Ever so often, we hear about religious conflict and struggle and strife between people on the basis of their different religious beliefs. Different states and countries engaged in war both in India and universally too. Certain areas where a certain religion dominates, leaving believers in another faith to have to exercise caution in their practice. And that is one area and aspect, where Mangalore among other cities and states, stands out differently.
The small cozy city located in Karnataka is home to people from different backgrounds and religious views, and provides a nice peaceful environment for any believer to settle in. It is very heartwarming to see how people in Mangalore, despite believing in different religions, live in peace, unity and tranquility and interactions are of a civilized and humane manner.
From the early morning call for prayer (Adhan) sounding from the mosques, to the chiming of the church bells on Sunday mornings as believers gather for mass, all the way down to the bells and chants and the sweet musky smell of agarbathi from the temples around, Mangalore offers a venue for all faiths and practices.
It is also quite pleasant to notice the venue and location of these places of worship, where mosques, churches and temples stand close in proximity to one another yet are undisturbed and peaceful.
Being a person who respects all religions, I tend to visit all houses of worship, so as I explored Mangalore, I found myself enthralled to see how besides being places of prayer and worship, these great places make up some of Mangalore’s best sites to visit and marvel at the beauty of history, architecture, culture and faith.
From the smaller Masjids like the Masjid Noor located near the Govt. Wenlock Hospital, to more special mosques like the Masjid Zeenath Baksh, also known as the Jumma Masjid and the Kudroli Mosque. As the Adhan echoes out from the tall minarets of these buildings, the pleasant site of men clad in caps heading for prayers is one to see.
Right next to the Masjid Noor, is a tall building called the Our Lady of Miracles Church, also known as the Milagres Church. 
There is also the Rosario Cathedral and another beautiful building of spiritual setting is the St. Aloysius Chapel. The carvings and paintings in this chapel are beautiful and exquisite, and combined with the spiritual feeling can heighten the emotions.
Coming to the temples, Mangalore has many temples short distances from one another, the famous ones including the Mangaladevi temple and the Kudroli Gokarnath Temple.
Two of my favorites though are the Kadri Manjunath Temple where the ambience and feeling is one that would draw the believers and the Ganesha temple located in Hampankatta near Ideal Café, one of the most commonly visited temples by students before examinations, invoking the blessings of the Lord Ganesha.
These are only few of the many sites and places of worship for people of different faiths and religions in Mangalore. The take home message though is if tranquility and peace can be maintained in our lovely city Mangalore, why can’t other states and countries follow suit, and allow us all as humans to live happily and peacefully, as we do in our awesome Mangalore!
Happy Blogging! 🙂
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