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In 1424 Ahmed Shah I shifted his court from Gulbarga to a less constricted site at Badri, in grief of his beloved spiritual mentor, Bandah Nawas Gesu Daraz. Later the Bahamani dynasty continued to rule here till 1487 even after they were split into five rival groups. They refurbished the town by building a new fort, splendid palaces, mosques and ornamental gardens. They were then succeeded by the Adil Shahis from Bijapur, followed by the Mughals under Aurangzeb, who annexed the territory in 1656, before the Nizam of Hyderabad acquired the territory in the early 18th century. The town has a gritty charm, with narrow red-mud streets leading to arched gates and open vistas across plains. Bidar is nowadays a provincial backwater, better known for its fighter-pilot-training base.
Chaukhandi (tomb) Of Hazrat Khalil Ullah: On the north side of the road between Ashtur and Bidar lies this beautiful octagonal-shaped tomb, which was built by Allaudin Shah for his chief spiritual advisor. Most of the Persian glazed tiles have dropped off the facade, but the surviving stone work and calligraphy above the arched doorway along with the views from the tomb’s plinth deserve a quick detour form the way.
As with most of the monuments in India, monuments at Bidar, too urgently require care, maintenance and public patronage. People have been defacing the these heritage monuments without regard for their own history. My previous post here illustrates such neglect of monuments.
Chaukhandi Location
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Quote of the Day:
For Sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
--William Shakespeare
Additional Images from Flickr
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