Cottonpet heritage walk. (Tales of Sufis, Akhadas & Sants)

Our fourth journey through the historic quarters of Kempe Gowda’s Pettah unfolds under a theme as timeless as it is universal—the search for Faith. Few places in Bengaluru bear witness to such layered expressions of belief practice and community as this old quarter where stones shrines and stories alike speak of lives entwined with devotion.

We begin in the western precincts of Pettah which has one of the city’s most significant Sufi dargahs. For well over two centuries this shrine has stood not merely as a site of veneration but as a living symbol of spiritual devotion and communal harmony. Here the life of the saint and the mystical traditions of Sufism unfold before us reminding visitors of how such spaces once bridged communities across faiths drawing pilgrims merchants and seekers into a shared spiritual geography.

From the domain of sacred devotion we turn toward the realm of healing. In the narrow lanes nearby still operate age-old Ayurvedic massage centers famed above all for their bone-setting traditions. Local memory recalls how the Maharajas of Mysore themselves entrusted these practitioners as did the pahalwans of the akhadas—wrestling arenas that once gave Pettah its distinctive physical culture. In these practices of cure and discipline body and faith intertwined shaping a distinctly urban form of resilience and well-being.

Our steps then carry us to venerable temples associated with saints whose teachings left a lasting imprint on the identity of this quarter. Within their carved stones and sanctums endures a layered continuity—of memory worship and the rhythm of everyday devotion. Time permitting the trail may extend toward a garadi mane (wrestling house) or an old heritage lodge each bearing traces of the social fabric of an earlier Bengaluru when physical culture and communal gathering defined neighborhood life.

The walk also includes a South Indian breakfast in heritage restaurant where history faith and community meet in lived experience.

This walk is guided by an architect whose professional eye discerns the city’s built heritage and whose personal practice of Sufism and passion for food lend the journey both intimacy and delight. His explorations carry him to parts of Bengaluru often absent from tourist maps offering participants not simply a tour but an immersion into the city’s layered heart.

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