Hakeem Bolar
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jan 19: The Rahmania Dargah Masjid Shariff located at Nadupalli in Adyar Kannur here stands in the midst of River Netravati. Thousands of people took part in the Uroos of this Dargah held on Saturday January 17.

The uniqueness of their visit to the Dargah Shariff Uroos lies in the fact that a temporary bridge was made available to the devotees to walk through to the Dargah by lining up nearly 80 boats one besides the other from the river bank to the Dargah.

This mosque, which is about 400 years old, is surrounded by River Netravati which flows serenely around an isle where this ancient mosque is located. About 50,000 people took part in the Uroos held this year in spite of the fact that the mosque is surrounded by water. Normally people use boats to reach the Dargah and bow before the tombs of the saints here. However, for the Uroos, they did not have to take this trouble, as a unique bridge was laid out for their convenience.

Tombs of three saints, who had spent their entire lives in providing spiritual guidance to the people, are located at this Dargah. Bodies of three persons, two brothers and a sister, had flown from west to east to this spot. The bodies were seen to be having some divine powers. The people had arranged to bury them and build their tombs on the right side of the mosque. Since then, people across different religions have made it a practice to visit the Dargah and seek fulfillment of their wishes.

This Dargah is well known for granting the wishes of farmers. There are many instances in which farmers, troubled by lack of rain, came here, made gruel mixed with jaggery as is customary, distributed it among the needy, and prayed for rain. Heavy rain soaked them on their way back. To celebrate these divine powers, every year, Uroos and other religious programmes are organized.

Another unique feature of this Dargah is the presence of two sweet water wells in the area, although normally wells in the vicinity of the sea have salty taste. Water from these wells are used by the people living in the locality. This place has provided succour and relief to people facing problems over the centuries. People who face problems in their lives including sickness come here to seek blessings and find solace and solution to their problems out of the divinity of this Dargah.