Bara Kaman, Bijapur

February 1996

My friend Gulveer and I were on a biking journey across Karnataka. We traveled on my Hero Honda Splendor. Back then NH4 was a simple 2-lane road and Chitradurga-Hospet road was single lane. Day-1 we visited one ancient temple near Hospet and TB Dam gardens. We camped at KSTDC lodge, near TB Dam, Hospet. Day-2 was spent at Hampi. Day-3 we traveled to Bijapur, reached there late afternoon. Whatever was remaining of that day, we visited Malik-e-Maidan, Upli Burj and Bara Kaman. This is Gulli posing below the arches of Bara Kaman, shot with Yashica aim-n-shoot.

August 18, 2017
Pushpa and I were traveling from Dharwad to Hyderabad, with a stopover at Bijapur. Again we reached late afternoon. This time we visited Landa Kasab Tope and Bara Kaman. This is the entrance gate of the incomplete tomb of Adil Shah II, his wife Chand Bibi and other family members. Had this tomb designed by Malik Sandal was to surpass Gol Gumbaz in size and beauty. It would be so tall that its shadow before sunset would reach Gol Gumbaz which is a good 1.8 kms from here. What a royal wish!

Gol Gumbaz was built by Muhammad Adil Shah as his own tomb. He didn't want another building to shadow the glory of his own tomb and has his son Ali Adil Shah II murdered. With that Bara Kaman's construction stopped for good. Well, that saved an immense burden on the kingdom's subjects which was mostly Hindu. It seems only Muslim kings had this craze to glorify themselves even in their death.

Whatever is the background, one cannot resist being amazed at the engineering skills of those days. The platform is 65m long, 65m wide around 20' thick. These arches are at least 35' high. The columns are approximately 8' x 8' and there are 64 arranged in a 8 x 8 square matrix. Gol Gumaz's overall dimensions are 48m x 48m x 51m.

The arches are designed to transfer the load to the pillars and into the ground below.

 This is the platform center, the resting place for the mortal remains of Ali Adil Shah II and family.

In Islamic tradition, the pointed tops mark a man's grave and flat-hollow tops  for women.

Looks like the plan was to create a central hall for the tombs. The stone used here are dark colored and hard usually found in Bijapur, Gulbarga, Bidar and neighboring districts of Maharashtra.

Not all columns are connected by arches, there are gaps. Looks like they were never built.

The structure's four corners have a tower each. Each of the tower has a builtin staircase. This staircase is enclosed unlike the open staircase of Gol Gumbaz.

One of the towers. Just to raise this structure it must have taken 3 years.

Looking up towards a column and its arches aka Kamans.

Iron rings embedded into the walls. Such rings can be seen all around the structure.

There another incomplete tomb on the eastern side of the city, called as Jahan Begum's tomb. This and In-Ul-Mulk tomb are to be seen during my next visit to Bijapur.

In case you want to know.. what to see in Bijapur district - click this link.

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ಸಾಠ ಕಬರ್, ಬಿಜಾಪುರ್

೧೮ ಆಗಸ್ಟ್ ೨೦೧೭ ಧಾರವಾಡದಿಂದ ಹೈದರಾಬಾದ್ಗೆ ಹೊರಡಲು ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ ಸುಮಾರು ೬ ಗಂಟೆಗೆ ಮನೆ ಬಿಟ್ಟೆವು. ಸಿದ್ದಿ ಈಗಲೂ ಕೂಡ ಕೆಲವು ಜಾಗಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಲು ಮೊದಲೇ ಯೋಚಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ಹಂಪಿ, ಆನೆಗುಂದಿ ಎಲ್ಲ ಸುತ್ತಾಡಿ ಚರ್ಮ ಸುಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರೂ ಸಿದ್ದಿ ಜಾಗಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡುವ ಯಾವ ಅವಕಾಶವನ್ನೂ ಬಿಡುವದಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ನನಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಹುಬ್ಬಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ನಮ್ಮ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಕರನ್ನು ಸಂಧಿಸಿ, ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸಮಯ ಅವರೊಡನೆ ಕಳೆದು ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋಗುವದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ತಡವೇ ಆಯಿತು.ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಕಲ್ಬುರ್ಗಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಉಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನುವ ವಿಚಾರವನ್ನು ಬದಲಿಸಿ ಬಿಜಾಪುರದಲ್ಲೇ ಉಳಿಯುವದೆಂದು ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸಿದೆವು.

ಇದು ಬಿಜಾಪುರಕ್ಕೆ ನನ್ನ ಸಿದ್ಧಿಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ಎರಡನೇ ಭೇಟಿ. ಮೊದಲ ಸಲ ಬಂದಾಗ ಯಾವ ಜಾಗಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಆಗಿರಲಿಲ್ಲವೋ ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡುವದು ಎಂದು ನಿರ್ಧಾರವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಅದರಂತೆ ಬಿಜಾಪುರಕ್ಕೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಲಂಡಾ ಕಸಬ್ ತೋಪನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ಸಾಠ ಕಬರ್  ನೋಡಲು ಹೊರಟೆವು. ಈ ದಿನ ಅಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಬಿಸಿಲಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ನಮಗೂ ಸರಿಯಾದ ದಾರಿ ತಿಳಿದಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಗೂಗಲ್ ಡೈರೆಕ್ಷನ್ ಮ್ಯಾಪ್ ಆನ್ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ದೂರ ಹೋದ ಮೇಲೆ ಅದು ಕೂಡ ಸರಿಯಾದ ದಾರಿ ತೋರಿಸದಾಯಿತು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರನ್ನಾದರೂ ಕೇಳೋಣ ಎಂದು ಕಾರ್ ಕಿಟಕಿ ಇಳಿಸಿ ಇಬ್ಬರಿಗೆ ಕೈ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಅವರು ನಾವು ಕೇಳುವ ಮುಂಚೆಯೇ ನಮಗೆ ಆ ಕಡೆ ಹೋಗಬೇಕೆಂದು ಹೇಳಿದರು. ಬಹುಶ ತುಂಬಾ ಜನ ಪ್ರವಾಸಿಗರಿಗೆ ಮಾರ್ಗದರ್ಶನ ಮಾಡಿದ ಮಹಾನುಭಾವರಿರಬೇಕು .. ಅವರಿಗೆ ಧನ್ಯವಾದ ಹೇಳಿ ಅವರು ಹೇಳಿದತ್ತ ಹೋದೆವು. ಸಿದ್ದಿ ಮೊದಲೊಮ್ಮೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದರು. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಸಮೀಪ ಹೋದಾಗ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಜಾಗ ನೆನಪಿಗೆ ಬಂತು. ಕಾರ್ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯವರೆಗೂ ಹೋಗಲ್ಲ ಇಲ್ಲೇ ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿ ಹೋಗೋಣ ಎಂದರು. ಸರಿ ಎಂದು ಕಾರ್ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿ ನಡೆಯತೊಡಗಿದೆವು. ಮಣ್ಣಿನ ಇಕ್ಕಟ್ಟಾದ ದಾರಿ, ಎರಡು ಕಡೆ ಕಂಟಿ ಬೇಲಿಗಳು. ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಬಣ್ಣ ಬಣ್ಣದ ಹೂಗಳು ಹಾಗೂ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಬಣ್ಣ ಬಣ್ಣದ ಚಿಟ್ಟೆಗಳು. ನಡೆಯಲು ತುಂಬಾ ಖುಷಿ ಎನಿಸಿತು. ತುಂಬಾ ದೂರ ಏನಿಲ್ಲ ಸುಮಾರು ೨೦೦ ಮೀ ದೂರ ನಡೆದರೆ ಸಾಕು ನಾವು ಸಾಠ ಕಬರ್ ಬಳಿ ತಲುಪಬಹುದು.

ಸಾಠ ಕಬರ್ ಬೇರೆ ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಸ್ಮಾರಕಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಭಿನ್ನವಾಗಿದೆ. ಇದರ ಕುರಿತು ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಅಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಚನ್ನಾಗಿ ನಿಗಾ ವಹಿಸಿಲ್ಲ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಜನ ಬರದೇ ಇರುವ ಕಾರಣದಿಂದ ಈ ಜಾಗ ಬಿಕೋ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಅರವತ್ತು ಗೋರಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲವೊಂದಿಷ್ಟು ಒಡೆದಿವೆ, ಕೆಲವು ಬಿರುಕು ಬಿಟ್ಟಿವೆ, ಕೆಲವುದರ ಮೇಲೆ ಕಸ ಬೆಳೆದಿದೆ. ಇದು ಬಿಜಾಪುರದ ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಸ್ಮಾರಕಗಳಲ್ಲೇ ಕಪ್ಪು ಚುಕ್ಕೆಯಾಗಿ ಉಳಿದುಬಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ. ಆದರೂ ಕೂಡ ಬಿಜಾಪುರಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದ ಪ್ರವಾಸಿಗರು ಇದನ್ನು ನೋಡದೆ ಹಿಂತಿರುಗಲು ಇಷ್ಟ ಪಡುವದಿಲ್ಲ. ಎಣಿಸಿ ನೋಡಿದರೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಒಟ್ಟು ಅರವತ್ತಮೂರು ಗೋರಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ಗೋರಿಗಳು ಅಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಆಕರ್ಷಕವಾದ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸವನ್ನೇನು ಹೊಂದಿಲ್ಲ, ಬೇರೆ ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಗೋರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಹೋಲಿಸಿದರೆ ತುಂಬಾ ಸಾಧಾರಣ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸದಲ್ಲಿವೆ.

ಗೋರಿಗಳ ಕಟ್ಟೆಗೆ ಹತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡು ಒಂದು ಕಟ್ಟಡವಿದೆ. ಅದರ ಮೇಲೆ ಹತ್ತಲು ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಕೂಡ ನಾವು ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ಅದರ ಕಟ್ಟಡ ಬೇರೆ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಕಟ್ಟಡಗಳ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸದಲ್ಲೇ ಇದೆ. ಮೇಲೆ ಹತ್ತಿ ನೋಡಿದರೆ ಆ ಅರವತ್ತಮೂರು ಗೋರಿಗಳ ವಿಶಾಲ ನೋಟ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು.

ಈ ಕೆಳಗಿನ ಚಿತ್ರ ಗೋರಿಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆಯೇ ಇರುವ ಬಾವಿಯದು. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವು ಒಂದು ಮಸೂತಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಒಂದು ಟಾವರ್ ಕಟ್ಟಡವನ್ನು ಕೂಡ ನೋಡಬಹುದು. ಇದೇ ಬಾವಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನೂಕಿ ಈ ಅರವತ್ತಮೂರು ಜನರನ್ನು ಕೊಂದಿದ್ದು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.

ಈ ಮಸೂತಿಯ ಕಟ್ಟಡದ ಮೂರು ಅಂತಸ್ತುಗಳನ್ನು ನಾವು ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ಒಂದಸ್ತಿನಿಂದ ಮತ್ತೊಂದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಲು ಮಸೂತಿಯ ಒಳಗಿನಿಂದ ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲುಗಳಿವೆ. ಕಟ್ಟಡವು ತುಂಬಾ ಆಕರ್ಷಕವಾಗೇ ಇದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅದರ ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆ ಅಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಚನ್ನಾಗಿಲ್ಲ.

ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣುವ ಬುರುಜು, ಬಾವಿಯಿಂದ ನೀರು ಸೇದಿ ಬೇರೆಡೆಗೆ ನೀರು ಸಾಗಿಸುವ ಕಟ್ಟಡದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ.

ಕೆಳಗಿನ ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಸೂತಿ ಒಳಗಿನಿಂದ ಮೇಲೆ ಬರಲು ದಾರಿಯನ್ನು ಕಾಣಬಹುದು.

ಮಸೂತಿಯ ಒಳಗಿನ ಚಿತ್ರ. ಈ ರೀತಿಯ ಕಟ್ಟಡ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸವನ್ನು ನಾವು ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಕಟ್ಟಡಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಬಹದು.

ಮಸೂತಿಯ ಹೊರಗಿನಿಂದ ತೆಗೆದ ಚಿತ್ರ.

ಅರವತ್ತು ಗೋರಿಗಳ ಕಥೆ....

ಈ ಅರವತ್ತಮೂರು ಗೋರಿಗಳ ಕತೆ ತುಂಬಾ ರೋಮಾಂಚಕ ಹಾಗೂ ದುಃಖದಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿದೆ. ಈ ಗೋರಿಗಳು ಆಫ್ಜಲ್ ಖಾನ್ ಎಂಬ ಸೈನ್ಯಾಧಿಕಾರಿಯ ಹೆಂಡತಿಯರದೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಆಫ್ಜಲಖಾನನು ಬಿಜಾಪುರ್ ಸುಲ್ತಾನ್ ಅಲಿ ಆದಿಲ್ ಶಾಹ್ ೨ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಸೈನ್ಯಾಧಿಕಾರಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದನು. ಇವನು ತುಂಬಾ ಧೈರ್ಯಶಾಲಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಯುದ್ಧಗಳನ್ನು ಗೆದ್ದವನಾಗಿದ್ದನು. ೧೬೫೯ ರಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಜಾಪುರ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯವು, ಮುಘಲ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಮರಾಠರ ಆಕ್ರಮಣಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕು ಕುಸಿಯತೊಡಗಿತು. ಆಗ ೨ನೆ ಅಲಿ ಆದಿಲ್ ಶಾಹ್ ನ ಅಪ್ಪಣೆಯಂತೆ ಆಫ್ಜಲ್ ಖಾನನು ಮರಾಠ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಠನದ ಶಿವಾಜಿಯನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸಲು ಪ್ರತಾಪಘಡಗೆ ಹೋಗುವ ನಿರ್ಧಾರ ಮಾಡಿದನು. ಆಫ್ಜಲ್ ಖಾನನು ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಪಾರವಾದ ನಂಬಿಕೆಯನ್ನಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರಿಂದ, ಯಾವುದೇ ಯುದ್ಧಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಮೊದಲು ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷಿಯ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಹೋಗಿ ಭವಿಷ್ಯವನ್ನು ಕೇಳುವದು ಅವನ ರೂಢಿಯಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಅದರಂತೆ ಈ ಸಲವೂ ಹೋಗಿ ಕೇಳಿದನು. ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷಿಯು ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಯುದ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೋತು ಮಡಿಯುವದಾಗಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿ ಯುದ್ಧಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗದಿರಲು ಸೂಚಿಸಿದನು. ಆದರೆ ಆಫ್ಜಲ್ ಖಾನನು ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಸುಲ್ತಾನರಿಗೆ ಮಾತು ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಹೋಗದೆ ಇರುವದು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ.

ಅವನಿಗೆ ಈಗ ಒಂದು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಚಿಂತೆ ಎಂದರೆ ತನ್ನ ಮರಣದ ನಂತರ ತನ್ನ ಅರವತ್ನಾಲ್ಕು ಮಡದಿಯರು ಬೇರೆ ಮದುವೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು. ಇದು ಅವನಿಗೆ ಸುತಾರಾಂ ಒಪ್ಪಿಗೆ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಅವನು ಅವರೆಲ್ಲರನ್ನು ಯುದ್ಧಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಮೊದಲು ಕೊಲ್ಲುವದಾಗಿ ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡನು. ಬಿಜಾಪುರದಿಂದ ಸುಮಾರು ೫ ಕಿ ಮೀ ದೂರದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ನವರಸಪುರ ಎಂಬ ಸ್ಥಳಕ್ಕೆ ತನ್ನ ಮಡದಿಯರನ್ನು ಒಬ್ಬೊಬ್ಬರನ್ನಾಗಿ ಕರೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಆಳವಾದ ಬಾವಿಗೆ ನೂಕಿ ಕೊಲ್ಲತೊಡಗಿದನು. ಹೋದವರು ಮರಳಿ ಬಾರದಿದ್ದನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ಒಬ್ಬ ಹೆಂಡತಿಗೆ ಸಂದೇಹ ಬಂದು ಅವಳು ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಓಡಿಹೋದಳೆಂದೂ, ಅವಳು ಯಾವುದೊ ಊರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ಅವಳನ್ನು ಕೊಂದು, ಸಮಾಧಿ ಮಾಡಿದನೆಂದು ಪ್ರತೀತಿ ಇದೆ. ಉಳಿದವರ ಗೋರಿಗಳು ಆ ಬಾವಿಗೆ ಹತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡೆ ಇವೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಗೋರಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಖಾಲಿ ಇದೆ.

ಇದಾದಮೇಲೆ ಆಫ್ಜಲ್ ಖಾನ್ ಯುದ್ಧಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಾನೆ. ೧೬೫೯ ನವೆಂಬರ್ ೧೦ರಂದು ಶಿವಾಜಿಯಿಂದ ಹತನಾಗುತ್ತಾನೆ.

ಇದೆ ಈ ಅರವತ್ತಮೂರು ಗೋರಿಗಳ ದಾರುಣ ಕತೆ. ಈ ಕತೆಯನ್ನು ನಾನು ನನ್ನ ಒಬ್ಬ ಸಹೋದ್ಯೋಗಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದಾಗ, ಅವಳ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಆಫ್ಜಲ್ ಖಾನ್ ಸತ್ತಾಗ ಅವನ ವಯಸ್ಸೆಷ್ಟಿರಬಹುದು? ಮತ್ತು ಅವನು ೬೪ ಮದುವೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾದರೆ ಒಂದೇ ಬಾರಿಯಂತೂ ಇಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಮದುವೆ ಆಗಿರಲಿಕ್ಕಿಲ್ಲ, ಬಹುಶ ಈ ೬೪ ಹೆಂಡತಿಯರಲ್ಲಿ ಮದುವೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಒಂದು ವರ್ಷದಲ್ಲೇ ಅಥವಾ ಅದಕ್ಕೂ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲೇ ಒಬ್ಬ ಹೆಂಡತಿಯಾದರು ಈ ದಾರುಣ ಹತ್ಯಾಕಾಂಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಲಿಯಾಗಿರಬಹುದು ಎಂದರು.... ನಿಜವಾಗಲೂ ಎಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಘೋರ! ಎನಿಸಿದ್ದು ಆ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ... :(

ಅಂತೂ ಸಾಠ ಕಬರ್ ನೋಡಿ ನಾನು ಸಿದ್ದಿ, ಬಾರಹ ಕಮಾನ್ ಕಡೆ ನಡೆದೆವು. ಮನಸ್ಸು ಮಾತ್ರ ಆ ಘೋರ ಹತ್ಯಾಖಾಂಡದ ಕತೆಯನ್ನೇ ಮೆಲುಕು ಹಾಕುತ್ತಿತ್ತು....

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Saat Qabr, Bijapur ~ साठ कब्र

December 2010
Saat Qabr is one of the less known historical spots of Bijapur from Adil Shahi's time. Even if some tourists know about it, most of them fail to locate the spot because its located on the city outskirts and even many local people are unaware of it. Also, a stream flowing close to the graveyard was an obstacle of sorts during rainy season.. local people would discourage anyone from venturing into the snake infested waters. During my visit of Dec-2010, Saat Kabr was well outside the city. We spent a good half an hour to find the spot from less than a kilometer of it. It was almost dusk when we reached it.

Saat Qabr means sitxy graves. Yes, we could count 63 graves arranged a 7 x 9 rectangular array on a black stone platform. On the western edge of the platform is a single structure, probably a mosque. We explored the surroundings as well and found a well behind the mosque. The well was a grand one; its inside was lined with dressed blocks. Also, a tower was built next to it which helped raise water from the well. My guess is- water from this well was used to irrigate crops on this land before 'Saat Kabr' came into being. There wasn't much water and the bottom was in view; probably about 20 feet deep. Deep enough to drown an adult human. With so much in our sights, to know what happened in the past, we'll have to use little imagination. So, lets go back three and half centuries to know how the history of this graveyard.

Saat Qabr is the graveyard of Afzal Khan's wives. He is said to be of Afghan descent, stood 7' tall and a powerful commander during the reign of Ali Adil Shah II. Personally he was well off and maintained a harem of 60+ wives. Nobles were expected to have many wives those days. Afzal Khan was said to have won many campaigns for the kingdom and the Sultan had great faith in this power. Afzal Khan though powerful, believed in astrology and consulted a Sufi Peer before commencing any campaign.

During that time Mughals and Marathas were harassing Adil Shahis. Afzal Khan volunteered to the task of defeating the Marathas. As usual, when he met the Sufi Peer, he was told that he would die in the battle. Being a noble, he was worried about his name after his death. His wives cannot go around marrying or living with someone else. So he decides to kill them before leaving Bijapur. Probably he thinks that drowning would be the best method. He might have asked the wives to jump into the well and give up their lives. May be some wives submitted while others tried to escape with their lives. Probably the land where the well was situated belonged to him - I'm guessing this based on the fact that Afzal Khan's mosque is about 1.2 kms north of Saat Qabr. So the wives were brought here on some pretext and the news broken. Some chose to jump voluntarily and those who tried escaping were pushed to their deaths. This is the story of this graveyard.

Here're two not so good videos shot in poor light with my Motorola. Phone cameras back then weren't so advanced.

During the medieval times, widows' lives was said to be difficult, especially for widows of royal families. They were forced to marry or live with the conqueror. This was one of the ways to spoil the losers' names. Surely Afzal Khan would've done the same and that was probably one the reasons for this large harem. And that was one of the reasons to kill his wives before he died? There are many stories about queens and women ending their lives on hearing news of their husband's martyrdom but this is a rare story where a warrior killing wives before his final battle. Not sure if you'll ever find another as this.

Having done the deed, he sets out to meet the Maratha leader Shivaji in the jungle near Pratapgad. It was a supposed to be a peaceful meeting between the two leaders with just two bodyguards on either sides but Afzal had something else in mind. Knowing, Afzal's cunning mind, Shivaji had prepared well, he had armed himself with tiger claws and a dagger. Shivaji had positioned several soldiers in the jungle to ambush Afzal's men. The leaders entered the meeting venue, a tent. During the customary embrace, Afzal the giant tried to crush Shivaji in his arms but unsuccessful becuse of Shivaji's body armor. In self defence Shivaji uses the tiger claws on Afzal's stomach tearing out his intestines. The bodyguards swing into action, Shivaji's side has the upper-hand and eventually behead Afzal Khan. The Sufi Peer's prediction did come true. Shivaji had Afzal Khan's mortal remains buried with military honors at the foot of Pratapgad fort.
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Ibrahim Rauza, Bijapur

July 3, 2016
This is my fourth visit to Bijapur and my first with Pushpa. Though she'd visited this heritage city once, she'd only seen the icon of Bijapur.. Gol Gummata. I wanted her to see the other magnificent monuments of the city as well. On the list were Ibrahim Rouza, the cannon of Malik-e-Maidan, Upuli Burj, Jod Gumbaz, Asar Mahal, Jamia Masjid, Gagan Mahal and Mehtar Mahal. Also on the list was the Baobab tree planted during Adil Shahi time.

After a light breakfast. we started our tour from Ibrahim Rouza. The day was cloudy and it was drizzling, weather was on our side. Here we are, looking at the domes and minarets sticking out from the three structures of the complex. In the middle is the grand gateway; on the right is the mosque and on left is the tomb. This the tomb of the fifth Adil Shahi ruler Ibrahim 'Adil Shah II who (1580-1627 CE). Superb maintenance isn't it?

This is the passage in the gateway flanked by platforms.

The gateway's other side. The entire complex is walled and well protected. Its a royal tomb, it does need security.

This is the tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, his wife Taj Sultana and their two sons. This tomb and the entire complex is said to be designed and built by the Persian architect Malik Sandal. The years of construction is not available online but I guess it was completed in 1627 CE. Going by the looks it must have built in 8 to 12 years, so the construction must have begun around 1617 CE.

On the right hand side is the mosque with five arches in the elevation. The mosque's and the gateway's minarets are similar i.e. the front two minarets are taller than the rear two.

The mosque's interior; the white pillars rising out the floor gracefully to converge into beautiful arches and domes. Between the arches are diamond shaped niches, these niches control the acoustics.. probably to prevent echoing.

The dome- what seems circular at the first glance is actually a 16-sided polygon encompassing a lotus in full bloom. Such a perfect geometric creation! Each of the 20 domes are decorated like this.. did not observe if all were same or if each of the domes had a unique design.

Looking towards the tomb through the arches. Notice how the last arch forms a white border for its arch. Truly amazing architecture.

Rauza also known as Ali Rauza is known for its pendant hanging from a stone made completely of stone. Actually there are two such hanging pendants, both on the front side of the mosque. These stone sculptures design is a mix of Hindu temple and Islamic designs. In the top-left side of this picture, you can see a mesh created in stone. Lovely designs indeed.

Between the mosque and tomb is an ornamental water tank. On the opposite sides of the tank are pedestals which I guess were used as seats to perform the customary abulation before entering a mosque or tomb. Now lets turn our attention to the tomb. The building looks beautiful in this view.. the central bulbous dome and the corner minarets and the arches below.. well proportioned design.

This is one of the corner pillars with a lotus base. Between the four corner pillars are smaller pillars forming the outer perimeter.

Looking up at the pillar. The pillar and beam design are definitely borrowed from temples.

Another look up view.. one of the sculpted arches and the floral designs on the ceiling.. superb. Notice the lotus designs.. you can see them in Chalukyan temples of XII Century.

The richly decorated walls of the sanctum. These walls carry intricate drawings and paintings.. mostly floral. Notice the black stone door-frame.. either sides of the frame has a rectangle within which is an elaborate maze. The door frame carries an inscription of verses from the holy book.

A floral motif on the corner pillar. Floral designs embossed in stone and the complicated maze on the door-frame. During my first visit here (in 1996 I and my friend Gulveer were on a biking trip around Karnataka) our guide had traced the path of the maze with a matchstick.. the path ended at the point where it started.

The outer perimeter is an arched aisle. Lets step inside the sanctum.. one of the windows with a mesh. The mesh depicts Quranic verses.

The tomb has 4 doors eight windows. The windows are tastefully decorated with sculpted meshes and has a seat too. The doors are said to be original teak wood doors studded with brass knobs (see inset) and other fittings. The octagonal object on the floor is a lamp holder. You can see a similar one at Gol Gumbaz too.

The interior has five tombs - in the middle are Ibrahim II and Taj Sultana's tombs. The remaining tombs are children and grandchildren. Flat tops indicate woman's tomb while the pointed tops are men's tombs.

Below these structures is the basement formed by the pillars bases. Its a quite a large area. It is said that the space was used to store ammunition and food grains. I remember the guide telling this was used as barracks. However, during my visit of 2010, the basement and the garden area was flooded with rain. Whatever happened recently might have been a result of altering the ancient water ways. During Adil Shahi rule, Bijapur was a well planned city which did not have shortage of water even in summer months. However in 2010 the city was a mess. In 2016, I could see some improvement.

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Three Mohammedan Gumbaz of Hukkeri

Nov 15, 2015
This was my first visit to Hukkeri (also spelled Hukeri), was here to visit Pushpa's relatives at a near by village Yellimannoli. While passing through Hukeri I noticed three large domes rising above the two/three storey buildings. The domes were unmistakably Gummats, tombs of Muslim rulers. On our return journey we stopped at the tombs. There are 3 structures in one row, all of them built on platforms, similar in design but slightly different in sizes. The structures are cubical, have minarets at each of the corners and topped by a central dome.These Gummats are similar to those seen at Bijapur, Gulbarga and Bidar.

I searched online for info on these tombs and found a small write-up on Government First Grade College Hukkeri website. Following info is sourced from that write-up. The name Hukkeri is said to have been derived from the name Huvinakeri ~ street of flowers. When Hukkeri was part of Adil Shahi kingdom, roses grown here were exported to the kingdom's capital Bijapur.  Hukkeri was controlled by Fate Bahadur before it came under Yusuf Adil Shah rule in 1502. Ain-ul-mulk Gilani was in charge of Hukkeri's administration, which lasted 40 years. During Ain-ul-Mulk Gilani's rule a fort and two tombs were built. Ain-ul-mulk was succeeded by his brother Fateh-Mulk (1547 to 1568) during whose rule the third tomb was built. Fate Mulk was succeeded by two Bijapur officers Ranadula Khan and Rustam Zaman. Rustam built the Chini Gumat and Kadam Rasul mosque (near bus stand) in 1680.

Lets start with the tomb on the west. This is the second largest structure, it's floor measures approximately 35' x 35' and overall height could be 50'. This tombs has two entrances and each of the four faces has arched niches.

As seen from the east. This is the most neat and tidy of the 3 tombs, The platform top is tiled, so is the interior.

Here's a view of the interior, tiled floor, whitewashed walls but covered with cobwebs. The niches are decorated with simple but beautiful floral murals. One thing is missing.. there's no tomb in here.

The white-red dome is clean and beautiful. The central hub reminds me of a cathedral at Bangalore. Probably there was a plan to hang a chandelier.

This is the middle Gumbaz, the largest of the three. The structure approximately measures 42' x 42' x 55'. Each of the four faces has nine niches and an entrance i.e. four entrances at floor level.

Some government contractor decided to use the monument's platform to store cement pipes.  What an eye sore! This building seemed to have a wooden balcony above its front door.

Trying to imagine its looks when it was newly built.. a dazzling structure with glossy white walls and a  pearl smooth dome. A cheaper alternate for a marble coated building?

The interior had been white-washed few years ago. The floor had no tiles.. no idea if the flooring was removed or it was never done The interior is unique too,. I love the corner niches.

Even this structure has no tombs in it.. just a plain floor.

The square floor plan transitions into an octagonal ceiling which in turn becomes a circle. The dome is golden.. I think that's the original color. I love the stud like protrusions at the octagon corners. Whoever created these structures had a great taste in architecture.

Now coming to the third structure, the smallest of the three is a cute little building. Instead of equal sized niches it has one large niche in the middle flanked by smaller niches. I did not bother to venture inside this building.

Well, Hukkeri was indeed important during Adil Shahi times. Quoting some content from the Government College website: The Muslim monuments of Hukeri are interesting to note. It has mosques like the Jamia [oldest], Janana, Kali, Kadam Rasul, Bagawan, Momeen, Taleban [new Gajabarwadi], Mokhasi and the Ganjul Bahar. The Jamia Masjid has fine wooden engraved Mihrab. The Kadam Rasul mosque was built in 1680, has minars and a big hemispherical dome in the centre. It has a stone on which the Prophet [Rasul] is believed to have stepped, and is built by Rustum Zaman. The Kali-Masjid in Saudagar Mohalla has a Persian inscription above the entrance which states that Mansur Khan, an officer under Ain-ul-Mulk demolished a temple and laid the foundation of this mosque in 1582 AD and completed it in 1585. Hukeri has dargahs ascribed to a lady Mansahib [with inscription of 1568], Hamidud-Din [near Gajaberwadi Ganjul Bahar mosque], Alam Bukhari [in the precincts of Jamaia Masjid], Karim Bhasha [daughter of Feroze Shah Bahamani]. The urus here is held at the Mansahib dargah in the month of Rabi-ul-Avval when about 1000 people assemble. The dargah of Shah Hamidud-Din has an Arabic Inscription to the south wall which contains throne verse and is in characters of about 15th century. The Kadam Rasul has an Arabic on its sarcophagus which reads Ya Allah in very late charcters. The Alam Bukhari Dargah near Jami Masjid also has an Arabic inscription which contains throne verse and is in characters of about the 15th century. A loose slab in the Munsiff's Court of Ali Adil Shah I is dated 1561 in Persian is badly damaged, but tries to record the completion of some lofty structure. Another loose slab on the brink of a ruined step-well in Persian records the text of Mahdar [decision by assembly] made by the mahajanas and balotiyan [Balutedars] of Hukeri to the effect that one chawar land of Jaisetti situated in the vicinity of Karanja[fountain providing drinking water to town] and the guest house [Mehman khana] constructed for public use by Mansur Khan. A Marathi version of record is also seen. The place has five more such fountains with tanks built around them. The larger tomb here was built by Ain-ul-Mulk in 1509, but was not buried here. The small gummat was constructed by his brother Fateh-ul-Mulk in 1555. The fort was constructed by Ain-ul-Mulk in 1505. The other two dargahs [empty] are also used for Government purposes. Of these, Chini Gumat with glazed tiles was built by Rustam Zaman. At Gajabarwadi is the dargah of Gajbarsaheb, built in about 1498 by Ketagauda, Desai of Nanadi. The place has Mathas like Shivamoggi Matha, Kundargi Matha, Gadduge Matha, Niluvangi Matha, Bagewadi Matha, Galatag matha, Budihal Matha, Kallayayyana Matha, Gundagi Matha, Bhandari Matha, Haveri Matha and Mallesha Matha. The gramadevata is maruti whose image is one meter tall. Ishwara temple of Gajabarwadi is a recent reconstruction. There is an old temple of Someshwara and nearby is a small shrine of Kalabhairava in dilapidated condition. There is a Vithala Mandir of Vijayanagara times and a herostone near which there are some Later Chalukyan antiquities. There is another Maruti temple [near Post Office]. There are three Jaina Bastis two in the town, and one outside which is built in 17th century. The Adinatha Basti and Parshwanath Basti are side by side. Images of both the Bastis have Makaratorana in their Prabhavalis indicating their antiquity. A stone lying inside the fort [the old Munsiff office] mentions Trikirti Yapaneeya Sangha and is in characters of 12th century. An unpublished Nagari inscription is found near the Vithala Mandira in about 15th to 16th century characters.

Wish I'd researched before the trip I could have covered all the monuments with my Canon DSLRs. Hopefully some day I'll make another trip to the bygone flower street Huvinakeri.

BTW, Ain-Ul-Mulk's tomb is near Bijapur at this spot.

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