Karnataka - Bidar   

These structures are a sight to behold

Rishikesh Bahadur Desai

BIDAR'S PRIDE: The madrasa built by Mohammed Gawan.

Bidar: Delegates to the 72nd national Kannada Sahitya Sammelana will find the historical places of Bidar as interesting as the discussions at the meet.

The stone architecture of Jalsangi in Humnabad taluk and Narayanpur and Umapur in Basavakalyan is said to predate the architecture in Belur and Halebeed.

In fact, the concept of decorating temple walls with images of "Shilabalike" (stone women) seems to have started from Jalsangi, says historian B.R. Konda.

The 11th century temple in Jalsangi has the image of a "Shilabalike" writing the name of Vikramaditya VI, who ruled from Basavakalyan.

"It provides proof of the use of the Kannada script that is very similar to the modern script," says Prof. Konda.

The tombs of Ashtur village are places of secular worship. They contain the tombs of Ahmed Ali Shah Bahmani, who shifted the capital of the Bahmani Kingdom from Gulbarga to Bidar, his wives and other kings.

"While the Muslims rever the noble king, the Hindus believe he was the incarnation of Lord Mallikarjuna. These 15th century tombs are smaller replicas of the Gol Gumbaz.

They have huge domes built without the use of pillars," says an introductory booklet on Bidar, published by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat.

The "Choukhandi," the crown-shaped mausoleum of the priests of the Bahmani kings, is another attraction of Ashtur village. The multi-storeyed building has spiral shaped ladders that run all around the inner wall of the building.

The madrasa built by Mohammed Gawan is a representative structure of Bidar city. Mohammed Gawan was the general of the Bahmani kings.

He conquered Goa for the Bahamani kings. He was an administrative reformer and an eminent educationist. He built the madrasa in 1472.

It was not properly maintained after his death in 1481.

A stroke of lightening is said to have demolished half the building. It has verses from the sacred texts, painted on a tall pillar, in blue tiles.

Bidar district is home to two famous forts, one in Bidar and the other in Basavakalyan.

Travellers have described the fort as "impermeable".

The fort houses the famed Rangeen Mahal that has walls painted with precious stones. Here, statues, pillars and even tombs have been painted using blue and yellow tiles. Large parts of the arches in the walls have beautiful stone carvings.

The fort of Basavakalyan is in the shape of a hexagon.

It is still intact. Relatives of the Nizam of Hyderabad lived there till 1948. It has three floors. It is built with a design that is a fusion of the eastern and western architecture.

Russian traveller Afanasi Niketan and Farishta, the famous historian from the Middle East, have described the beauty of Bidar city.

They have described it as an urban civilisation with tiled roads and closed drains.

People of Bidar wish the sammelana will also help in giving a boost to the tourist potential of the district.

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