S C Road

Sunbathing.

There are days in Benglur when you can have all four seasons during the course of a day. And here's a man enjoying a brief spell of summer.

OPH Road

Colours of India - Lal Masjid

It's the month of Ramadan and Basha Mian says that his vibrant caps are a hit with the people who pray at the colourfully named Lal Masjid.

OTC Road, Cottonpet

Topless at Dharmasthala. Suits to work. Black tees to rock concerts. Bermuda chaddis to the beach. Silk sarees to weddings. Jeans and tee to college. Black lungi to Shabarimala. And here's what some people wore at the Cottonpet Dargah Urs. 

OTC Road

Like every other religious congregation in India, the festival at the dargah at  Cottonpet is also an excuse for people to come together and mix with each other. The original social network. And yes, there's a play area to keep the children busy.  

OTC Road

It's Urs time at the Dargah Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan and now is probably one of the best times to visit OTC Road in Cottonpet. The road is blocked late in the evening to set up the stage and hook up the concert size sound boxes. The music begins late and continues early into the morning filling the air with songs about love. Love for the lord above and his many forms that dot the Old Taluk Catchery Road (OTC). This road probably has the largest number of shrines rubbing shoulders with each other. Starting with the maginficent Dharmaraja Koil Temple on the Corporation end to The Dargah on the Cottonpet end. And that's the route the Benglur Karaga takes.

Yes. The Cottonpet Dargah has a special place because when the city celebrates its most important festival - The Benglur Karaga, this Dargah is a mandatory stop.  

OTC Road, Cottonpet

I got a lesson in advertising from a man without a home from Burhanpur, MP. Like a good ad, he made a pleasant introduction. He smiled at me as I was parking my scooter. I smiled back. With that attire, he had my attention. He looked like an interesting person to shoot. Then like a good ad, we started a conversation. I asked him if he was here for the Urs at the Dargah. He was. He spoke a wonderful Hindi that can only be from Madhya Pradesh. So I asked him where he was from. And then we spoke about the Gateway to the South, as Burhanpur is called. He spoke about how he travels from shrine to shrine, going wherever the man above directs him to go. Then we spoke about religion and when I told him that I was an atheist, like a good ad, he appealed to the decision maker in the home - my wife who is a devotee of the Sai Baba (I have no idea how he guessed that one). Then like all ads, he had an action point. He wrote down a little mantra that my wife could chant. And finally, he told me his name. A very long name. But he told me, not to worry, call me Sai Baba, that's what people call me. So there. Like an ad he gave a brand name that is easy to remember. 

To learn the basics of advertising, the best way is to observe godmen and religious groups. They do the best advertising in the world, not ad agencies. 

Coming soon: More pictures from the Cottonpet Urs.   

Avenue Road

(Image processed by Abhijit Dharmadhikari)

This is Rahmathullah, from Mulbagilu, Kolar Distirct. He is a Dervesh or Dervish, one among the many wandering ascetics who have decided to live a life of poverty. Behind him is the Dargah-E-Hazrat Manik Shah. This little dargah is tucked away behind a line of small hardware stores on Avenue Road and surrounded by sheet metal workshops and kerosene stove manufacturers. 

This is the identity card issued by Dervesh Welfare Association (Sponsored by the Govt. of Karnataka) and signed by the District Collector of Kolar. Rahamatullah tells me that it allows him to lead the Dervesh life of extracting a living by going from door-to-door without being troubled by the police. He also told me that he will be entitiled to a small pension but I'm not sure if I heard right. But yes, the card helps. 

The Dervesh of Karnataka, like their counterparts around the subcontinent, wander from place to place and shrine to shrine. And thanks to the Urs at the Cottonpet dargah, many of them are in Bangalore at the moment. Rahamatullah and his friends like these Qawalli singers, are camped here.  

OTC Road

At the Aastana-e-Hazrat Khwaja - Syedshah Sharfudeen Khadri Shaheed Shrine. Next to Luciya Hotel.

Jamia Masjid Rd. Shivajinagar