Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan Shah Dargah
In Cottonpete amidst the agarbatti filled lanes, hustling bazaars and houses with courtyards that are over hundreds of years old lies Bangalore’s most important Dargah, Hazrat Tawakkal Shah Mastan Dargah, over 200 years this Dargah’s construction was started in 1777 by Hyder Ali and completed in 1783 by his son Tipu Sultan who was also known as the ‘Tiger of Mysore’ and is dedicated to Hazrat Tawakkal Shah, a Sufi saint of the Suharwardia order who is revered by people across all communities in Bangalore.
As per sources, while in Bangalore Hyder Ali decided to renovate and strengthen the Kalasipalyam fort by replacing its mud walls with stone walls, and among the appointed workers were Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan, Hazrat Tipu Mastan, and Hazrat Manik Mastan who would come and work without collecting their daily wages, a surprised Haider Ali sent his maternal uncle Banke Nawab Ibrahim at the mosque to the look into the matter and found out the three men mysteriously vanished with only a few of their bodily remains left that was being guarded by two faithful dogs. As per some other legends, Hyder Ali through the blessings of Hazrat Tipu Mastan who later left Bangalore for Arcot in Tamil Nadu was blessed with a baby boy whom he later named Tipu Sultan whereas Manik Mastan died in Bangalore’s Avenue Road and Tawakkal Mastan who as per some legends was earlier known as Mirza Baig, a trader from Iran who traded fine Persian horses before dedicated his life for serving humanity stayed back in Cottonpete where the dargah was ultimately erected.
Today amongst Eid, Muharram, and the death anniversary of the saints, people in and around the dargah also celebrate the annual Karaga Shaktyotsava, and during the wee morning hours groups of Rajasthani and Gujarati people flock dargah distributing food such as idlies to the poor, the dargah is open to people of all faiths who come here to pray in order to fulfill their wishes. Apart from religious activities the dargah also funds and runs various educational institutions in surrounding areas.
Location
Akkipete Main Road, O.T.C. Road Chickpete, Upparpete, Cottonpete, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560053.
Nearby Tourist Attractions
Lalbagh Botanical Garden- 4.5 Kms via Cottenpet Main Road.
Cubbon Park- 4.3 Kms via Seshadri Road.
Shree Dharmaraya Swamy Temple– 2.8 Kms via Cottenpet Main Road.
Nearby Restaurants
Empire Restaurant- 1.7 Kms via Gubbi Thotadappa Road and 2 Kms via Tank Bund Road.
Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan- 400 m via Old Taluk Cutchery Road.
