Post News Network
Jajpur, Jan 8: At a time when religious intolerance hogs newspaper headlines more often than not, ‘Satyapeer Pitha’, a small shrine at Orali village under Rasulpur block in this district bears testimony to communal harmony.
A Hindu can be seen offering ‘Deepa’ (earthen lamp) to the holy being while a Muslim is found reciting the Holy Quran from the same platform in a serene ambience. The shrine, which is believed to be a dargah (an Islamic shrine built on the grave of a revered religious figure), receives huge footfalls on Thursdays and Fridays.
Interestingly, there is no Muslim habitation in 5 km radius of the shrine. Some woman or the other from Orali village at least offers an incense stick at the shrine everyday apart from Thursdays and Fridays when Muslim devotees of nearby regions throng the site in large numbers.
It is believed that the tomb of Ahmmed Buland Shah, a Muslim religious preacher, is present on the premises of the dargah where only Muslim men are allowed. However, men, women and children of both the communities can offer prayers at other places of the dargah.
While none has a definite answer on the period of the shrine’s establishment, one can get an idea from the information available with some aging Muslim devotees.
According to them, a large number of Muslim religious preachers from Iran visited India for religious propagation during the extension of the Mogul empire. Bulund Shah, one of the preachers, preferred to reside in a dense forest instead of staying in Muslim habitations. He used to travel other areas from this place and named it Orali. It is said that the footmark of this preacher has been preserved at Hajibag mosque, about five km from Orali. Shah, after propagating Islam for some years, believed to have ‘mediated himself to death’ here which later turned out to be a sacred religious site for both Hindus and Muslims. The birth anniversary of Shah is observed with gaiety every year.
At present, the devotees have converted the thatched roof of the shrine into a concrete roof. Apart from the residents of Rasulpur block, devotees from Cuttack, Bhadrak and Kendrapara districts also visit the dargah on regular basis.
As part of the rituals, devotees put a brick at the shrine for the fulfillment of their wishes. Hindu women tie bangles and red threads to get their wishes fulfilled.
Most importantly, devotees have never been influenced by communal tension among the communities taking place in a few other parts of the country. PNN