| By : Ajit Hari Sahu | Previous | Next |
| Posted on : 31 Aug, 2005 | Total Views : 373 |
Golconda Fort
Charminar, Salar Jung Museum, Jami Masjid, Makka Masjid, Fateh Darwaza, Bala Hisar, Hall of Justice, Habshi Kamaan, Naubat Khana, Qutub Shahi Tombs, Hammam...
Geographically the Deccan forms part of the oldest land mass on the Indian subcontinent, and within its plateau and folding hills are rich deposits of minerals and precious stones so vital to trade and building empires. The present state of Andhra Pradesh (in the Deccan, India) is bordered on the north-east by Orissa, the southern tip almost touching Madras (the capital of Tamil Nadu), the western fringe bordering Maharashtra and Karnatka. The history of Andhra Pradesh is intimately associated with its geographical position and its heritage is interwined with the cultural development of these neighbouring states. The story begin far back into the second century AD when two large Buddhist establishments were founded at Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda (166 kilometers from Hyderabad). Excavations here have revealed enormous religious settlements with monasteries and shrine that mark the greatest centers of learning and pilgrimage in the Deccan.
From northern India inroads into the Deccan came at regular intervals from the time of the Tughluqs. The 'mad' sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq forced the citizens of Delhi to move en masse to his new capital at Daultabad in 1326 and, when the venture failed, brought them back.
It was during this time that Islamic architectural styles took root, and in 1347 the Bahamani kingdom was founded in the Deccan. Their first capital was Gulbarga (Karnataka) where the earliest Deccani experiments in architecture are to be found. In 1425, the Bahamani ruler moved the capital to the beautiful location of Bidar (in the present state of Karnatka, 130 kilometers west of Hyderabad). The fort here is one of the most glorious examples of secular art in the Deccan: it has massive fortification walls, places decorated with tile-work (some imported from persia), and tombs for the Islamic rulers with large bulbous domes. The style developed (whether it to be of glazed tiles and arabesque sculptures or the manneristic paintings) was unique, for it was based on ideas that evolved from interaction with Persia rather than those from local traditions.
Trade across the Arabian sea was well-established, and by the fourteenth to fifthteenth centuries there was a steady flow of traffic in luxury goods, exchange of ideas , innovations, and artists. From Iran, Arabia, and Turkey artists flocked to the Mughal courts of Delhi and Agra, and to the Deccan where the royal patrons were renowned for their generosity and appreciation of artistic accomplishment. Painters, poets and architects trained in Persia sought the patronage of the Deccani rulers. From the fifteenth century onwards Deccani paintings and illustrated manuscripts reached superior heights of creativity. Samples of the paintings and crafts can be seen in the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, and these give one an authentic flavour of the forts in their heyday.
Plan of Golconda For-tIn 1489 the Bahamani kingdom split into five independent dynasties with their centers at Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda, each state, with shared heritage and the tradition of painting, crafts, and architecture reached new height of excellence. Bidar became famous for its metalware, Bidri, a bell metal with gold or silver inlay-work used for making exquisite huqqa stands, candle stands, ornamental bowls and boxes, and other opulent articles for the royal courts of the Deccan and northern India. Golconda was famous for painted fabrics, which furnished the needs of European and Indian nobility. The city was also an acclaimed gem cutting and trading center for jewels. The early account of Marco Polo's (1254-1324) travels to the East makes an arresting reference to Golconda:
This kingdom produces diamonds. Let me tell you how they are got. You must know that in the kingdom there are many mountains in which diamonds are found, as you will hear. When it rains the water rushes down through these mountains, scoring its way through mighty gorges and caverns. When the rain has stopped and the water has drained away, then the men go in search of diamonds through these gorges from which the water has come, and they find plenty. In summer, when there is not a drop of water to be found, then the diamonds can be found in plenty among the mountains.
And in more whimsical mood he says:
Another means by which they get diamonds is this. When the eagles eat the flesh, they also eat-that is, they swallow-the diamonds. Then at night, when the eagle comes back, it deposits the diamonds it has swallowed with its droppings. So men come and collect these droppings, and there too they find diamonds in plenty... You must know that in all the world diamonds are found nowhere else except in this kingdom alone.
Golconda, an ancient prosperous land, was ruled for many centuries by the Rajas of Warangal until the Bahamani kings conquered the territory. The breakaway group from the Bahamani kingdom were of Turkoman origin, called Qutub Shahis after the founder Qutub Shah who made Golconda his capital. Forging a temporary alliance with four other Deccani rulers against their common rival, they defeated the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara in 1565, and this victory brought added prestige, extension of boundaries, and commercial activity to Golconda. In 1589, the capital of the Qutub Shahis was moved from their hilltop fort of Golconda to Hyderabad (8.5 kilometers away). I his new capital Muhammad Quli built several structures, including the famous Chaminar, a massive square a gateway decorated with stucco decorations with four minarets each 55 meters from the ground. The Jami Masjid (the oldest in Hyderabad) and Makka Masjid (the largest mosque in southern India) are other examples of the religious architecture of this region and period.
Qutub Shahi Tombs, Golconda FortBut it is at Golconda that one can capture some of the magnificence and splendor of the sixteenth century Deccani world. The fort (8.5 kilometers west of Hyderabad) surrounds a rocky hill that rises over 122 meters. There are three impressive curtain walls of fortification, while huge granite boulders from a formidable landscape, appearing like natural cannons poised to tumble down of the first invader. There are eight entrance gates to the fort, and from Hyderabad one enters through the Fateh Darwaza (the victory gate) with its massive doorways of teak studded with spikes placed there as a precautions against enemy elephant charge. Surmounting the crown of the hill is the Bala Hisar, the citadel protected by fort walls and approached by a series of winding stairways, which provide glimpses of the arched arcades of palaces and courtrooms. Halfway up the hill are ruins of the royal palace and the Hall of Justice. The main street is the magnificent Jami Masjid, the Friday mosque built by Quli Qutub Shah in 1518. On the other side of the Bala Hisar are two arches known as the Habshi Kamaan, giving way to the Naubat Khana where the musicians sat beating out their musical announcements. The Qutub Shahi rulers with their foreign connections (they were Shia Muslims as were the rulers of Persia and Turkey) were said to have employed magnificent Ethiopian guards in their court, and this is where they were placed to protect the palace premises. Winding down from the acropolis one can catch a splendid view of the royal tombs of the Qutub Shahi rulers set in vast gardened enclosure.
Qutub Shahi Tomb Complex-The Qutub Shahi Tombs are remarkable is design and execution. This complex served as a family burial ground, where relative could visit, pay their respects to the departed, listen to the changing of the holy Quran, and distribute food and alms to the poor in memory of their loved ones. Many of the tombs are raised above ground level and set upon a huge platform of arches. The square tomb buildings coated with plaster, fringed with small minarets like flower vases each supporting an enormous dome that springs out of a necklace of lotus petal design; a plan that became the hallmark of the Qutub Shahi architecture of the Deccan. At the center of the enclosed garden is the Hammam where the royal bodies where bathed before ritual burial. West of the Hammam, the earliest building in the complex, the Tomb of Sultan Quli Qutub Shah (1512-43) commemorates the man who founded the dynasty and was responsible for making Golconda his capital. Furthest south of the Hammam is the elegant Tomb of Ibrahim Qutub Shah, once beautifully decorated with enamel-work and paint. Directly south, facing the Hammam, is the most impressive structure of the complex, the Tomb of Mohammed Qutub Shah (1612-26), the founder of the city of Hyderabad.
The Deccan continued to be a threatening temptation and, during Mughal rule, many attempts were made to conquer this region. At the time of Shah Jahan and his son Aurangzeb, Mughal troops were found more and more in the Deccan region and mutual influences (in language, music, painting and costume) were felt in the courts of the Deccan and Mughal India. Aurangzeb finally captured Golconda in 1687 (with a little treacherous help from disloyal subjects) after besieging the fort for almost eight months.
Charminar, Hyderabad-A new wave of artistic activity followed with the changing political structure and Golconda came under the administrative control of a Mughal Governor. During British rule in India the Asaf Jahis of Hyderabad were faithful allies of the colonial rulers in the nineteenth century, and remained an independent state surrounded by British territory. Secunderabad, separated by a huge lake (Himayat Sagar) from Hyderabad, became a British cantonment in 1806 and continued to keep a watchful eye over the independent state. In 1948 Hyderabad was assimilated in to independent India and remains today a city of great character, with its opulent cultural past reflected in its buildings and museums and markets where pearls are still sold by the kilo!
What's in the neighbourhood
Bidar is 130 kilometers from Hyderabad and is a magnificent fortified palace of the Bahamani period with resplendent palaces decorated with exquisite tile-work.
Hyderabad offers many sites worth seeing: the Charminar, a saunter through the crowded bazaars, the Salar Jung Museum with its priceless collection of paintings, textiles, and crafts of Andhra Pradesh, and mass of kitch collected by the family during their sojourns abroad in the last century. The poorly maintained Archaeological Museum has wonderful collection of early sculptures, some from the Buddhist sites of Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda (while the best collection is in the Madras State Museum, Tamil Nadu).
How to get there
Hyderabad is one of India's largest cities and is well-connected by air, road, and rail to other centers. Hotels of all description are available. Conducted tours to Golconda and neighbouring sites, like Bidar, are organized by the state tourist office and private agencies.
