Vagamon - Shooting Location/Tourism spot/Paragliding Destination

Vagamon is a hill station located in Kottayam-Idukki border of Kottayam district of Kerala at an altitude of 1,100 mtr above sea level.  India. It has a cool climate with the temperature between 10 and 23 °C during a summer midday. National Geographic Traveler has listed Vagamon on their directory of the '50 most attractive places to visit in India’.

Still untouched by commercialisation, the sleepy town with its scenic valleys, beautiful green meadows, enchanting pine forests, mists, fogs, tea estates, waterfalls with the overall greenery is really striking. The landscape is mostly hilly bald with green meadows. Vagamon is also home to a large variety of flowers and orchids. Cuddled up within three striking hills Thangal, Murugan and Kurisumala hills which are the representation of the chief religions in Kerala, i.e. Hindu, Muslim, and Christian which represent the cultural harmony. Vagamon has amenities for trekking, paragliding, mountaineering and rock climbing. Vagamon is an emerging international paragliding destination in south India. However business interests are trying their best to exploit and sell and market vagamon for tourists. How much benefits the local people are receiving from tourism boom is to be seen. The efforts made by the Kurishumala Ashram have helped the farmers of vagamon to improve their earnings by ensuring better price for milk and marketing opportunities.

Vagamon is at the fringe of the Western Ghats and the foot hills on its lower side reach up to Teekoy with a gradual descent. This narrow strip of descending land gives a vital connectivity to the plains as both sides of vagamon up to kuttikkanam on the south west and moolamattom on the north east, are marked by steep and inaccessible hill slopes. Travelling by the hill highway in this section is an exhilarating experience with deep valleys and magnificent views all around. Vagamon presents very spectacular views with an ethereal touch. Vagamon's charm is worth experiencing and is indeed one of the must see places for tourists. Reaching Vagamon itself is an extraordinary experience. The meandering road to Vagamon is cut in solid rock lined with pine forests. And as you wind your way through green capped hills, the rolling plains come into view thousands of feet below you. The road to vagamon from Erattupetta, the gateway of Malanadue opened an easily accessible and direct route to vagamon from the plains. This road which was constructed in the 1950s was an engineering marvel and is rated a state highway. The road was made in treacherous and dizzying terrain under the initiative and leadership of Acharya Francis who established the Kurisumala Ashramam. About a dozen workers died during the construction at the hanging cliffs and a 20 foot tall memorial tower stands in honour of those who gave their life for this road project at the beginning of the road in Teekoy town junction. Always be alert and keep yourself safe by not standing on hill top when there is suspected rain, since there can be lightning hazard.

The nearby Kurisumala Ashram is an abode of calm and spiritual delight. This hill area includes 12 sub mounds where pilgrims visit. Travelers can enjoy trekking and climbing this high hill. The area is fully surrounded with Tea estates and lakes. 
Indo-Swiss Project dairy farms : Indo-Swiss Project dairy farms is situated on the Kurisumala hill. The dairy farm is managed by the Kurisumala monks (restricted entry).

Mitraniketan: Padma Shri Laurie Baker's & wife Dr. Elizabeth Baker's previous residence (ashasadan) and workstation (mitraniketan) and also home to nurse Alina Cattani, and Dr. Hildegarde Sina,constructed in 1963, it is famous for its Baker style of construction.

Vagamon Meadows: The rolling green meadows of Vagamon has a lake amidst them. It has for long been a favorite location for shooting movie songs.

Pine Forests: A valley having huge lofty pine trees lined in rows (pine valleys is one of the Most attractive place in VAGAMON)

Mooppanpara: It is a v-shaped canyon, one of the admired view points as well acknowledged as a suicide point. The outlook from the summit of the strenuous climb is amazing.[3]

Murugan Hill: It is situated near to Thangal Para. A Murugan temple is situated which is devoted to Lord Muruga with gorgeous stone age carving.[4]

Paragliding and Paragliding Festival

Bible Believers' Assembly is located on Zion Nagar, Vagamon its a place to worship God in Truth and Spirit. It is the first Pentecostal church in Vagamon now with Malayalam, Tamil worship services.

Feature films in Vagamon[edit]

Song sequences of many South Indian films are shot in Vagamon. Recently, the Naseeruddin Shah starrer - The Blueberry Hunt - was shot in Vagamon and surrounding area.

Vagamon is located 15 km from kottamala 39 km from Thodupuzha,23 km from Erattupetta, 33 km away from Palai, 45 km from Kumily, 22 km from Kuttikanam and about 65 km from Kottayam. Key tourist centers such as Thekkady, Peermade and Kulamavu are straightforwardly reachable from Vagamon.

By rail:

Kottayam, about 75 km from Peermede, is the nearest railway station.

By air:

Cochin International Airport, about 150 km from Peermede, is the nearest airport.

The Smallest Elephant - Borneo Pygmy

The Smallest Elephant - Borneo Pygmy

It is estimated that there were once more than 350 species of elephants in the world. Today we only have two of them left , the African elephant (Loxodonta Africana) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) . Even though both species belong  to the Eliphantidae family there are many physical differences between the two. One of the most obvious differences is the ears. African elephants have huge, flappy ears while Asian elephants have smaller ones. But today we introduce you to yet another member of the elephant family which is in fact believed to be a subspecies of the Asian elephant - the pygmy elephant of Borneo.

Pygmy elephants are cryptids reported to be living in both Africa and Asia. The African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta pumilio) is believed to be a tiny morph of the African forest elephants.  There are claims by Kani tribals dwelling in the rainforests of India that there are pygmy elephants in the Peppara forest range. They refer to them as ‘Kallana’. However, the existence of a pygmy variety in India has not been scientifically ascertained.  And the term pygmy elephant should not be confused with dwarf elephant, which is used for a number of extinct species of elephants that evolved their size due to island dwarfing. Surprisingly one dwarf elephant was spotted in Sri Lanka back in 2013. It is fully grown but is only 5 feet tall.

Once believed to be remnants of a domesticated herd given to the Sultan of Sulu in the 17th century, pygmy elephants were determined by WWF to be genetically different from other Asian elephants. DNA evidence proved these elephants were isolated about 300,000 years ago from their cousins on mainland Asia and Sumatra. Over time, they became smaller with relatively larger ears, longer tails and straighter tusks. Today, the pygmy elephants of Borneo, Malaysia and Indonesia are the smallest elephants in Asia. It is a small creature that breeds in the Asian region having a length of approximately 2.5 meters. The recent study has especially accumulated the number of such creatures being alive today are about fifteen hundred in numbers.

These elephants possess thick strong limbs and huge feet in order to balance their body. They have hairs on their thick body which generally protect them from cold. The major cause of survival in the forest land of this animal is their tusks that enable them to fulfill their thirst by digging, searching for roots, barks and various other sources as well. They always use their long trunk to eat and drink which generally assist them to live in the wild atmosphere.

The necessary feeds of Borneo Pygmy Elephants are plants due to which they are declared as herbivorous. For instance, their daily feed is about hundred and fifty kilo grams of plants that include flowers, grasses, palm leaves, bananas and various other green formations in plants.

It has been notified that the major enemies of Pygmy Elephants are humans predominantly, which has made them endangered species. These elephants are endangered because of their ivory tusks being sold by humans in terms of getting huge amount of money in return. This is the main reason of this animal getting vanished from the human eyes.

The most obvious threat to these elephants today are the habitat loss. They are being degraded and fragmented by the increasing human population. This has resulted in human elephant conflicts, which usually occurs when the elephants destroy or eat the crops. A large number of people as well as elephants are killed every year, because of this. The expansion of humans has interrupted the elephants’ migration routes, diminished their sources of food and of course has disturbed their habitat.

An interaction with the surroundings of such an animal has made it a little shy and immensely gentle in behavior especially. The particular behavior of this animal is that he/she knows swimming in the flowing river and he/she can easily pass through the difficult river barriers. The main cause of defense of such animals is that they use their feet for kicking and stomping. They also utilize their tusks warding off their enemies.

It is an alarming fact that these cute lovable animals, the real-life ‘Dumbos’ with their strong resemblance to the cartoon character, should one day end up like the mammoths which became extinct in the ice-age. Even though, the pygmy elephant is not included in the World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Species which classifies about 40,000 species according to their risk of extinction.  Let’s hope that conservationists will take all the necessary measures to ensure their numbers grow from just a thousand to many more thousands in the years to come.

Vaishno Devi Temple - One Cannot Possibly have Darshan/Visit of Mata, Unless she herself calls the Devotees

Vaishno Devi Temple - One Cannot Possibly have Darshan/Visit of Mata, Unless she herself calls the Devotees

Vaishno Devi, also known as Mata Rani, Trikuta and Vaishnavi, is a manifestation of the Hindu Mother Goddess Mahalakshmi.  Vaishno Devi Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu Goddess, located at the Trikuta Mountains within the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. More than 10 million pilgrims visit this shrine every year.

It is believed that at some point of time each one of these 33 koti (type) deities have worshipped Goddess Vaishno Mata, and left their symbolic marks inside. It is also believed that during the pooja and Aarti, these Gods and Goddesses arrive at the Holy cave to pay their obeisance to Mata. Hindus believe that one cannot possibly have Darshan of Mata, unless she herself calls the devotees.

‘Chalo bulawa aya hai, Mata ne bulaya hai’. Meaning ‘Let us go to Vaishno Devi as Mata has beckoned us to come for darshan and blessings’.

The town of Katra in Jammu and Kashmir is the base point of the 13 km trek to the Holy Cave, where an elaborate Bhawan exists taking care of every possible need of the devotee. The trek from the Banganga check post in Katra to Mata’s Bhawan is an arduous 13 km long one. The Bhawan is open for darshan 365 days and the Shrine Board, the governing body of the Bhawan has made it possible to do the trek 24 by 7.

The trek is divided into two parts. The first part of the trek up to Adkuwari is roughly half way at a distance of 7 km from Banganga starting check post. At Adkuwari the road to the Bhawan bifurcates into two. One road goes via Adkuwari while the second one goes via Himkoti.

One can cover the trek by four different methods:

1. By Helicopter - Book 60 days in advance through the official website of Shrine Board

2. By foot - get a "travel slip" from Shrine Board Office at Katra Bus Stand. Trek of 13 km                         can be completed in about 5 to 8 hours.

3. By horses – The horses are allowed on the Adkuwari trial.

4. By Palki – human palanquin

On reaching the Bhawan one can take a bath at the bathing ghats. Having done so, one needs to deposit all luggage, mobile phones, cameras and leather items in lockers provided by the Shrine Board. Also it is here that a group is provided a number for darshan on showing the "travel slip". Devotees enter through Gate No 3.

The Bhawan provides accommodation for the devotees to stay overnight at the Bhawan. The booking for this needs to be done online, well in advance. The Bhawan is buzzing with activity at any given time of the day. Devotees irrespective of their class arrive at the Bhawan to receive blessings of Vaishno Mata.

On most days, the queue leading up to the Holy cave keeps moving. Moreover, the whole Bhawan reverberates with the devotees chanting, “Jai Mata Di” and one totally becomes unaware of the fatigue of the long trek.

The Shrine board has taken immense care to provide all amenities for a comfortable darshan of the devotees. So you will find shops, restaurants, PCOs, Cloak rooms, Prashad shops and police posts.

"BHAINT" The Prasad offered by the devotees to Mata is called BHAINT. There are several shops at Bhawan selling Bhaints. These can also be bought from the office of the Shrine board packed neatly in Eco friendly jute bags, with the logo of the Shrine Board, a souvenir in itself. A typical Bhaint comprises prasad, fuliyan, chunri, mouli, coconut, pooja samagri including itra, bangles and sindoor.

Outside the exit tunnel and just beyond the Amrit Kund lies the PRASAD counter. The blessings of the Mother Goddess in the form of Prasad pouches are handed over to the devotees by the temple priests. Each Prasad pouch comprises the Mishri Prasad plus a blessed coin, carrying the image of Holy Pindies. In addition, Khazana (coins) are given to the devotees. It is believed to be a good luck coins(s) and devotees would do well to keep it in their cash boxes, temples or other important places in their homes or establishments. it is not only a belief but a fact that the Khazana Prasad wherever kept, has brought in prosperity and luck.

These are readily available at the souvenir shops run by the shrine Board at Katra, Adkuwari, Sanjichhat and Bhawan. Gold and Silver coins of the Holy goddess are also available.

Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji is considered to be an incarnation of the three Supreme Energies. Inside the Holy Cave there are in the form of natural three rock formations called Pindies. These three heads in a natural rock form are known as the Holy Pindies and are worshipped as the revelation of the Mother Goddess. Towards the right of the devotee is the Holy pindi of Mata Kali (the supreme energy of dissolution) in the color of Black. Vaishno Devi, also known as Mata Rani, Trikuta and Vaishnavi, is a manifestation of the Hindu Mother Goddess Mahalakshmi. In the centre is the Holy Pindi of Mata Lakshmi (the supreme energy of maintenance) in the color of Yellowish-red. In the extreme left of the viewer is whorshipped as the Holy Pindi of Mata Saraswati (the supreme energy of creation & knowledge) in the color of white. Vaishno Devi is the most widely visited shrine in North India and the second most visited shrine in the country after Tirupati Balaji. Important festivals: Navratri, Durga Puja.

Visit to Vaishno Devi's temple is not considered completed until the visitor goes to Bhairav Nath Temple. Because of not visited Bhairav Nath Temple, I again visited after two years. Bhairav Nath Temple is the place, according to the myths, where the head of mythological villain fell after it was taken off by Maa Vaishno. Although, Bhairav Nath Temple is just 5 km above Vaishno Devi's Temple it is very hard to be there because of the crooked and haphazard road. 

Katra By Air : Jammu Airport is also known as Satwari Airport which is located just about 48 kilometers away. It is the nearest airfield that can be accessed to reach Katra by air. Some of the major airlines operational at the Jammu Airport include Air India, IndiGo, GoAir, SpiceJet, JetKonnect and many others. Jammu Airport is connected to Delhi, Leh, Srinagar, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmadabad, Jaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa and others. Nearest Airport : Jammu Airport, Jammu 

Katra by Railways : If you are planning to reach Katra via railways then the nearest railway station is Jammu Tawi. This railway station is well linked with major cities in the country especially the northern part. Trains are considered as a better option by most pilgrims who plan to travel to Katra.

Address: 

Vaishno Devi

Katra, Jammu and Kashmir

St. Antony of Padua

ST. ANTONY

Saint for the recovery of lost items, and is credited with many miracles involving lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods!

St. Anthony - He is especially invoked and venerated all over the world as the patron saint for the recovery of lost items, and is credited with many miracles involving lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods.

I visited St. Antony Church, which is also a holy Pilgrimage center at Nagampadam, Kottayam, Kerala. Because of many miracles reported, every Tuesday thousands of devotees from all parts of Kerala attending mass.

Saint Anthony of Padua (born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 1195 – 13 June 1231) also known as Anthony of Lisbon, was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. He was born and raised by a wealthy family in Lisbon and died in Padua, Italy. Noted by his contemporaries for his forceful preaching and expert knowledge of scripture, he was the second-most-quickly canonized saint after Peter of Verona. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on 16 January 1946. He is also the patron saint of finding things or lost people.

In 1212, he asked to be transferred to the motherhouse of the congregation, Fernando Martins was born in Lisbon, Portugal. The Abbey of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, then the capital of Portugal. There the young Fernando studied theology and Latin.

After his ordination to the priesthood, Fernando was named guestmaster and placed in charge of hospitality for the abbey. While he was in Coimbra, some Franciscan friars arrived and settled at a small hermitage outside Coimbra dedicated to Saint Anthony of Egypt. Upon his admission to the life of the friars, he joined the small hermitage in Olivais, adopting the name Anthony (from the name of the chapel located there, dedicated to Saint Anthony the Great), by which he was to be known.

St. Anthony then set out for Morocco, in fulfillment of his new vocation. However, he fell seriously ill in Morocco and set sail back for Portugal in hope of regaining his health. On the return voyage the ship was blown off course and landed in Sicily.

From Sicily he made his way to Tuscany where he was assigned to a convent of the order, but he met with difficulty on account of his sickly appearance. He was finally assigned to the rural hermitage of San Paolo near Forlì, Romagna, a choice made after considering his poor health. There he had recourse to a cell one of the friars had made in a nearby cave, spending time in private prayer and study.

The reason St. Anthony's help is invoked for finding things lost or stolen is traced to an incident that occurred in Bologna. According to the story, Anthony had a book of psalms that was of some importance to him as it contained the notes and comments he had made to use in teaching his students. A novice who had decided to leave took the psalter with him. Prior to the invention of the printing press, any book was an item of value. Upon noticing it was missing, Anthony prayed it would be found or returned. The thief was moved to restore the book to Anthony and return to the Order. The stolen book is said to be preserved in the Franciscan friary in Bologna

Anthony became sick with ergotism, a disease which is now known also under the name "Saint Anthony's Fire", and, in 1231, went to the woodland retreat at Camposampiero with two other friars for a respite. There he lived in a cell built for him under the branches of a walnut tree. Anthony died on the way back to Padua on 13 June 1231 at the Poor Clare monastery at Arcella (now part of Padua), aged 35.

According to the request of Anthony, he was buried in the small church of Santa Maria Mater Domini, probably dating from the late 12th century and near a convent which had been founded by him in 1229.

When his body was exhumed thirty years after his death, it was found turned to dust, but the tongue was claimed to have glistened and looked as if it was still alive and moist; apparently a further claim was made that this was a sign of his gift of preaching. On 1 January 1981 Pope John Paul II authorized a scientific team to study the saint's remains and the tomb was opened on 6 January.

Anthony was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on 30 May 1232, at Spoleto, Italy, less than one year after his death.

South Indian Drums - Pancha Vadyam and other Chenda Melangal

South Indian Drums - Pancha Vadyam & Chenda Melams

pancha vadyam

Panchari Melam

Pandi Melam

Thayambaka

Shingari Melam

The Chenda (Malayalam: ചെണ്ട) is a cylindrical percussion instrument used widely in the state of Kerala, Tulu Nadu of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India. In Tulu Nadu it is known as chande. A Chenda is a cylindrical wooden drum, and has a length of two feet and a diameter of one foot. Both ends are covered (usually with animal's skin) with the "Chenda Vattam".

A "Chenda Melam" means percussion using Chenda.

Panchavadyam( പഞ്ചവാദ്യം Malayalam), literally meaning an orchestra of five instruments, is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four — timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idakka — belong to the percussion category, while the fifth, kombu, is a wind instrument.  panchavadyam is characterised by a pyramid-like rhythmic structure with a constantly increasing tempo coupled with a proportional decrease in the number of beats in cycles.

There are 7 types of "melangal"  Panchari melam, Champa, Chempada, Adantha, Anchadatha, Druvam and Pandy melam. The earlier 6 melams are called "Chempada melangal". Other than these seven "melams"" two more melams are there in Kerala "Navam" and "Kalpam".  "Shingari Melam" is not considered as a classical form of art.

Panchari melam, comprising instruments like chenda, ilathalam, kombu and kuzhal. Panchari is a six-beat thaalam (taal) with equivalents like Roopakam in south Indian Carnatic music and Daadra in the northern Hindustani classical.

Pandi Melam - the chenda and accompanied by ilathalam (cymbals), kuzhal and Kombu. A full-length Pandi, a melam based on a thaalam (taal) with seven beats, lasts more than two-and-a-half hours, and is canonically performed outside temples. It has basically four stages, each of them with rhythmic cycles (thaalavattam) totalling 56, 28, 14 and seven respectively.

A thayambaka performance on the chenda has thus its focus on the stick-and-palm rolls produced on the itantala (treble) of the chenda, while the rhythm is laid by his fellow instrumentalists on the valanthala (bass) chendas and ilatalam (cymbals).[1] Thayambaka, believed to have flourished during the feudal era, spans an average of 90 minutes. It begins at a slow pace before scaling on to a medium tempo and eventually culminating in high, frenzied speed.

"Kaalam" (കാലം) is a degree of geometric speed. A "Kalam" starts with an "Onnam Kaalam" (ഒന്നാം കാലം) or the first degree of geometric speed. Which is the "thalam" (താളം) or the basic rhythm throughout the percussion performance (melam). Once the "Onnam Kaalam" is practiced the students learn to exercise the "Randam Kaalam" (രണ്ടാം കാലം) or the second degrees of geometric speed, then the "Muunaam Kaalam" (മൂനാം കാലം) or the third degrees of geometric speed Then the "Naalam Kaalam" or the fourth degree of geometric speed and so on. Depending up on the practice and experience a Chenda performer can perform in 7, 8, 9 or even 10 "Kaalam".

Thalam : Thalam is the division of time.

Thalavattam : Thalavattam is the prescribed time to complete the rhythmic cycle.

Kalam : Kalam is the variation in speed to complete the assigned job. (e.g. Onnam Kalam, Randam Kalam etc.)

Aksharakalam : Time to recite one akshara (nearly one second). This is used to understand the structure of thalam. (eg. Na Ka Da etc.)

Kalasam : A seto of Thalavattams

Nerkol : Beating directly perpendicular to the surface of chenda 

Kerala Kalamandalam, deemed a University of Art and Culture by the Government of India, is a major center for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the Southern states of India, with the special emphasis on Kerala. It is situated in the small town of Cheruthuruthy in Thrissur, Thrissur District on the banks of the Bharathapuzha river.

World Culture Festival 2016

 https://www.facebook.com/SriSriRaviShankar/videos/10153369057522536/

The world goes round, always has, always will.

But you can be centered, let go and become still.

Turn your vision from the scenery you are seeing.

Close your eyes and realize, you are that Being.

In the hustle bustle outside, do not miss.

Deep within your heart is a fountain of bliss.

It has always been there, just covered by a veil.

A joy that remains ever fresh, never goes stale.

It’s merely out of ignorance that people fight.

Differences drop effortlessly on seeing the inner light.

Sharing this joy with the world is all that we do.

More and more joined and our family just grew.

Languages are many and belief systems diverse.

Of all Nature’s forces, love binds the universe.

What is built will perish, what has come will be gone.

Our Spirit is eternal, will continue to live on.

On this colorful path, we sing, dance, laugh and meditate.

Established in wisdom, all gets done and we simply celebrate.

The glow in your eyes, unshakable smile on your face.

Is all that is needed to make the world a better place.

Just as all rivers gush forth and become one in the ocean.

All cultures unite today in making life a celebration.

‪#‎WorldCultureFestival‬ 

https://youtu.be/yoYrLM5rGX8

Anoop Menon

Deva Sharif Baba of Bara Banki

That was my second visit and surprised to watch great harmony of Hindus and Muslims. 24th March' 2016 Holi's Holiday. When I reached, Holi celebrations were going on inside the compound of Darga. All religious people are playing Holi with colors.

Deva is an ancient town to the north of Bara Banki, seven miles from the headquarters of the district. Like other towns, it has not escaped the ravages of time. Unsightly ruins and mouldering walls meet the eye on every side, but the moral decay is no less remarkable than the physical. Noted once as the birth-place of great Sufis and divines, it is now notorious as the hot-bed of intrigue and litigation.  A child was born in a quiet little town in Oudh whose word and example were destined to influence the religious conceptions and ideals of an incredibly large number of human beings. He was the late Haji Hafiz Syed Shah Waris Ali Sahed of Deva. Haji Saheb was at one time a familiar figure in Oudh. He came of a family of Husaini Syeds, distinguished for peity and learning. His father Syed Qurban Ali Saheb belonged to the proprietary body and was a land owner of substance. The date of Haji Saheb's birth was 1819. He lost his parents in his 3 year old. At the age of five he started learning tghe Quran and committed it to memory in two years. He did not take to his other studies kindly. Though he seldom read his books. He spent long periods in retirement and contemplation. Once on a search being made he was discovered in a wood in a state of meditation. He was never seen playing with children of his age, but he was indulgent to them and took pleasure in giving them sweets and distributing money among the poor. Swimming was another passion with him. People came from distant places to discuss theological questions with him and some even went to the length of charging him with unorthodoxy. He had a dislike for controversy, but his replies, though brief, generally silenced his adversaries and showed a thorough knowledge of the subject in dispute. He could speak Arabic, Persian and Pashtu. He was in the habit of visiting the tomb of Shah Abdul Munim (a Sufi Saint) at Deva, and passed night after night there in his devotions. When he was only eleven years of age, the elder Syed initiated him into the mysteries of occult science and gave him the necessary training. He was duly elected a successor of the deceased Haji.

Some of his precepts :- 1. Divine love cannot  be acquired. 2. It is a gift of God There is no method of love. 3. Distance does not count in love. 4. If you love me, I am with you even if you are at a distance of thousands of miles. 5. Love is akin to faith. 6.  Love of God turns disbelief into faith. 7. The universe is governed according to the sentiments of the lovers of God. 8. Do not carry your want before God even if you are starving, for He knows everything. 9. Real worldliness is forgetfulness of God. 10. A true faqir is never in want. 11. Trust in God. If you rely upon Him truly, you need not worry about your daily wants. 12. Faith should be free from doubt. 13. It is no use going to the Kaaba for those who can not see God here. 14. The same God is to be found in the mosque, the Church and pagoda.

Tomb of Haji Waris Ali Shah in Deva, Bara Banki (India) is a symbol of universal love and brotherhood. Prayers made at the holy shrines of Syed Haji Waris Ali Shah (Deva Sharif ) have always been accepted and the believer is blessed with happiness and peace. Hindus held him in high esteem and regarded him as a perfect Sufi and a follower of Vedanta. The splendid monument was erected in his memory by some of his devoted followers, both Hindus and Muslim. It is said that Raja Udit Narain Singh of Ram Nagar donated the silver-plated spire and the most attractive covering of silver on Shrines doors was done by some kings of Kashmir. Flooring of the Shrine in white marble was done by Thakur Pancham Singh of Mainpuri. Deva Mela is one of the most popular and big gatherings in the city of Bara Banki each year in October to recall the teachings of Sufi Haji Waris Ali Shah and to inculcate feelings of communal harmony. The fair is attended by people from India, Pakistan and other countries. Mushaira, Qavali, Poetry reading and religious debates are some of the activities where devotees can enjoy.

Nearest Airport : Lucknow (39 km from Bara Banki)

Nearest Bus Stand & Railway Station : Bara Banki

Nearest Highway : Faizabad Road (NH28) Matiyari Chauraha (Crossing)

Timing : 5AM to 12 PM & 2PM to 9PM

Address of the Shrine : Dargah Hazrat Haji Ali Shah Warsi (Deva Shariff), Barabanki (Dist), Uttar Pradesh (India) - 225001

Anoop Menon