Of the hundreds of tazias (replica tombs) taken out in processions across the streets of Bengal on the occasion of Muharram on Saturday, one taken out by residents of Khalasipara town in Birbhum district stood out for its message of amity.

The 11-foot-tall tazia, made by Hindu artist Akash Kahar, 30, took a month to create and assemble. Kahar did not charge any commission for his work, explaining that he did not want to profit off his “Muslim brothers”.

“I grew up in this area, so all the members of the Muharram committee are like my elder brothers. How can I make a profit from them? So, I willingly gave up my fee. I asked them (the committee) to only provide me with the cost to purchase the materials needed to make the tazia,” said Kahar, who also constructed a model tanker that was also taken out with the tazia.

Kahar is a professional wall painter who also makes articles made from thermocol and wood.

A resident of Khalasipara which falls under ward 14 of Rampurhat municipality and has a mixed population, Kahar said he has been accustomed to communal harmony since his childhood.

Ward 14 of Rampurhat has a population near 5,000, among which 1,100 are Muslim, 200 are Christians and the rest Hindu.

“This ward has a church, mosques and temples. People of our area (Khalasipara) from different religions have been living here for ages peacefully. Akash (Kahar) approached us to make the tazia and we gave him a free hand. It is a really beautiful tazia that he has made along with the model of the tanker,” said Sahazada Hossain Kinu, one of the organisers of the Khalasipara Muharram Committee.

He said the cost of making the tazia and the tanker came to around Rs 35,000, stating it could have cost “at least double” had any other artist been commissioned professionally.

“Kahar did not take additional money apart from the cost of the materials to make these. We owe him our thanks,” Kinu added.