But for its rural squalor, Alipur could have easily been passed off as a miniature replica of Iran. Visiting Alipur is an altogether new experience. Far removed from Iran, and Shia mainstream in India, it is a unique village, harbouring a Shia population of 10,000 and fashioning the lives of its inhabitants according to the orders of the faith. Though less affected by the Persian culture, nothing in the village hides the deep imprints of the new awakening in Iran since the 80s. For all practical purposes Alipur is a small village, its rural folk betraying no trace of urban material race.
Life is placid.
With all the leisure at their disposal, the town has produced a battery of Urdu poets. Little intrigues amid sipping of endless cups of tea still consume their better part of the day. Drone of numerous saw mills is punctured momentarily when the buses from Bangalore disgorge the more enterprising of the village folk at the two ends of the day. But then life slips back to its normal somnolent pace. Somewhere within each of Alipur s residents lies a spark.