ABSTRACT
As the aim of most Hindu posters is the darshan, or worship, of a deity, the diversity of iconography in them has remained limited to the age-old discourses of anecdotes and legends about gods. Printed Islamic images are characterised by some distinct differences vis-a-vis the Hindu ones. Assuming that some Muslims frown upon the making of pictures other than those of Mecca and Medina, the artists and publishers of Islamic images turned to the written word. The use of Qur’anic verses and other sacred texts in calligraphy became the next favourite of the publishers. India’s niche Muslim markets make available cheap devotional music cassettes and CDs narrating much of the same folklores, biographies and miracles of saints as depicted in the posters. The users are hardly ever concerned about the identity of the artist or the publisher of their devotional images; it normally doesn’t matter to them if the artist is from a different religion, which is often the case.
