Hyderabad, Dec. 24: Offer a roti at the tombs of any of the 12 warriors at Nellore’s Baarah Shaheed Dargah and wait for your wish to come true.

The annual Rottela Panduga (Festival of Bread) at the dargah, where rotis have traditionally been offered for children, jobs or cure for illnesses, this year saw wishes being made for an integrated Andhra Pradesh and visas to the US.

The Samaikya Andhra roti and the visa roti were among the most popular, festival organisers said.

Puri-sized rotis named after specific desires such as vivaha (marriage), sowbhagya (good fortune), santana (children), vidya (education), dhana (money) and udyoga (employment) also recorded good sales.

During the three-day festival that begins the day after Muharram, hawkers are allowed to set up shop near the dargah.

Devotees buy the rotis and place them in specially marked baskets kept before the martyrs’ tombs. People whose wishes have been fulfilled offer rotis in separate baskets placed alongside, which are eaten by those making the wish.

Women wishing to have children first stand in the knee-deep waters of the Nellore tank near the dargah and then undertake the roti ritual. They then sit on the steps of the tank and eat the rotis, made either from jowar or wheat, offered by those who have already had children.

“It’s all a question of faith. People who come here say they have always benefited from the roti ritual,” a volunteer at the dargah said.

The festival attracts lakhs of people from across the country as well as from Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. After offering prayers at the roti dargah, the devotees also visit dargahs in nearby Kasumuru, Aspeta, Golagamudi, Penchalakona and Jonnavada villages.

The roti dargah is dedicated to 12 warriors from Karnataka who died in a battle with the British in 1751 while trying to protect the people of Gandavaram village, about 30km from Nellore. It acquired the name Baarah Shaheed Dargah after the beheaded bodies of the warriors were buried there.

The head of the Nellore dargah festival committee, Sk. Shahul Hameed, said devotees came back on the 11th day after Muharram to offer prayers again.

“The Hazrath Syed Bara Shaheed and Hazrath Syed Lal Peer bless believers irrespective of caste or creed,” he said.

Cash offerings made at the dargah crossed Rs 12 lakh this year against Rs 9 lakh last year, he said.