numerous mazars and dargahs dotting the city. Jora Masjid is the most notable in the town and is the site of a notable annual urs. Among the mazars, Dewan Baba's mazar near the District Court and Fakir Kua near the bus terminus are locally revered. According to local legend, the water of the well at Fakir Kua majar has mysterious healing powers, although the veracity of this claim is debatable. There are two old churches in the town. St. John's Church, Midnapore was built in 1851 and the Medinipur Baptist Church which was built in 1863. In the heyday of Brahmo Samaj, Midnapore became a major centre of this society. Rishi Rajnarayan Basu, one of the luminaries in the Brahmo Samaj movement, worked as the head master of the Zilla School. The dilapidated hall of Brahmo Samaj, "Brahmo Samaj Mandir" near Midnapore Collegiate School is a silent reminder of the Brahmo presence of yesteryears. Some of the old administrative and educational buildings dating back more than 150 years are still functioning today. Cultural distinctiveness Life, in general, is slow-paced in Midnapore, as a sort of tribute to the mofussil provincial heart of the city. Midnaporeans in general are laid-back and friendly. It is not uncommon for shops to open late and to close during the hours of the afternoon in the hotter months of the year. Also shops can close for tea and sporting events such as cricket and World Cup football. Tea-shops and paan-stalls abound and there is a high concentration of mishtir dokaan (sweet-shops). Here you can find one of the very notable sweets in Bengal – 'Khirayer Gogjaa'.Adda or Bengali gossip is prevalent and widely enjoyed. The native local Odia dialect is termed as Midnapori Odia. The local dialect of Bengali is different from standard Kolkata pronunciation and though not as Odia-centric as the dialects of Contai and Dantan, but shows similarities with Odia. Speech is very informal and the talebossho, murdhenoshho, and dontesho are often pronounced differently from the standardised West Bengal dialect. A significant fraction of the population of the undivided district descended from Vaishnavites – the followers of Shri Chaitanya – although they follow the rituals and caste system of mainstream Hinduism now. Odia people of Midnapore are native of the place and merged with migrant Bengalis during British occupation to form a unique culture. In fact, since the area was part of Odisha