Best Of Bijapur
Bijapur is the
district headquarters of Bijapur district .This city is famous
for its historical
monuments built during
the reign of
Adil Shah.
Golgumbaz
As you enter ,
the horse stables
are on your
right on the
left are similar structures but
now there is
a tea place
, enquiry office ,
shop selling brochures
and some are
empty.
You face a
solid square stone
building standing in
all its majesty .As
you walk towards
it suddenly you
realize the tomb
on top of
the building is
slipping. We walk round
the building and
are surprised to find
‘Gol Gumbaz ‘ is actually
behind and the
first building is just
a bare square
structure without any
tomb.
There is a story . The
first building
is known as ‘Nazar
Khana’. It’s main purpose
was to protect
Golgumbaz from ‘Nazar’
that is ‘evil eyes’. Think of
the mathematical and
geometrical knowledge
that people of
that time possessed to
make a tomb
on one which
on looking gave
the impression as if
it is a
part of the
first building.
The first building
was also known
as ‘nagada Khana ‘.,as
they housed drums
which were beaten
to welcome the
king.
The treasures were
taken away by
the British ,at
present the dresses
of kings and
armoury is exhibited.
The mosque is
on the left
, there are
internal pipes ,built
during those times
for abulation .
Gol gumbaz nahi
dekha toh kya dekha .Truly this is no
exaggeration. Such a
beautiful , massive , colossal presentation
of art and
architecture.
Golgumbaz is the
Mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah of Adil Shah Dynasty.
The
construction of the
tomb took 30
years from the
year 1626 to
1656. Gol Gumbaz means circular
dome. Built in the
Indo carcenic style .The
club like structure
represents the Indian
aspect , whereas the circles
are indicative of
the Persian style,
It is one
of the biggest
single chamber spaces
of the world. 51 meters in height , 9 feet thick Walls . It measures
124 meters in diameter and
stands alone without
any support or
column .The tomb
is octagonal with
covered arches on
either side ---
each having 8
small arches out
of which 4
are open for
ventilation and light .
it is famous
for its largest
dome after Saint
Peter’s basilica in
Rome.
The floor has
‘jaalis ‘to let the
flow of cool
air , and the
warm air escapes
from the small arches
on the roof. The entire structure is built of basalt
stone.
The alcove was the King’s seat and in front of it was the stage. His mistress Rambhavati performed on the stage. The queen sat at a height where there were windows , to watch the performances . Presently on the right of the stage is the king’s tomb and on the left are tombs of the king’s grandson and Ramhavati. The graves of his Queen and two daughters are also there. Rambhavati wished her grave be next to the king.
The acoustics are phenomenal. Any sound amplifies 20 fold here. As per our guides information now the amplification is only 9 times due to wear and tear as well as change in mass due to plastering.
Jama
Masjid
It was built by Adilshah in 1578. It can accommodate 2500
people for prayers. Interiors of the Masjid have inscriptions from Quran. It has an impressive dome. There are nine
large arches.
Bara
Kaman
This mausoleum was
built by son of Adil Shah ( Ali Adil
Shah II) for
his wives, daughters
and mistresses..He wanted to
make a Mausoleum
which would be much bigger and grandeur than Gol Gumbaj,
unique in architectural
beauty. Accordingly it
was planned to
make twelve horizontal
and twelve vertical
arches surrounding the
tomb. Gol Gumbaj had Eight
Arches. The work remained
incomplete as Architecturally it was un sustainable .As per
hearsay it was not
completed because once
complete its shadow
would touch the
Golgumbaz . The remains are still
there, imposing and grand.
Malik—E –Maidan is
a cannon set up
by Muhammad Adil
Shah I in the year
1549 atop a
hill. It is believed
to be the
largest war head
of medieval times
,hence the name
Malik E Maidan
meaning ‘ lord of
the battle field’. On it there is an inscription by
Aurangzeb. Our guide pointed
out that even under a blazing
sun the surface of the gun
remains cool and on
tapping gives a
soft tinkling sound
like a bell . As it is cordoned off this couldn’t be
experienced. Better for that, to protect it from public.
Malik—E –Maidan cannon
Upli Buruz
It is an
80 feet high
tower built by
Hyder Khan in
1584 . It is a
spherical structure with
winding stone steps
on the outside. You
climb the steps
to reach the top which
gives a commanding
view of the
city of Bijapur. On the top there were two huge guns. It is also known as Hyder burj. Today, the upper portions of the burj has
fallen down.
Bijapur Fort , Asar
Mahal , Gagan Mahal , Anand
Mahal are other
places of historical
interest . We didn’t visit it as we were short of time.
The old parts where these monuments are, are crowded.
Parking is a problem. Guide is a
must to take
you around the winding
narrow lanes ,or else
you may just
get stuck not
knowing how to exit
or how to
enter. Every corner there
is a ‘Biriyani’
place. Here again your
guide will give you
the right input.
End of the year has a rush of school students. On enquiry
we came to
know it is
the time for
schools to utilize their
government given funds
for study tours. Scores
of schools and
their numerous students
are of course welcome
to know their
rich heritage but
at times ,say
Gol Gumbaz , it becomes so noisy
that you are
unable to even
feel the rich
acoustics of the
building. There are marathon
lines for tickets
and when we
have people for
whom discipline , maintaining
order is last priority
, they
are ready to
skip the line
and walk out
with a victorious
smirk on their
face. Authorities are
just onlookers with
no active role
on their part.
Happy children mostly
from villages and
corporation schools were delighted by
this excursion. But did
they understand what
they were seeing and
what was their
value. Impossible for the
accompanying teachers to
take on this
duty of explaining ,showing our
heritage to literally milling
crowd. Few schools had hired guides
but holding children’s
attention was difficult. Older children were busy with
selfies. There were teachers
were engrossed in
arranging the ‘malli’
(jasmine) on their head or arranging
the pleat of
their saris. Whatever I could
see the pleasure
on their faces
for this outing.
Yes, something that
saddened me immensely
was that STILL so
many children were barefoot.
Even a cheap plastic chappal was beyond their means. Would anyone, even
a school child agree to come shoe less? But
the attraction of a
‘PICNIC’ obviously overtook
the need for
a slipper. Our per capita income
proudly quotes an Rs 35000 plus. Bare
footed children tell a story which is
very different.
So see the second largest dome of the world and wonder about the talent and hard work of people who left this for us .
Any place is a pleasure at leisure. But school, office, numbered days, reservations push us to hurry. Still these are places which deserve time from us ……….for our sake, to enjoy and cherish what is OURS.
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