Bidar - the forgotten history

Shantanu:

We had not planned any road trip for quite some time, but on an impulsive July Sunday afternoon, we decided to head out into the nice weather that had just signaled the onset of monsoon. We were looking for a 2-3 hours journey and Bidar came up first on our list. Bidar is about 105 Km from the place where we stay in Hyderabad, i.e. Gachibowli, and the old Mumbai road which runs very near to where we stay leads to NH9 near BHEL Lingampally. From there Zaheerabad is 75 kms away. Maps suggested that a right turn at Zaheerabad to the state highway 4 would get us to Bidar. Further reading also revealed the checkered history of this land. Bidar dates back to the period of the Mahabharata when it was part of Vidarbha. Afterwards it was controlled by the Mauryas, then by the Satabahanas and later by the Chalukyas of Badami and the Rashtrakutas. The area later came under Devagiri and the Kakatiyas of Warangal. Allauddin Khiljee and his general Malik Kafur took control of Bidar as part of their invasion of Deccan and established a subordinate kingdom here. Later the local Sultanate rebelled against a weak Delhi and Bidar became part of the Bahmani kingdom which was based out of Gulbarga. The Bahmanis were the sworn enemies of the Hindu empire Vijayanagara of Hampi. The Bahmani Sultanate later shifted their capital to Bidar for its strategic location. Sultan Ahmad Shah developed the mighty fort and the fortified city. Later Bidar came under Barid Shah and during early 17th century under Qutab Shahi rule. Bidar was one of the Sultanates which participated in a total destructive war against the Vijayanagar kingdom in the battle of Talikota. Vijayanagar was destroyed but the Sultanate in Bidar was not to last long. In the middle of the 17th century Aurangzeb, the then Mughal lieutenant overran the territory and annexed it to the Mughal empire. After the fall of the Mughals, Bidar came under the Nizams of Hyderabad, Asaf Zah.

A liitle crowded Lingampally market place and the usually overcrowded BHEL junction to Patancheru stretch restricted our speed. But once we hit the toll road (Rs 27 to and fro), the speedometer touched 90 kmph. After some smooth sailing, the road suddenly became a two lane one. Looks like 4 laning is still going on at places, at a speed much lower than the minister's promised 20 km per day. But the greenery around us made us forget any woes about the road. We could see farmers busy at work in the fields, unknown birds, dusty villages, simple womenfolk carrying bundles of sticks, a few bullock carts and many bullocks with their horns painted (a typical feature in Maharastra). NH9 is the primary route to Pune and Sholapur, and also important for pilgrims en route to Shirdi. We zoomed past Sadashivpet and approached Zaheerabad.

About 12-14 kms before Zaheerabad there is a Haritha (APTDC) restaurant which also has clean restrooms. After Zaheerabad, the right side road to Bidar is well marked, even though the signboard is overshadowed by a certain Guru Nanak Institute of Technology (or was it Management?!), another instance of business folks exploiting the names of sages and men of gods. From this junction Bidar is 28 kms away over a straight road interspersed with a couple of level crossings. A sign board welcomed us into Karnataka and we entered a small forested area called Deva Vanam. Then we drove into the Bidar town where the first road to the right leads us to the old city - the fort area.

The Bidar fort is just 1.5 kms from the junction and the fort wall begins as soon as you enter the city which is well marked with directions and signboards. We first visited the Chaubara which is actually a clock tower, even though in medieval ages it was probably a sentry post. Near the Chaubara is the mosque and madrasa of Mohamed Gawan. This was a very eminent place of learning and worship in 15th and 16th century. Mohamed Gawan was a very learned man of wisdom from Persia who adorned the Bidar Sultan's court and became his prime minister. He was a pious man and established the Madrasa which soon acquired fame. He also initiated several development activities in Bidar and became the Sultan's favorite. As often happens, court intrigues began and soo

n he fell out of favor with Sultan who ordered his execution. It is said that later Sultan was repentant, but by then it was too late.

From Mohamed Gawan madrasa we moved ahead towards the fort. On both sides of the road we could see dilapidated buildings, ruins of the fort walls, small houses and courtyards. Signs of abundance had given way to signs of poverty. Probably that is the sign of all consuming "time".

The fort area is thankfully not congested with habitats. The beginning is impressive, there are

huge "darwazas" or the gates of entry which could accommodate a large number of sentries, who would keep an ever watchful eye for suspicious enemy movement. This was one of the reasons why this fort was impenetrable, until of course, Aurangzeb came around. The Gumbad Darwaza is the first gate followed by the Sherza Darwaza. After crossing these gates, one enters into the main courtyard which also contains the museum from ASI and a mosque called Solah Khamba or 16-pillared mosque, which was built in 1327 A.D. The prayer hall is supported by a

number of piers. Also inside are the royal palaces - Gagan Mahal and Rangin Mahal. The ASI museum also has a few collection of potteries and sclupture/artwork collected from various parts of the region.

We saw the ruins of the Diwan E Aam (house of commons) and few other palaces. The stretch of fortressed area has now given way to grazing grounds for cattle and cricket grounds for kids. Shepherds walked their goats and water buffaloes in the same way as they would have done 500 or probably 1000 years back. Kings and their conquests disappear but ordinary folk remain. The conquerors and those conquered merge into one entity, trying to survive the onslaught of time.

We walked back to our car and after some quick directions from local folks got our way back to the main road, the SH4, which led to our next stop - the Gurdwara, Guru Nanak Jhira. The main road was closed owing to some construction activities, so an arterial road running beside the stadium took us to the Gurdwara. We later discovered that it is also accessible from the fort. We first stopped for a lunch of Naan, Lassi and Paneer at the nearby Rohit Restaurant which was neat and clean and then drove to the Jhira. Legend has it that Guru Nanak found a spring of water here when people were suffering from terrible thirst. A beautiful Gurdwara has now been constructed by the side of the fountain. The water of the fountain is collected in a small 'Amrit-Khud' built in white marble. There is a free kitchen (guru ka langar) where free food is given to pilgrims 24 hours night and day. A Sikh museum has been built in the memory of Guru Tegh Bahadur, depicting the important events of Sikh history through pictures and paintings. The birthday of Guru Nanak and the Hola Mohalla festival attract large numbers of devotees from all over India.

It is customary for all to cover their heads as a mark of respect before stepping into

the sanctum. We offered our prayers and partook of the prasad halwa. We then visited the Amrit khud. We then headed towards Narsimha Jhirna. This is a cave temple dedicated to Lord Narsimha. The cave is under water and bats and owls reign supreme on the roof, even though they do not disturb the devotees. Even though we wanted to see the Barid Shahi Park and tombs and the Papanash temple (which legend says was built by Lord Rama after his conquest over Ravan to get rid of his sins of killing a Brahman, viz. Ravan), we could not accomplish that owing to time shortage. It was almost four in the evening and we wanted to be in Hyderabad by 6PM to go and visit our newly constructed apartment. So we headed back on our return journey which was uneventful and peaceful.