My greatest regret is I just recently started shooting videos , and I did not shoot the Malangs on video at Makanpur their greatest event of their Holy Saint Zinda Shah Madar ,, I was in Makanpur UP near Kannauj for the 896 Urus ,,and each year after that I thought I would go back some work commitment stopped me from going.
Shooting the Malangs at Ajmer and shooting the Malangs at Makanpur is very different at Ajmer they are in a small group paying tribute to Kwajah Garib Nawaz ..it is not their home territory ,, Makanpur is the essence and soul of their Madariyya Order .. and the rituals will blow you away , the Dhamal body piercings and many other rituals including the opening of their dreads on the main Urus day and the huge tumultuous crowds from all over India .. Malangs from W Bengal Malangs from Gulbarga ..and there is no place to stay at this Holy Site , we used to use the field for our toilet ,,and luckily we had a room we shared with a dozen pilgrim it was frickin chaotic but worth it .. Syed Masoomi Baba head of the Asqan Madari Order is highly respected revered and is a huge personality and being his Murid I hardly had any problem.. I was barefeet and at times my feet would get completely scorched with the heat of the earth..
This is one place I would like to visit one more time.
The Madariyya are members of a Sufi order (tariqa) popular in North India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, the Mewat region, Bihar and Bengal, as well as in Nepal and Bangladesh. Known for its syncretic aspects, lack of emphasis on external religious practice and focus on internal dhikr, it was initiated by the Sufi saint 'Sayed Badiuddin Zinda Shah Madar' (d. 1434 CE), called "Qutb-ul-Madar", and is centered on his shrine (dargah) at Makanpur, Kanpur district, Uttar Pradesh.
Originating from the Tayfuriya order, as his Pir, spiritual teacher was Bayazid Tayfur al-Bistami, Madariya reached its zenith in the late Mughal period between 15th to 17th century, and gave rise to new orders as Madar's disciples spread through the northern plains of India, into Bengal. As with most Sufi orders, its name Madariya has been created by adding a Nisba to the name of its founder Madar, leading to Madariya, sometimes spelled as Madariyya, though it is also referred as Tabaqatiya.[1][2][3][4][5]
Dargah[edit]
The Dargah, or the tomb of Badiuddin Zinda Shah Madar, is located at Makanpur, near Kanpur city, in Uttar Pradesh state, India. It is visited by thousands of visitors every month and especially during the annual Urs celebrations.[6]
