PATAHI (EAST CHAMPARAN), June 27 -- As soon as the month of muharram, the first in the Hijri calendar, marks its advent, a nondescript village in Patahi block of East Champaran begins to adopt colour of mourning. And it is Hindus who make this period a vibrant symbol of communal harmony by leading tazias, the ornate replicas of mausoleum of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, whose martyrdom at the battle of Karbala, is marked by Muslims all over the globe. Hindus of the area say they have maintained the tradition of marking muharram for a century. On Friday too, it was a sombre occasion when the front-yard of Shiv Shankar Singh's house began to fill with observers who came to witness the finesse with which tazias are built and the passion with which devotees vent out their emotions. Moments later, Shailendra Singh, Anandi Singh, Jai Shankar Singh, Birendra Singh and Anjani Singh emerge, some carrying a tazia and some twirling lathis to evoke memories of the Karbala. Slowly, Muslim participants swelled in number and it took the form of a procession that dissipated as dusk settled. For outsiders, it might be difficult to believe but in the village, it is a common knowledge that a Hindu family has played a pivotal role in the village's muharram observance and remained the torchbearers of communal harmony, brotherhood and mutual respect. "I am 56-year-old and have witnessed Shiv Shankar Singh's family taking out tazia procession every year without a fail. The family leads the tazia procession and similar processions from side by villages join them as a mark of respect for them," said Shah Mohammed, a resident of Padumker village as his brother Zakir Hussain, 45, and other co-villagers Md Jahangir Alam, Nayim Miyan, Jamshed Alam and Md. Mansuri echoed the similar sentiments. Hindu participants of the tazia procession travel to Karbala (a symbolic place where tazias are submerged or dismantled) and disperse only when their Muslim co-villagers call it off. "In a step with our village tradition, we wish them to lead the procession every year, always," is the refrain of Muslims of the area. "The family performs all the related rituals in its letter and spirit," said Zamil Akhtar, another villager. Even though the procession is a display of exemplary communal unity, the administration keeps vigil and policemen are deployed in sufficient numbers. Family members of Singh say they can't recall how or under what circumstances their forefathers first became associated with the tazia procession during muharram, but they have kept the tradition alive faithfully. "All we know is that it started during our great-grandfather Devi Singh's lifetime," Singh said. During the British era when a licence was required to organise such a procession, the license for the tazia procession used to be issued in the name of the Singh family, family members claimed. Singh family hopes that their future generations would also keep the tradition alive. "Remember Hahh se Hindu mahhh se Musalmaan, aur hum sab se hai Hindustan (Hahh. stands for Hindu and Mahh for Muslim and we represent India along with others)," said Shailendra Singh, a member of the Singh family, with hope that communal brotherhood will withstand the challenges of time....