The inclusiveness of South Asian Sufism is frequently celebrated, but more often than not emphasis is placed on the convergence of Hindu and Muslim practices as well as critiques of Sufi devotional practices through conservative interpretations of Hinduism and Islam. In this project, we situate popular practices related to pilgrimage and public rituals in the context of coexisting Muslim pilgrimage sites of greater Lucknow. This project seeks to provide documentary and descriptive detail from major Shi’i and Sufi shrines in the Lucknow region (Hazrat Abbas, Agha Baqar, Khamman Pir and Dewa Sharif) in an attempt to demonstrate the relationship between the shrine and its souvenirs and to focus on shared uses and modes of circulation of these images.

The experience of going to a shrine, a building in which a saint’s body or relics are entombed, or an imambara, a building in which to commemorate the events of the battle of Karbala (680 AD), is to a large extent visual. To look at the grave of a saint or objects of mourning is as much a part of the encounter as is touching a tomb or being in the proximity of the figure’s remains or symbolic objects. The visual component of the experience is reinforced upon entering and departing the pilgrimage site, when one passes by small stalls, packed with the mechanical reproductions of devotional symbols. Devotees come to look at the shrines and also bring home souvenirs, which serve as visual reminders of their visits.

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While these modes of remembering are not consistent across Shi’i and Sufi images, commemoration finds expression in several common visual formats. These include the pendant and chain, votive hangings, book/CD covers, framed illustrations, postcards and stickers. These objects, fixed permanently in the shrines and sold in personal formats, connect the worshiper and the worshiped in both practices: images can be worn close to the body on pendants, can be fixed to the interior of an auto rickshaw or shop, or placed on a wall in the home.

The objects travel through different contexts with the consumer as well as between closely interlinked sites of reproduction, wholesale and retail. For instance, Paradise Studio, located off a street on the way to Dewa Sharif, is one of the photo shops where images are edited, reproduced and sold to retailers located nearby. The proximity of Paradise Studio to the shrine allows retailers immediate access to merchandise with which to stock their shops. The ‘original’ photographs even at this site of production are copies of an earlier image. These black and white copies serve as a generic template on which different locations, scenes, and embellishments are added.