Srirangapattana

13 January, 2008

Colonel Baillies Dungeon -- Srirangapattana

The following text has been borrowed from "A History of the Highlands, and of The Highland Clans; with an extensive selection from the hitherto inedited Stuart Papers" By James Browne and is biased towards the British soldiers.

July 1780: The Battle of Pollilur took place in 1780 at Pollilur near the city of Kanchipuram. It was a part of the second Anglo-Mysore war. Tippu Sultan was dispatched by Haidar Ali with 10,000 men and 18 guns to intercept Colonel Baillie who was on his way to join Sir Hector Munro.

The first battalion joined the army under Maj. Gen. Sir Hector Munro assembled at St. Thomas' mount, near Madras. This force amounted to 5209 men and with the exception of one battalion of the company's European troops, and the grenadiers of another, and 800 highlanders, consisted of native troops.

Gen Munro, with the view of joining Col. Baillie, who had a force of nearly 3000 men under him, marched to Kanjeevaram, where he arrived on 29th Aug. Col Baillie reached Perambaucum, 15 miles from Gen Munro's position on 6th Sept, where he was attacked by Tipu, whom, after a contest of several hours, he repulsed. Strange to say, the armies of Munro and Billie, though within a few hours march of each other, made no effort to unite, and 2 days after the battle Col. Billie sent notice to Gen. Munro to push forward with the main body, as from the loss he had lately sustained, he was unable to advance in the face of an enemy who was so superior in numbers. After an unaccountable delay of 3 days the general sent forward the flank companies of the 73rd Highlanders under Captains David Baird and the Honourable John Lindsay, 2 companies of European grenadiers, and 11 companies of sepoys, all under the command of Col Fletcher, and by taking a circuitous route, they were enabled to form a junction with the corps of Col. Baillie without opposition.

Reinforced by this detachment Col Baillie set out to join Munro on the evening of sept. 9th, but he had not proceeded above a mile when he fell in with the picquets of Hyder Ali's army. An irregular fire commenced, which was kept up by both parties for several miles. About midnight Col. Billie halted and lay on his arms all night without being disturbed by the enemy. He continued his march next morning without opposition, and, after proceeding 2 miles, entered a jungle. The Sultan had concentrated his army about this spot, and on the preceding day had raised 3 batteries, one in the centre of the grove, and one on each flank. No sooner had Col. Baillie advanced into the jungle than a heavy and destructive fire was opened upon him from 57 pieces of cannon from the batteries and field-artillery. The march was in the form of a square, with the sick, and the baggage, and ammunition in the centre, and though the detachment was assailed on all sides by an immense force, the enemy, after a desperate conflict of 3 hours' duration, were drive back at every point. Thus repulsed, "Hyder determined to retreat; and a rapid movement which Baillie made from the centre appeared to have decided the day. Orders were given to Col. Lally, a French officer in the service of the sultan, to draw off his men, and to the cavalry to cover the retreat, when in that instant two explosions were perceived in the English line, which laid open one entire face of their column, destroyed their artillery, and threw the whole into irreparable confustion!" This occurance revived the hopes of Hyder, whose cavalry charged in separate squadrons, whilst bodies of infantry poured in volleys of musketry; but they were gallantly repelled in every attack. Reduced at last to little more than 400 men, Col Baillie formed these remains of his army into a square on a small eminence. In this situation, after 2/3 rds of the number had been killed or disabled, the officers with their swords, and the soldiers with their bayonets, repulsed 13 charges; but being borne down by fresh bodies of horse, Col. Baillie to save the lives of the few brave men who survived, displayed a flag of truce.





In 1780, during the Second Mysore War, the British were defeated at the Battle of Pollilur. Tipu had the battle painted on the walls of his Summer Palace to celebrate his triumph.




Quarter was promised, but no sooner had the troops laid down their arms than they were attacked with a savage fury by the enemy; but, by the humane interference of the French officers, many lives were saved. One of these officers in a description of the battle says " too great encomiums cannot be bestowed on the English commander and his troops, for in the whole of this trying conflict they preserved a coolness of manoeuvre which would have done honour to any troops in the world. Raked by the fire of an immense artillery, the greatest part of the action within grape-shot distance, attacked on all sides by not less than 25,000 horse and 30 battalions of sepoys, besides Hyder's European troops, the English column stood firm, and repulsed every charge with great slaughter; the horse driven back on the infantry, the right of our line began to give way, though composed of the best troops in the Mysore army.

Sir Hector Munro, the victor of the Battle of Buxar, who had earlier defeated three Indian rulers (the Mughal emperor Shah Alam, the Nawab of Oudh Shuja-ud-daula, and the Nawab of Bengal Mir Qasim) in a single battle, was forced to retreat to Madras, abandoning his artillery in the tank of Kanchipuram.

In this destructive action the flank companies of the Highlanders had Lt. Geddes Mackenzie, William Gun, Volunteer Forbes, 3 sargents and 82 rank and file killed; and Cap. David Baird, Lts Hon. John Lindsay, Philip Melville, Hugh Cuthbert, 4 drummers, 92 rank and file wounded. All these with 23 who escaped without wounds were thrown into a dungeon by Hyder Ali, and were treated with such barbarity that only 30 of the soldiers survived, and of these few were afterwards fit for service.




The underground dungeons are situated towards the north of Ranganatha Swamy temple, close to Lal Mahal Palace about 15 kms from Srirangapattana. The dungeon measures 30.5 mts length and 12.2 mts breadth and has been built of brick and lime mortar. Apparently it was used during the time of Tipu Sultan to imprison the war prisoners. They were chained to the stone slabs fixed on the east, west, and north sides of the wall and it was then filled half-way with water.

There was no escape for these prisoners as the dungeons were surrounded by a deep moat as well. The prison was named after Colonel Bailey Dungeon who died here on May 13th 1782. This was particularly used to imprison British officers like Captain Baird, Rulay, Colonel Brith White, Sampson, Frozen and Lindsay.




During the siege of Srirangapatna one of the cannons rolled back, broke into the ceiling and fell into the vault and lies there still.

The grim dungeons where Tipu held British soldiers have been restored. It is alleged that the chained prisoners were forced to stand neck-deep in water. Some even had nails hammered into their heads. These could probably be the bomb-proof shelter. It is far more likely to have been used as a powder magazine and armoury.



The gallant Fletcher was killed at Pollilur. Among the survivors of that battered band, Col Baillie and Capt. Baird were wounded, and Captain John Lindsay was among the 200 men taken prisoner. His Journal, 'an account of myself, and of the various circumstances that befel me, from the time that I was taken prisoner by Haidar Ali on the 10th of September, 1780, until my release from prison, and my arrival at Madras on the 17th April, 1784,' describes Haidar's review of the prisoners on 11th September, and the moving encounter which followed: 'When I came out, a figure, covered all over with blood, came limping up to me and called me by my name, which from the voice I soon discovered was my old friend David Baird; this was a most welcome meeting to both of us.'





Mrs. Grant, in her 'superstitions of the Highlanders', alluding to the inflexible integrity of the Highlanders under the most trying privations, observes:- 'A Highland regiment, commanded by Lord Macleod was during the war with Hyder ALi, engaged in an unfortunate rencounter, when more than 100 men fell into the hands of the remorseless tyrant. They were treated with the most cruel indignity, and fed upon very sparing proportions of unwholesome rice, which operated as slow poison, assisted by the burning heat of the sun by day, and the unwholesome dews of night, to which they were purposely exposed to shake their constancy. Daily some of their companions dropped before their eyes and daily they were offered liberty and riches in exchange for this lingering torture, on condition of relinquishing their religion and taking the turbans.

29 December, 2007

Gumbaz Srirangapattana Mausoleum

I have lighted a different fire in the heart.
I have brought a tale from the Deccan.
I have a shining sword on my side;
I am drawing it out gradually from the scabbard.
I speak a subtle point about the Martyr Tipu Sultan,
I fear the festival day may turn bitter,
I proceed to kiss his dust,
There I heard from his holy grave;
If one cannot live a manly life in this world
Then to sacrifice life, like a man, is life!

Excerpt from:
Javid-Namah (The Book of Eternity).
[In Persian].
[First publ. 1932, in Lahore].


Tippu built the "Gumbaz" at Srinagapattana in 1784 which is a square shaped mausoleum with ivory-inlaid doors and black marble pillars. Tippu is buried here by the side of his father Hyder Ali and mother Fatima Begum. Outside the tomb are the graves of his relatives and commanders. Nearby the "Mashit-e-Aqsa" mosque, with a pair of small minarets is located. A solar clock could be found outside this building.

Hyder's tomb in lal bagh gardens by Robert Home, 1704

Tipu Sultan built the Gumbaz mausoleum (1784) for himself and his father. It is laid out in the style of a formal cypress garden. The entrance is from the east.

The mausoleum is constructed in Bijapur style, basically a dome on a cube, whose ornate railings and turrets are decorated with ball-shaped finials.




The following text has been borrowed from the book "Indian Renaissance: British Romantic Art and the prospect of India" -- Hermione de Almeida and George H. Gilpin

Robert Home, Cornwallis's official military artist and surveyor did his sketches and descriptions of Srirangapattana as he and the British troops saw it in 1793. At one end of the city was the fort, palace and Daulata Bagh (royal garden) of Tipu Sultan. At the other end, and covering almost one third of the city's five and half square miles, was the largest garden of Mysore, the Lal Bagh or Garden of Rubies, a huge and intricately landscaped formal garden which combined designs from several Asian landscape traditions, and which housed the royal mosque and the ornate marble tomb of Tipu Sultan's father. The manicured intensity of such a large garden, and the extravagant intricacies of the decorations of the high-domed marble mausoleum with its gold crescent, overwhelm and astonish Home even as he describes them, and he focuses finally on the usefulness and productive variety of the lal bagh 'This garden was laid out in regular paths of shady cypress; and abounded with fruit trees, flowers and vegetables of every kind. But the axe of the enemy [the British] soon despoiled it of its beauties; and those trees, which once administered to the pleasures of their master, were compelled to furnish materials for the reduction of his capital'.




Home's ominous and righteous last sentence refers to a highly symbolic event that occured at the end of the III Anglo-Mysore war, just before Tipu capitulated and gave up half his treasury and land and two of his children to Cornwallis. British soldiers occupied the Lal Bagh and camped on its grounds; they cut down the 100 year old cypress trees surrounding Hyder Ali's tomb and used them for target practice; they turned the fakir choultries or chambered alcoves reserved for holy men into a 'hospital' for wounded foot soldiers; they used the elegant summer house as a troop mess-hall; they used the subsidiary meditation bowers as latrines for the troops occupying Srirangapattana; and even worse, they buried their dead common soldiers in the consecrated ground of the flower beds surrounding Hyder Ali's vault and the royal mausoleum. All this was done in sight of the palace and royal quarters. Tipu Sultan saw this desecration of his father's tomb and garden as a symbolic and soon-to-be staged descration and destruction of the garden that was the city of Mysore he and his father had built. He was correct in reading the signs. In 1806, when the military artist Charles Gold, a veteran of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore war, published his triumphant and always perjorative Oriental Drawings of sketches taken in the 1790s, he specifically showed lal bagh and Hyder's tomb rising in all their magnificence but as a backdrop to British military encampment scenes of British redcoats brandishing axes and in the act of curting down the cypress tress, supervising Indian coolies as they carry off the tree trunks, disturbing the flower beds with their exercises and, in general, dismantling the landscaped order. To his depiction of dismantled Indian order and British military necessity, Gold attached a statement describing the 'extensive and beautiful groves' of the mausoleumm and, quoting Alexander Dirom, what happened to this 'luxuriant and cultivated spot':

The Sultan's garden... became a melancholy spectacle, devoted to the necessities of military service and appeared for the first time as if it had suffered the ravages of the severest winter. The fruit trees were clipped of their branches; while the lofty cypress tress, broken to the ground by troops, to be formed into fascines, werer rooted up by the followers to be consumed as firewood.



5 May
4 pm. Burial of Tipu at the Gumbaz mausoleum - at the eastern extremity of the island of Seringapatam - with full military honours. His body was carried on a bier, accompanied by four (4) companies of European grenadiers, Tipu's son, Abdul Khaliq, (as chief mourner) leading Mysorean officials, as well as a large number of the remaining populace of Seringapatam. Severe thunderstorm at the time of Tipu's burial - two officers of the Bombay army reported as killed by lightning: Lieuts. Barclay and Grant.



Lieutenant Richard Bayly
(12th Regiment):
Description of the Burial of Tipu during a Severe Thunderstorm
[May 5 1799]"...

I must relate the effects and appearance of a tremendous storm of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning that ensued on the afternoon of the burial of Tippoo Saib. I had returned to camp excessively indisposed. About five o'clock a darkness of unusual obscurity came on, and volumes of huge clouds were hanging within a few yards of the earth, in a motionless state. Suddenly, a rushing wind, with irresistible force, raised pyramids of sand to an amazing height, and swept most of the tents and marquees in frightful eddies far from their site. Ten Lascars, with my own exertions, clinging to the bamboos of the marquee scarcely preserved its fall. The thunder cracked in appalling peals close to our ears, and the vivid lightning tore up the ground in long ridges all around. Such a scene of desolation can hardly be imagined; Lascars struck dead, as also an officer and his wife in a marquee a few yards from mine. Bullocks, elephants, and camels broke loose, and scampering in every direction over the plain; every hospital tent blown away, leaving the wounded exposed, unsheltered to the elemental strife. In one of these alone eighteen men who had suffered amputation had all the bandages saturated, and were found dead on the spot the ensuing morning. The funeral party escorting Tippoo's body to the mausoleum of his ancestors situated in the Lal Bagh Garden, where the remains of his warlike father, Hyder Ali, had been deposited, were overtaken at the commencement of this furious whirlwind, and the soldiers ever after were impressed with a firm persuasion that his Satanic majesty attended in person at the funeral procession. The flashes of lightning were not as usual from far distant clouds, but proceeded from heavy vapours within a very few yards of the earth. No park of artillery could have vomited forth such incessant peals as the loud thunder that exploded close to our ears. Astonishment, dismay, and prayers for its cessation was our solitary alternative. A fearful description of the Day of Judgement might have been depicted from the appalling storm of this awful night. I have experienced hurricanes, typhoons, and gales of wind at sea, but never in the whole course of my existence had I seen anything comparable to this desolating visitation. Heaven and earth appeared absolutely to have come in collision, and no bounds set to the destruction. The roaring of the winds strove in competition with the stunning explosions of the thunder, as if the universe was once more returning to chaos. In one of these wild sweeps of the hurricane, the poles of my tent were riven to atoms, and the canvas wafted forever from my sight. I escaped without injury, as also my exhausted Lascars, and casting myself in an agony of despair on the sands, I fully expected instant annihilation. My hour was not, however, come. Towards morning the storm subsided; the clouds became more elevated, the thunder and lightning ceased, and nature once more resumed a serene aspect. But never shall I forget that dreadful night to the latest day of my existence. All language is inadequate to describe its horrors. Rather than be exposed to such another scene, I would prefer the front of a hundred battles

28 December, 2007

Dariya Daulat Bagh -- Srirangapattana

Photograph, taken in the 1870s by Nicholas and Company, part of the Ramsden Collection of photographs, showing the Darya Daulat Bagh of Tipu Sultan at Srirangapattana (Seringapatam) in Karnataka state.

Of the Darya Daulat Bagh (The Garden of Wealth of the Sea), also known as the summer palace of Tipu, Rev Thompson writes, "After the fall of Seringapatam, the Duke of Wellington, then Colonel Wellesley, occupied the building for a considerable time when he held charge of the Mysore territories. There are some interesting paintings on the walls of the verandah which were executed at the order of Tipu and represent, among other things the defeat of the British Force under Colonel Baillie at Perambakam... ."

Rev Thompson goes on to say "half a century afterwards, Lord Dalhousie as Governor General, visited Seringapatam, he found the building unoccupied and dilapidated, and he spoke with an aged man who described Colonel Wellesley's stay there. The wall paintings are still traceable, though faded. Lord Dalhousie gave orders for the repairs and maintenance of the building and the restoration of the paintings with the help of those who remembered them in their completeness".


Dariya Daulat also known as the "Summer Palace" of Tipu Sultan is on the southern bank of Cauvery. Hyder Ali laid the foundation in 1778 AD and Tipu completed it in 1784 AD. Despite the fact that most of his time was spent in war, Tipu patronised art. This was 'Tiger' Tipu's favourite retreat. The graceful proportions and the arabesque work in rich colours covering the walls, render the palace very attractive. It is a fine specimen of Indo-Saracenic architecture, which was named Dariya Daulat, meaning "wealth of the sea".

The entrance is flanked by two domed pigeon houses which kept the valuable ‘letter carriers’.




As one walks forward on the pedestrian pathway, passing by royal palms, banyan and cypress trees standing tall against the azure sky, one comes across cannons alongside the fountain—a reminder of the turbulent times in which the garden was built.



The rectangular shaped Tippu palace stands on a raised (1.5 m high) platform. There are open corridors on all four sides of the elevated platform. With canopied balconies, audience halls, arches and concealed staircases, the Tippu summer palace is said to have been built in the structural style credited to the Moghal Governor, Dilvar Khan of Sira.

The salient feature of this place is that every pillar, wall and alcove is painted in rich hues of red, blue and gold on the white background. The designs are derived from nature and are mainly floral, with leaves and tendrils moulding the doorways. A low, wooden trellis-work runs around the room. The balconies have a cupola top that is a dominant feature of Islamic architecture.Around the main building runs a wide verandah standing tall on tapering, lotus-like teak pillars.

Drawing room by Edmund David Lyon, 1868

The palace is famous for the art work done extensively on its walls and ceilings. The outer and inner walls have scrolls, floral patterns, and the portraits of kings and courtiers. Wall decorations include impressive 18th century frescoes of battles the father and son fought against the British fields, armies in action and victory processions. These murals are considered to be rare visual documentaries of pre-independence war history.

Frescoes on wall;photo by Edmund David Lyon, 1868

The famous oil painting "Storming of Srirangapattanam" by Sir Robert Porter, depicting the defeat of Tippu and the fall of Srirangapattana on May 4, 1799 is said to be a painting of great artistic value and historic importance.

Apart from the murals depicting the great victory of the armies of Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan in the battle against Col. Bailee in 1780, on the eastern side of the palace walls are historic murals of the darbars attended by powerful rulers Kittur Rani Chennamma, Krishnaraja Wodeyar II, and Palegars Madakarinayaka of Chitradurga, Magadi Kempegowda and many other kings and chieftains.

A lot of things which Tipu used for his daily chores are kept in the museum. It has artefacts, silver articles, furniture, coins, shields, swords and attires of a bygone era including Tipu’s blue-and-gold coat. It also has many ink drawings of Tipu and his family done by employees of the East India Company. Several sketches by Thomas Hickey and a 3D painting of prince Tipu are commendable!

Watergate -- Srirangapattana

Sally port where Tipu fell

Water gate 1938

May 5, 1799: He was still trapped in the courtyard with a handful of faithful followers and surrounded by the British soldiers. They fought for a long time.Three horses were shot from under Tipu. He, along with four other bodyguards, killed a record 4,500 British soldiers-about fifteen British were left alive and Wellesley was thinking about surrendering when a British bullet hit Tipu on his arm. Another hit his temple and the Tiger of Mysore, the hope of Indian freedom, the great nationalist who sacrificed every thing for his dream of British-free India, fell. And along with him, shattered the dream of Indian independence-one that will not be able to be achieved till 150 years later by the endless efforts of Ghandi and Nehru and Jinnah-just because some greedy men sold their soul for a few gold. Tipu's body was given a military burial and he was buried by his father's side in Lal Bagh.


The following text is borrowed from:
On the evening of May 3rd, British guns breached the ramparts, and at half past one on the following afternoon, General Baird led the forward storming party.

The fighting was fierce. The Sultan himself stood with those who were attempting to hold the breach, firing with his own hand. When it became evident they could not stem the invasion, he turned abruptly, and attempted to force his way through the press on horseback, toward the Zenana. According to Rajah Khan, the only person to have been at his side the whole afternoon, the thought of the ladies of the household had been in his mind since the moment when he realised the fort was going to fall, and he had considered it his duty to put them to the sword with his own hand, lest they be exposed to outrage in the tumult.

The great gateway, when the Sultan and Rajah Khan reached it, presented already a scene of carnage. Trying to push his way through a melee, in which British soldiers and his own were closely mingled, the Sultan was wounded, first in his breast, then in his right side. Rajah Khan, seeing how heavily he was afflicted, cried out to him that he should make his identity known to the British soldiers, who would surely treat his person with respect.

"Are you mad?" shouted Tippu. "Be silent!" Rajah Khan attempted to disengage him from the saddle and they both fell to the earth together. Rajah Khan, wounded in the leg himself, was yet able to drag the Sultan a little to one side, and so prop him up under the relative shelter of a the arch of the great gate. An English soldier, catching sight of the rich gold buckle with which the Sultan's belt was fastened, stooped and tried to take it off him. Tippu, however, was not dead yet. So many bodies had fallen across his own that he could not get to his feet, being pinned amongst the dead and dying; but he reached out with his hand, laterally, plucked a sword from one of those who had fallen, and struck upwards, slashing the grenadier across the knee. The grenadier, incensed, raised his musket, put it straight to the Sultan's temple, not knowing who he was, and shot him.

Death of Tipu at the taking of Srirangapattana

Death of Tipu by Henry Singleton

Even in death, wrote one present, he carried such a vivacity of hatred that Arthur Wellesley, standing over him in the flickering torchlight, could not believe him dead till he had felt the heart and pulse.

He was dressed in a white linen jacket, and loose drawers of flowered chintz, with a crimson cloth of silk and cotton round the waist. He was of small stature, a trifle corpulent, very dark of complexion, with aqualine nose, bold eyes and prominent chin. His brows were finely arched, and his hands and feet remarkably small and delicately shaped.

Finding body of Tipu -- coloured engraving by Samuel William Reynolds London 1800

Sir David Baird discovering the body of Tipu Sultan; by Sir David Wilkies

The following day, four companies of Europeans marched with his bier. It was borne by his personal attendants, and accompanied by the Kazi, chanting verses from the Koran. Thousands of the faithful prostrated themselves as the Sultan passed on his last journey through the streets toward Lal Bang, where they laid him with his father; the occasion of the last obsequies being rendered more awful by the bursting of an almighty thunderstorm.



The foregoing was quoted from the book:
"Noor-un-nisa Inayat Khan, GC, MBE, CdG, by British Author,
Jean Overton Fuller.



There are several stories as to how Tipu was defeated. One version of the story portrays Mir Sadiq as the traitor who sold his mother land while another version portrays Purnayya as the traitor who negotiated the life of his Muslim ruler with the British.

The British promised Mir Sadiq that in return for helping them, they would make him the ruler of Mysore. Also involved in this plot was Pandit Purnia, Tipu's Secretary of Treasury. He was promised the post of prime-minister. They tried various things on Tipu. During a highly important conflict, Purnia told the soldiers to come collect their wages. The soldiers left the cannons and went for their pay and the British were able to destroy parts of the fort wall. Also, empty cannonballs were provided to the soldiers. In the fort, Mir Sadiq declared that Tipu had abducted. However, one of Tipu's loyal followers attacked and killed Mir Sadiq.




























In actual fact, Tipu's minister of finance, Mir Sadiq, who was a muslim, informed on Tipu to the British. Tipu did have a confidant, a Brahmin minister named Purnaiah, who remained loyal to him until the very end and who was appointed by the British to rule Mysore after Tipu's death until the legitimate Hindu King of Mysore came of age.

According to historical facts, Tipu did inded suspect Mir Sadiq of treason and intended to hang him before the fortress fell, but did not succeed. Forrest confirms that it was Mir Sadiq who betrayed Tipu to the British. He also believes that Mir Sadiq was killed by his own troops as a traitor and his corpse savagely mangeled.

The following text is borrowed from:
Ordinary soldier:
When we speak of traitors or betrayers, the name of Mir Sadik comes to our mind instantaneously. He was an ordinary soldier in the army of Hyder Ali. By hard work and courage he attained superior position in the administration. Mir Sadik showed the same courage during Tipu's regime. Unsuspecting Tipu promoted him and made him the chief of revenue and finance. He remained faithful to Tipu till 1792. When British gained an upper hand, Mir Sadik understood that Tipu was not a winning horse and that there is no use in supporting him any longer. Overnight he changed his loyalty to the British but kept it as a secret and pretended loyalty to Tipu. He selected his own men and sent secret information to British Governor Cornwallis. He used code words and if by chance the messenger was caught, he would be killed immediately.

Evil designs:
Tipu was a sharp and shrewd Sultan and he came to know of the evil designs of Mir Sadik. He was arrested and kept in prison. But Mir Sadik explained that this was the work of some other soldiers and he was following them to find out the truth. Thus he pleaded his innocence and took an oath to be faithful and obedient to Tipu. Unfortunately Tipu believed him and released him from prison.

Breach of trust:
As soon as he came out of the prison, he continued his breach of trust against the Sultan with greater caution. He told the Sultan that he would be freely moving with the British officers and soldiers only to find out their secrets. Actually he was acting on the contrary. The British promised him wealth and the headship of the Mysore kingdom if Tipu was defeated. Again Tipu came to know of this treachery and prepared a list of persons to be hanged. The first name in this list was that of Mir Sadik. One of his friends informed this to Mir Sadik. He immediately became alert and before Tipu could act, the British were made to attack and Tipu could never come out of the fort of Srirangapattana.

On 22, May 1799 when the battle was going on, Mir Sadik invited all the soldiers of Tipu Sultan who were guarding the fort of Srirangapattana, to come out for a negotiation regarding the increase in their salary as per the order of Tipu. The soldiers believed it and left the fort and went out for negotiations. Now the British had no opposition except for Tipu and some commanders. Tipu was taken aback by this development. Immediately Mir Sadik as planned earlier gave the signal through a white handkerchief to the British soldiers to enter the fort. Immediately the British entered the fort.

Tipu look – alike:
As a strategy many soldiers were dressed like Tipu to confuse the British. It was difficult for them to identity the real Tipu and were struggling to find out the truth. At this juncture Mir Sadik told the British officers that he would go near the real Tipu in the battlefield and bend before him as if showing respect to the Sultan and the British should take the clue from this. He did like this and the British had no difficulty in recognising Tipu Sultan on the battlefield and killing him. Thus Mir Sadik fulfilled his desire of helping the British to eliminate Tipu, his own master who trusted him and promoted him, and even released him from prison, and saved his life. But Mir Sadik showed his gratitude in this way!

But the soldiers of Tipu and people came to know of the treachery of Mir Sadik, attacked him and killed him when he was on his way to join the British. British intervened and buried his body in Srirangapattana itself. But the people were so furious against Mir Sadik and decided that this treacherous person should not be allowed to rest in peace even after death. They exhumed his body from the grave and showed their indignation by throwing human excreta on the body. At this juncture the British intervened and reburied the body at the same place. This is how contemporary people showed their anger and contempt against Mir Sadik who symbolized treachery and betrayal against his own kingdom, master and mentor.

Mir Sadikism:
Even today when tourists go to Srirangapattana to see the Palace of Tipu and his tomb, the guide who explains the history of Tipu Sultan shows the tomb of Mir Sadik and vividly describes the betrayal of Mir Sadik in a highly emotional way. Some tourists even throw stones on his grave and feel justified in doing so. Thus Mir Sadik has become a symbol of treachery or betrayal in our history.

Mir Sadik is dead but his character “Mir Sadikism” still continues in various forms. If a friend or a relative behaves in a treacherous way and betrays the trust deposed in him or her, such a person is referred to as Mir Sadik. Thus Mir Sadik has unfortunately become immortal in history for his notorious character. That is the defect of history. The betrayer is dead but betrayal continues just like the demon Raktabijasura of our puranas!

Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy,
Former Head,
Department of Ancient History & Archaeology,
University of Mysore.

27 December, 2007

Lal Mahal -- Tipu's Palace Srirangapattana

A short distance from Water Gate was the Lal Mahal, one of Tipu’s palaces. The British desccribed this palace as "very handsome". It had a regal audience hall or the durbar hall with three rows of magnificient pillars supporting a roof two stories above, a library and zenana. The palace also had sophisticated underground piping. It is said that Tipu had chained four tigers near its entrance. Col Wellesley destroyed lal mahal after the seige of Srirangapattana.

Could these flight of steps have led to the zenana?


It is said that in Tipu’s large zenana were, in addition to purchased slaves from such places as Istambul and Georgia, two sisters of the Raja of Coorg and a niece of none other than Purnaiya, who was Tipu’s
The zenana could have also been where Tipu's body was set after the British killed him in the last battle of Srirangapattana. Henry Singleton has painted this imaginary portrait. Moorish columns and archways form the dark scene and sleeping veils hang down from the ceiling. Tipu Sultan's body lies on a diwan, limp and robed. His arm hanging down lifeless, his head lolled back and only recognisable by its distinctive curled moustache. Women in diaphanous French empire style gowns surround the body in various poses of distress: one kneels and kisses his feet, with her back to the viewer; another stands with arms outstretched and open-mouthed head thrown back, in a pose that suggests the image of a maiden wailing for her demon lover. Two distraught young children in white gowns, clearly the hostage princes stand at Tipu's head; other Mysore attendants, in poses of distress or indifference, stand in the shadows.

Tipu's wives and children, and over 800 women from the royal zenana, were transported from Srirangapattana to Madras (present day Chennai) shortly after the capital fell to Baird's troops. They were all then imprisoned at Vellore Fort that was surrounded by moat filled with alligators of a very large size.


Ghulam Mohammed, Tipu Sultan's oldest and only surviving son, wrote a passage to his keepers in 1854 that revealed how very far both the Sultan's family and the British empire had traveled since the Romantic and revolutionary days of the 1780s, before Cornwallis, before Wellesley, and before the storming of Srirangapattana:

In the year 1799 AD, my father, the once powerful sovereign of the South of India (may his tomb be sanctified), fell subdued by the force of the invincible arms of Great Britain. With his downfall fled the greatness of his family, and the glory of his house was extinguished; but if in his wisdom, an Almighty Providence thought proper to crush him, I, his now only surviving son, can praise that One and only Being, who, in his bounty, has also thought fit to vouchsafe to us such merciful conquerors. I can now, with a sincere and true heart, offer up prayers for the safety and good health of her Majesty, our most Gracious Queen Victoria, and I can bless the Prophet, on whom be peace, that successive Sovereigns of her mighty Empire have entrusted the Government of this country, and the care of Britain's fallen foes and their descendants, to that just and even upright body, the Honourable the Court of Directors."

26 December, 2007

Sriranganatha Temple -- Srirangapattana

Legends linked to Sriranganatha Temple
======================================
It is said that Cauvery is in fact Ganges flowing at the bid of Kashi Vishwanatha. There was severe draught in Dravida desha that lasted for 12 years. Parched lands, dried up water sources, people and animals perishing in large numbers moved sage Sayana who did penance on Brahmagiri mountain to please Lord Maheshwara. Lord Maheshwara was pleased by the sage's penance and bade Ganga to flow in this land.

Though Ganga acquired new name and flowed in new land, she could not snap her connections from Vaikunta or Lord Vishnu. She wanted to wash the feet of her Lord eternally. So she created three islands and Srirangapattana is one of them. Theists erected temples dedicated to Sriranga on these islands. Great rulers donated liberally for conducting prayers regularly on a grand scale in Sriranganatha temple at Srirangapattana.






















According to another legend, river Cauvery is the daughter of Kaveru who married sage Agasthya and took the form of River Cauvery to cleanse the people of their sins. Image of Cauvery in "garbha griha" is a testimony of gratitude of the people whose lives were enriched by her nectarine water.

Ranganatha in sanskrit meaning "Protector of the place of assembly" is a resting form of Lord Vishnu. This form of the Lord is of importance to the Vaishnavites. Sri Devi and Bhu Devi the consorts of Lord Vishnu are not present in the "garbha griha". Instead, River Cauvery is installed in sitting posture at the feet of Lord Ranganatha holding a lotus in her hand.













History of the temple
======================
Tirumalaraya a Ganga chieftain built the temple in 894 AD with imposing tower and enshrined Sriranganatha. He named the flourishing town around the temple as "rangapattana" or "rangapura". Later Udayadithya, brother of King Vishnuvardhana renovated and expanded it in all directions. Three centuries later, Vijayanagar rulers renovated the temple. Wodeyars took the possession of this temple from the Vijayanagar viceroy and passed it to Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Hence it is a remarkable medley of different styles (Vijayanagar and Hoysala style) of architecture. The temple remained a place of worship receiving adoration from all the rulers.












Legend of Talakadu
===================
The religious belief is that Srirangaraya was a Vijayanagar representative from Srirangapatna. Srirangaraya's wife Alamelamma was a devotee of Ranganatha. She used to send her jewels every Friday to decorate Goddess Ranganayaki in the Srirangapattana temple.

Raja Wodeyar was established as the ruler when Srirangarayan died. Raja wodeyar asked Alamelamma to hand over the jewellery, but she was adamant and refused. She committed suicide by jumping into River Cauvery. Locals believe that before dying she cursed the town -
"Talakadu MaraLagali,
malangi maduvagali,
wodeyar doreyarige makkaLagadirali"
--May Talakad be filled with sand,
may Malangi become a whirlpool,
May the Wodeyars never have children

Bijapur

01 January, 2007

Trip To Bijapur -- Gol Gumaz Gumbaz Museum

It was 8:30AM and we had spent sufficient time at the Gumbaz. We had to only visit the museum and that was to open at 10:00AM. We had sufficient time to eat our breakfast. After eating the dinner at our hotel restaurant the previous evening we were sure we didn't want to eat there again. I remembered from my previous visit to the Gumbaz that there was a small canteen in the premises. We strolled in the garden for a while and then went to the canteen.

It is a small place with a seating capacity of at most 6 people. Small wooden benches and a few rusty chairs form the complete set of furniture in the canteen. I opted to have "avalakki" (beaten rice) and the others opted to have upma. After the miserable dinner the previous night, the breakfast tasted really delicious. I ordered for KT -- this tea is prepared with a generous amount of milk and is also flavoured with elaichi. The previous evening we had tea in the hotel restaurant that tasted not just yuck , but also smelled bad. I am almost certain that it was prepared with Goat's milk. V felt repulsive after I revealed the secret of the bad tasting tea :). U reminded him that Goat's milk was good for health and Bapuji had Goat's milk everyday :). I guess only Gandhiji can drink this milk :) and I didn't finish my tea. I'm not sure if V drank it either :).

While we were relishing the tea, we saw another family (a man, two women and a little girl, perhaps there were more people and I didn't notice them) who came to the canteen. They wanted to eat idlis :) but the canteen didn't serve any. I am not sure what they had for breakfast, but what I am certain about is the fact that they didn't know anything about cleanliness . They sat on the grass in the garden and had their breakfast. When they left the canteen, we noticed that they had strewn food on the grass :(. The little buss boy didn't clean the garden after them either.


We had to return to the hotel, freshen up and then return to the museum. The hotel supplied hot water in the rooms only between 6 and 9 in the morning. Though it was well past 6:30 AM when we left the hotel room in the morning, the water in the shower wasn't hot. We felt it would be a good idea to visit the Gumbaz and then return to the hotel, shower and then visit the museum. We had to check out of the hotel at 10:00AM and so we vacated the rooms after we had showered. We stored our bags in the hotel reception area and went to the museum.



























Jain Yakshini
The museum located in the Naqquar Khana (Trumpet House) of the Gol Gumbaz Complex, was originally established as a district museum in 1892. Later on it was taken over to develop it as a site museum in 1982. Naqquar Khana is in typical Adilshahi architectural style and has elevated platforms and tall and loft arches raised over massive piers. The large and good massive showcases introduced by the British officers, themselves have become good examples of antique furniture.


The collection comprises of stone inscriptions of Arabic, Persian, Kannada and Sanskrit languages in different scripts and written in varied calligraphy, Brahmanical and Jaina sculptures, hero stones, illustrated and plain manuscripts, coins, China wares, wooden carving, carpets, maps, sanads and firmans, miniature pantings, Bidiri ware and other house hold articles, datable from 6th to 18th century AD.

The museum has six galleries, three in the ground floor and the rest in upper story. It houses a majority of movable cultural property of the region with a special collection of Adilshahi art objects.

The first gallery displays Brahmanical sculptures and second gallery has Jain sculptures. Third gallery displays inscriptions of Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit and Kannada languages with a variety of calligraphy. Fourth gallery exhibits arms, weapons and other metal wares. Fifth gallery has miniature painting, carpets, smaller metal objects. Sixth gallery exhibits Arabic and Persian manuscript, China porcelain wares etc. Inscribed slabs depicting excellent calligraphy, illustrated manuscripts of the Holy Quran, arms and weapons, well attired torso of a royal person, photo enlargements of excellent specimens of Adilshahi miniatures, translides of kings and queens and world’s famous monuments comparable with Gol Gumbaz are the main attractions in the museum.

Trip To Bijapur -- Gol Gumbaz

Gol Gumbaz is the tomb of Mohammad Adil Shah. Besides the tomb of Mohammad Adil Shah, it also has the tombs of his younger wife Arus Bibi, grandson, his mistress Rambha, his daughter and his senior wife. The mausoleum was constructed during Mohammad Adil Shah's rule (1626-56). The dome second only to Pantheon in Rome has a diameter of 124.5 ft.
















Tombs of grandson of Mohammad Adil Shah, Mohammad's younger wife Arus-Bibi, the sultan himself, his mistress Rambha, his daugher and his senior wife

The 'whispering gallery' runs round the interior of the dome. A single clap is echoed 7 times. But the gallery is always filled with tourists who don't seem to understand the meaning of 'whisper'. They shout and hoot the whole day. If you have to really enjoy the whispering gallery and listen to the whispers you need to reach the dome quite early in the day. Fortunately our hotel was opposite to the Gumbaz and we reached the dome by about 6:30AM. But a few noisy tourists had beaten us to the top :(. They were already shouting when we went in. A man probably a guard, was playing a 'harmonium' in one corner of the gallery. Another guard lit a match stick in one corner of the dome and we heard its sound being echoed 7 times standing on the opposite end of the dome. He clapped his hands once and we heard its echo too.

We sat on the opposite sides of the dome on the stone benches and whispered to each other. But the noise of the crowd was quite deafening. We could barely hear the person sitting next to us. I walked up to one of the guards and requested him to quiten the group. He said he had already tried it and the noisy group had told him to mind his own business as they had paid the entry fee to shout and not whisper. The noisy crowd seemed to be from the state of Maharashtra as they were shouting in Marathi. It was high time someone told them to maintain silence.

I walked up to one man in the group and told him to keep quite. He probably was the sole person in the entire group who understood Kannada. He translated what I said to the others. It was quite evident that their ego was hurt (how could they listen to a woman reprimand?!) as they walked out of the dome. The man then spoke to me in Kannada and told me that they would wait outside for a few minutes and then return to the dome. We had to be satisified with the little time that we got to enjoy the whispering gallery.

We (J and myself) whispered to V and U who were seated on the stone bench on the opposite end of the dome. We heard them whisper the replies to our questions! WOW! It was definitely an architectural marvel!

The noisy crowd was back again in five minutes time :(. They continued doing the only thing that they probably were good at... shouting. That ended the few moments of peace and quite that we were enjoying. We climbed down the stairs and went to the chamber containing the tombs of the Royal family.

We read the description board of the gumbaz and as we were walking out, U sighted a flight of steps leading to the floor above. I remembered from my earlier visit to Gol Gumbaz that visitors were not allowed to climb these stairs. But now we didn't sight any board restricting us from doing so. Just as we climbed the stairs, we saw one of the guards signalling us to come down :(.

30 December, 2006

Trip To Bijapur -Basanta Vana

Second tallest idol of Shiva in India
This 85 feet cement and steel idol at Rambapur village 3Kms from City of Bijapur on the Ukkali road was unveiled on Feb 26th 2006 -- the auspicious day of Shivarathri. Sculptors from Shimoga toiled for 13 months to create the idol based on the design provided by the civil engineers from Bangalore.


Idol of ShivaLinga
A small idol of Shivalinga is installed beneath the big statue. "Shiva Charite" will also be inscribed in Kannada on the inner walls of the temple to help the devotees learn the mythological stories related to Lord Shiva.

Film producer Basantkumar Patil, the chairman of the T.K.Patil Banakatti Charitable trust has started a series of charitable work. An old age home "Basant Van" will accomodate 52 members initially and gradually enhance the capacity. Preference will be given to women. The trust will also sponsor education to meritorious students belonging the socially and economically backward classes and start free boarding for them. The trust has also decided to deposit 4.5 Crores of rupess in a bank and the interest earned on this money will be used for charity work.


There were a couple of camels in the garden around the temple and little kids were enjoying riding them. V wanted to sit on the grass in the garden and as usual :)... I didn't let him. I wanted us to return to the hotel as early as possible, have dinner and sleep well, so that we would not feel tired the next morning. We had to visit Gol Gumbaz the next morning and then continue to Gulbarga.

Trip To Bijapur -- Jumma Masjid

Jumma Masjid
The mosque is known as "Jumma Masjid" because the Khutba is recited here on Jumma ie. Friday.


crescent proclaims the Adil Shahi's dynasty's Turkish origin
Notice the arabasque pattern in stucco on the second arch from left

This was the first mosque to be constructed in the Adil Shahi kingdom. Ali Adil Shah I began the construction in 1576 using the booty gained by defeating the Vijayanagar kingdom in the battle of Talikota fought at Rakkasatangadi. Ali Adil Shah was a Shiaite and the sect prefers not to decorate the place of worship. Hence the mosque wasn't decorated during his reign. Mohammad Adil Shah was a Sunni and probably the elaborate mural decorations near the mihrab were added during his reign. This is recorded in an inscription to the right of the Mihrab. Teakwood additions to the ceiling were also made during his reign. The mihrab was gilded and decorated in black and gold. It was then inscribed with Persian verses.
Six Persian inscriptions found in mihrab are translated as:

1. Put no trust in life; it is short

2. The passing world has no rest

3. The world pleases the senses

4. Life is the best of gifts, but it lasts not.

5. Malik Yaqub, a servant of the mosque and the slave of Sultan Muhammad finished the mosque

6. This gilding and ornament were done by order of Sultan Muhammad Adil Shah, A.H. 1045.

Mihrab in Jumma Masjid
It is said that the Raja of Satara built the side walls connecting the original mosque or main prayer hall to the eastern wall. By 1686AD the mosque was mostly completed.

The mosque can accommodate 4000 worshippers at a time. The floor was divided on the orders of Emperor Aurangzeb into 2250 rectangular inlays that mimic prayer rugs.

I was expecting one of the men in the mosque to walk up to us and inform us that "WOMEN" were not permitted in the prayer hall. But I was surprised that we women were allowed to walk upto the mihrab and offer our prayers. The priest pointed to two women and asked us if we were with them. We informed him we weren't. Then he pointed to the "hundi" (donation box) and told us to drop our offerings in it. He probably realised we weren't followers of Islam and so he ensured that we were informed about the donation box :). We dropped a few rupees in the box and sat in the courtyard for a while.


Persian (I guess) inscription on the wall near Mihrab





The prayer hall on the west side has a façade of seven bays, each bay having an arched opening. The arches are equal in size, while the central arch is delineated through delicate arabesque patterns in stucco. The prayer hall is crowned by an elegant, well-proportioned dome. The large inner courtyard contains fountain and a reservoir. We sat here for a while chatting and also had a pretend :) fight with V :).

29 December, 2006

Trip To Bijapur -- Mehtra Mahal

Mehtar Mahal

Beautifully decorated balcony

Munir Khan (I can't seem to recall the name of our Tongawallah. I guess that is what I overheard when V asked the name of the Tongawallah. But then I could be wrong.) took us to Mehtar Mahal and told us to see the monument from outside as this structure is a gateway to the mosque. As usual women might not be allowed to enter this place of worship.

The architectural design of the mahal indicate that it might have been built about 1620AD. But there is no documentation of the architect or the person who got this structure erected. There are a lot of interesting stories related to this monument.

Some say that a sweeper built this gateway with the handsome gift he received from the king Ibrahim Adil Shah-I.

According to another story, a fakir erected this monument with the charity money that he received from King Ibrahim Adil Shah II.

Yet another story credits Mehtra Gada for the construction.

The most interesting story and my personal favourite of them all is the one that seems to be linked to the first story I mentioned earler. It credits the palace sweeper for the construction of the mahal. Legend has it that muslim divines would wave a plate containing gold coins and an auspicious lamp, before the king's face every night and offer prayers for his safety and well-being. The divine men would then spread the gold coins around the king's cot. The palace sweeper collected these coins and used it to build the mosque and the Mehtra mahal leading to the mosque.


The ground floor entrance hall has a staicase that leads to a room above. The stone elephant and lion motif is breath-taking. Munir Khan told us to notice this bracket and probably I was the first one to notice it. I showed this to U and J while V walked over to the other side of the road to take a picture of the monument. Though he took this picture :) he said he couldn't see it clearly until he saw it in the photo :).

Lion-and-elephant-motif
Percy Brown Observes :
The fineness of the workmanship is astonising, the stone being manipulated as it it were plastic clay. Either in the chiselling of the low relief pattern around the doorway or in the deep moulding of the coffered ceiling of the ground storey, all is executed with a loving are recalling that of the artists of the Italian Quottro-Cento. The entire structure seems to imply that not only the artisans themselves took a pride in the perfection of the handiwork, but they were encouraged to do so by their patrons who experienced an equal pleasure in seeing such exquisite forms grow under their hands.

28 December, 2006

Trip to Bijapur -- Jod Gumbad

Built in the year 1687 Jod Gumbad is also known as "Abdul Razak Darga".
There are twin-domed memorial structures to two traitors, the father and son who helped the Moghul Aurangzeb defeat Sikandar, the young Adil Shahi ruler on the throne.
I am not really sure why the people built a memorial to traitors. I haven't found further information on the internet as to how Aurangzeb succeeded in conquering the Adil Shahi capital either.

Now these structures have dargahs. They offered us a spoon full of holy water to drink in one of the dargahs. This ritual is very similar to the Hindu ritual that is observed in temples. We then went to the other dargah in the next gumbad and there were no priests or maulvis offering prayers but there were a few women seated outside the dargah. We enquired if we could go in and one of them told us that women aren't allowed to enter the dargah. So we waited outside for V, who had gone into the dargah.


Jod Gumbad


Dargah in Jod Gumbad
1 Dhanno aur 3 basanti? Bahut naa insaafi hain
This was probably the last of the monuments where we could take a picture in the tonga. We requested the tongawallah to position the tonga so that we could get the gumbad as the backdrop. With the tonga so positioned, we finally managed to take this picture seated in the tonga. How could we not remember the ever so famous Dhanno and Bansanti from Sholay while we were riding a tonga? U mentioned Dhanno and Basanti and we couldn't help but smile :).

27 December, 2006

Trip To Bijapur -- Taj Bawadi

Bahamani empire broke-up into five kingdoms and Bijapur was one of them. Yousuf AdilShah was crowned the king of the new Adil Shahi kingdom. The new kingdom rose to great heights in the middle of the 16th C under Ali Adil Shah, the grandson of Yousuf AdilShah, who brought down the mighty Vijayanagar empire in 1565. Soon after he undertook ambitious building projects in his capital that included the public water supply system and the new Jami Masjid. There was a large influx of people into Bijapur after the fall of the Vijayanagar empire, and new settlements came up within the walled city raising the need for better infrastructure and providing water supply. Ibrahim Adil Shah followed his father's footsteps and built Taj Bawdi in 1620 in honour of his queen Taj Sultana.


Taj Bawdi

The well is 223 sq feet and 52 feet deep. The well has a 35 feet span majestic arch and is flanked by two octagonal towers. The eastern and western wings of the tower formed rest houses for the tired travellers. A small platform from the archway leads you to the well. Fligts of stairs on either sides of the platform lead you to the water. There is a narraw gallery on the inner side of the four walls covered by arch surfaces. The gallery passes through large rooms with lancet-shaped windows on all the three sides except the front. The rooms were meant for the use of travellers.

Travellers' rooms with lancet shaped windows
This well might have supplied water to the entire kingdom of Bijapur at one time. Little girls clinging to their mother while they filled water in their pots, little boys diving into the well from atop the platform, dames giggling while gossipping, young lads hanging around the well to catch a glimpse of the dames, tired travellers resting in the rooms beside the well... this probably was an everyday scene near the bawdi.

This tank was used until the Bhutnal tank was constructed in the 20th C after which it was used as a garbage dumping pit for decades. Recognising the historical importance of this tank, NSI declared it as a protected monument and spent about 8 lakh rupees in the latter part of 2005 to remove 10,000 tonnes of waste that was dumped in the well and filled it with water.

But exactly after a year, the tank seems to be slowly turning into a dumping pit. The stagnant water has turned green and it shall soon stink. The ignorant citizens of the city who do not realise the national importance of this monument are using the well to wash the clothes and dump garbage. There were a few women washing clothes when we visited this monument.

Time to Act
The Muslima Muttahida Council (MMC) "called to rebuild babri Masjid" on Dec 07 2006, 14 years after the incident. They hoisted black flags and observed "black day". They submitted a memorandum to the president and pressed the UP and the Union Govt. to rebuild the Babri Masjid. They can instead use the youth potential to maintain this historic monument in their own city.

Or will they wait until the bawdi is destroyed completely and then "call to rebuild the bawdi"?





If you have been to Taj Bawdi in the recent past; have noticed the garbage and would like to complain then click here
and hope the garbage is cleared.

Trip To Bijapur -- Ibrahim Rauza

Ibrahim Rauza entombs the mortal remains of Ibrahim Adil Shah II -- the greatest of the Adil Shahi rulers. After several years of deligent work, the mausoleum was completed in 1626 just in time for the departed soul to rest here till eternity. Eight years later the remains of his wife Taj Sultana were also burried here. An inscription on the north door reads
"Heaven stood astonished at this building when it's head rose as it were from the earth to another heaven. The garden of paradise has borrowed its beauty from this garden and every column in this building is graceful as a cyprus tree in the garden of purity. An angel from heaven told the date of building in words `This heart-gladdening building is the memorial of Taj Sultana."

The mausoleum has a mosque and four graceful minarates within a rectangular enclosure and can be accessed by a lofty entrance tower. The mausoleum designed by Malik Sandal was surrounded by a royal garden during the Shahi rule.





Mosque and Mausoleum



The mausoleum entombs the remains of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, his wife Taj Sultana, his mother Haji Badi Sahiba, his daughter and two sons. The tombs are placed at the centre of the inner chamber.


Overhanging decorative roof
























Decorated entrance to inner chamber


Fergusson, the author of "Indian and Eastern Architecture" says:

"There is nothing in Hindustan which can be compared for grandeur of conception with the tomb of Muhammed nor any so elaborately rich in ornamental detail as the group of buildings comprised in the Ibrahim Rouza. The tombs of Humayun and Akbar will not bear comparision with them. Some will no doubt be inclined to think that the Taj Mahal at Agra is superior to anything in the south; but it is difficult to institute any very satisfactory comparison between it and them. The white marble of Taj, and its in-laying of precious stones, are most important adjuncts, but hardly legitimate circumstances to take into consideration in criticizing an architectural design. The situation too of the Taj on the banks of the Jumna river far surpasses that of any building at Bijapur, and it retains its gardens and its range of marble fountains, which every Rouza had, but only very few indeed now possess; all these add immensely to the charming effect of the Taj Mahal as it now stands, but must not be allowed to mislead us in judging of the advantages, the architect of the Gol Gumbaz would certainly have produced a far grander building, and the architect of Ibrahim Rouza one more picturesquely magnificent, either, in all probability, much more impressive than the pride of the northern capital."

V wanted to sit in the Mausoleum garden for a while before we continued to Taj Bawdi. But I had to remind everyone constantly that all the historic monuments in Bijapur closed at 6:00 PM and we had to visit a few more places. We rested on the cool stone in front of the mausoleum on which ASI had placed the description board of the monument. I fumbled in my backpack for a pencil to update the daily expenditure report and I felt the wrapper of a chocolate. It was the chocolate bar that Varsha had given me on her birthday a month ago. We savoured the "melted" chocolate and walked out of the mausoleum garden gate searching for our tonga. The tongawallah had suggested us to take a picture sitting in the tonga with the mausoleum as the backdrop. But he seemed to have forgotten; as he had already taken the tonga out of the mausoleum gate. We were disappointed that we couldn't take a picture :(.

Trip to Bijapur--Hazarat Khaja Ameenodeen Ali Ala Shere Khuda Chishti

The kingdoms of the Bahamanis (1348-1527 C.E.) and the Adilshahis (1489-1686 C.E.) in the north of Karnataka and the interregnum of Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan(1761-1799 C.E.) in Mysore were the main Islamic kingdoms in Karnataka.Bijapur thrived alongside the Mughal glory in the north. Masjids (mosques) big and small appeared in the newly conquered territories as if to match those built by the aesthete Mughals.


















Bijapur is a historically Muslim region. There are a large number of dargas in this little town. We first visited Hazrat Khaja Ammenoddeen Ali Ala Shere Khuda Chishti darga. Though women are allowed to go up to the darga doorstep, their entry into the room containing the tomb is barred.

There were a few women sitting outside the door with little children running around. We enquired if we could enter the darga and they said that women couldn't. So we sent V into the darga and waited outside for him to return.


When he came out of the room one of the women handed him her child and requested him to take the child in and seek the blessings of the saint. He took the baby in and held it on the tomb as per the woman's request and brought the baby out. The women were probably waiting for a man to come that way so that they could request him to take the baby in coz they left the dargah as soon as V handed the mother her child.

Strange are the religions' restrictions that doesn't allow women to go up to the tomb to seek the blessings of a saint! I fail to understand this discrimination between men and women. I am sure God created all creatures to be treated equally. Then why do men differentiate? This question will probably not be received well by most of the men but will they be able to provide a logical reasoning to this question?

Trip To Bijapur -- Malik E-Maidan

Malik-e Maidan ("monarch of the plains" or "Lord of the Battlefield") set up by Muhammad Adil Shah is a huge cannon located on the top of the tower. It is said to be the largest weapon in medieval times. The great Muzzle has been fashioned into the shape of a lion or a dragon with open jaws, and between the sharp curved fangs is a small elephant on both sides of the muzzle. The small ears have been drilled into holes to attach tackles. It is a cast of alloy of copper, iron and tin and when struck sounds like a bell. The outside surface is dark green and polished like glass and adorned with inscriptions in Persian and Arabic.



Malik-e-Maidan

Muhammad-bin-Hasan Rumi, a Turkish officer in the service of the king of Ahmednagar, cast his gun in 1549, as can be seen from an inscription on the gun. In 1686 Aurangzeb has also recorded an inscription on the gun saying that he subdued the Malik-e-Maidan. When the fort of Parnadah where this gun was installed, fell in to hands of Bijapur, General Murari Pandit brought the gun to Bijapur as a trophy of war and set it up on the present bastion. It was set up here with the help of 10 elephants, 400 oxen and hundreds of soldiers. It weighs 55 tons, is 8.5 metres long and 1.5 metres in diameter. To avoid going deaf, the gunner had to submerge his head in water before firing. Legend has it that if you touch the gun and make a wish, it will come true!





Lions on the entrance wall

This gigantic piece of curiosity was proposed to be taken to England by the Britishers but the idea was given up as impractical. (Thank heavens! Else this would have been on display with all the other "looted" Indian goodies in the Windsor Castle with the display board "Gifted by the Adil Shahi kings")The grand old gun was auctioned off for Rs. 150/- by a Magistrate of Bijapur, but the sale however was fortunately cancelled by the Satara commissioner and the Malik-e-Maidan is still there as a valuable relic on the Sherzi-Buruz, the Lion Tower, so named on account of the two heraldic lions carved in stone to the right of the entrance that leads to the tower platform on which the gun is resting.


Sherzi-Buruz

26 December, 2006

Trip To Bijapur -- Upli Burj

Inscription on the Burj wall
We had visited the Asar Mahal and Bara Kaman earlier in the day and were now visiting the Burj. The tongawallah stood waiting for us with his horse at the entrance of the Burj while we climbed the stairs to the top of the watch tower.

Also known as Hyder Burj, this 80ft tower was built by Hyder Khan, general in the service of Ali Adil Shah I and Ibrahim II in 1584. There are 70 steps (V argues that the steps were 69.. and the argument continues ;)....) leading to the top of this circular tower.

There were two men at the top who offered to tell us the history of the Burj for money. But having already acquainted ourselves of well informed the "guides" in the city were, we decided to keep away from them. I had printed the information about the monument that was available on the net. I read the content aloud for the benefit of the group. I read the description of "Malik-e-Maidan" from the notes I had compiled and somehow the description did not seem to tally with what we say (Obviously!).

The description in the paper read "Perched on a platform especially built for it, the cannon's nozzle is fashioned into the shape of a lion's head. & between the carved fangs is depicted an elephant being crushed to death."





Two huge canons atop Upli Burj

So where the hell was the lion's head? There seemed to be no elephant either? We inspected the canons throughly (V even tried peering into the sand filled canons to search for the lion) and were trying to imagine a lion and an elephant when two women in early twenties seemed to be laughing at our confusion. I complained loudly "I neither see a lion nor an elephant." V said "Don't you see it? I just saw it in that canon." I walked over to the canon that was further away from me and peered in. I still couldn't see the lion. All I saw was a dirt filled Canon. I turned around to ask V to point the lion when I noticed him giggling. Aaargh! He was just fooling.

One of the girls walked up to us and said "Oh! but this is Upli Burj. The other canon is in MulkMaidan. It is beautiful. You should go there.". I thanked her for the information and then read the description of the Upli Burj.

Upli Burj means "watch tower". There are 2 canons atop the tower that measure 9m and 8.5m respectively. The view from the top of the Burj is breath-taking. Some of the most important monuments of Bijapur are visible from here.

Jod Gumbad -- View from the Burj


Gol Gumbaz -- View from the Burj


A mosque near Burj

It was time to visit the next monument in the city.

Trip To Bijapur -- Bara Kaman

Bara Kaman is the unfinished mausoleum of Ali Adil Shah. He lost his life in a conspiracy and the monument remained unfinished. "Bara Kaman" translates to "12 arches".

We hired a "guide"... (he wasn't really a guide... we just paid 20Rs to the security guard who agreed to tell us the history of the monument) and he told us a fascinating fable :). There is no evidence on the internet and if it really is "history" and not a fable :) then I guess the entire credit should go to the security guard.

According to the guard, "Ali Adil Shah was murdered by his father Ibrahim Adil Shah to prevent him from constructing Bara kaman. Ibrahim Adil Shah feared that Bara kaman would lessen the popularity of "Gol Gumbaz" that he had constructed and so had his son murdered. Bara Kaman has the tombs of Ali Adil Shah, his wife Chand Bibi, mistress and his daughters."

History records, Ali Adil Shah had only one son and a daughter. Though there is record of other Adil Shahi sultans having a mistress, there is no known record of Ali Adil Shah having one.

The guard then unravelled the mystery of the construction of "Bara Kaman". He explained to us that, "The architect Malik Sandal, initally raised solid walls in the form of concentric arches and once the entire wall was erected, the inner arches were topelled off and only the outermost arch was left intact. Also iron rings were used to hold the stones in place. They weren't cemented together. He pointed to one of the walls (visible to the right in the photo above) and told us that all the walls probably looked like that particular one before the stones were knocked off."




Malik Sandal was the architect of Gol Gumbaz but there is no historic record of him designing the Bara Kaman.

Probably none of what he said was true. But we heard one good fable for 20Rs that we will all probably remember for the rest of our lives.

Trip To Bijapur -- Asar Mahal (Asifar -E-Shar)

Asar Mahal also known as Asar-E-Sharif was constructed by Mohammad Adil Shah in 1646. It was built to serve as a 'hall of justice'

Entrance to Asar Mahal

Three tanks grace the Mahal. The central square tank, 15 feet in depth is fed by conduits from Begum tank. Two smaller and less deeper tanks are on either sides of the central large one.

Asar Mahal

Asar Mahal courtyard

V in Asar Mahal courtyard

It is believed to contain relics of Prophet Muhammad. Two strands of Prophet Muhammad's hair is also housed here. Women are not allowed inside. The rooms on the upper storey are apparently profusely decorated with fresco paintings, many of them using foliage and flower motifs but some portraying male and female figures in various poses. These latter are all said to have been defaced.

We (Me,U and J) weren't allowed to go inside :(. Though V didn't appreciate going inside a building that did not allow women to go in, we (or should I say I :)...???) compelled him to. He reluctantly went in. He walked out in a few seconds with a smile on his face and said that the rooms were all locked. So we really didn't get to know if the walls on the first storey are indeed decorated with the fesco paintings or not.

Coins on Asar Mahal entrance doorframe

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