The Jamia Mosque at Ichapuram

The Jamia Mosque at Ichapuram

Many a miracle is attributed to this saint. The most recent one being in 1978 when the rising waters of the Chilka lake flooded the town. The residents ran up the hill to save themselves. There they prayed for protection. They say that a loud rumbling was heard for atop the hill after which the waters receded and the town was safe. Since then people of all religions visit this mosque every year to pay their respects to the saint ‘Hazrat Shaik Farid Shakar Ganj’. Locally referred to as Peerlu Konda, literally meaning the ‘hill where saints dwell’. Another mosque at the foot of the hill stands as testimony to the influence wielded by the Muslim rulers. The ‘Maslaq-Ala Hazrat Aheley Sunnatul Jamat’ also known as the Jamia Masjid was built 400 years ago by Nawab Mustafa Khan, a representative of the Asif Jahi rulers of the Deccan. An inscription in Persian script inside the mosque states that the mosque was built by the grace of Allah and is dedicated to the people. The nawab is believed to have built 365 mosques. He would visit one mosque everyday and offer prayers only on one occasion in a year. Not many of these mosques exist today, but they do give a glimpse of the extent to which the Muslim rule permeated. In the olden days, all religions existed in harmony. Amply established by the fact that a number of ancient temples dedicated to various Hindu gods and goddesses still exist.