end of the rains in Delhi.

What does Phool Walon Ki Sair symbolise?

The festival is a symbol of communal harmony and unity in Delhi, with joint offerings at both Hindu and Muslim shrines. It brings together people of different faiths in a shared celebration.

How did the festival begin?

Phool Walon Ki Sair began in 1812 when the Mughal queen Mumtaz Mahal Begum fulfilled a vow by offering a floral chadar at a Sufi shrine after her son’s release from exile, and it became an annual event involving both Hindu and Muslim communities.

Good reading and sources

Where this page comes from

The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Phool Walon Ki Sair", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Phool rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

It may contain mistakes. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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