Musafir

The name Tarkash probably is given because the monument was built for the Turkish wife of the king, but a general conventionality is observed in giving names to the royal buildings. The names Tarkash Mahal and Gagan Mahal are mentioned in records of kingdoms like Bijapur and Golkonda as well. The rulers of the contemporary dynasties vied with one another in the glory of the architectural works and chose to have the same names for their palaces.

The Tarkash Mahal at Bidar may have originally built by the Bahmanis but the upper parts are definitely built during the Baridi rule (the decorative emblem of the Baridi Kingdom is to be seen in the upper levels of the building). As on today, there is no access to the inner parts of the building owing to the pitiable conditions of the ruins but I shall talk about how it was earlier. The uppermost apartments are reached by a flight of steps which also lead to the roof of of the Solah Khamb Mosque. The roof of these apartments has fallen down but the walls are more or less intact which give a general idea of the plan of the building. In the middle is a hall with arched openings and was beautifully decorated with tiles and stucco work. The roof of the hall has fallen and originally there was another apartment above it, the remains of which in the shape of two arches can still be see as you see in the above picture. They too also decorated with stucco work.

There are smaller rooms on either side of the middle hall which was once decorated with encaustic tiles of which, we can still find some traces. The middle level rooms were earlier occupied by the court of the local officer. There are traces of an old parapet on the second level which suggests that the third level was built at a later time. On the ground level, the rooms were once used as storage for sundry articles and sometimes of ammunition. In fact, rockets were found in the early nineteenth century. This building has numerous halls like these.

There is another building to the east of this which is also called the Tarkash Mahal, but it is in a very ruined condition. From the present remains, it can be made out that it had two storeys and that the upper level may have been occupied by the royal ladies. The architecture is clearly of the Baridi dynasty and so it can be assumed that this building is kind of an extension of the other Tarkash Mahal we had seen earlier.

Continued from the previous post…

The royal pavilion is also of small dimensions, the main room square and plain. It has windows on the east and west and a pentagonal projection towards the south. There are also projections in the corners which give a look of a star shaped medieval Deccan temple. The beauty of the room lies in its rich decorations and mother-of-pearl work and tile mosaics. The former is fairly intact in the entrance arch, which is built of basalt of a very dark variety. The floral patterns and calligraphic texts have been depicted by inlaying mother-of-pearl of the finest quality. The effect is lovely and is further enhanced by the architect’s choice of the verses which he has inserted in the decorative scheme. 

The pavilion once had a fountain in the middle, the basin on which is now lying in the outer court of the palace between the two flights of steps referred to in the previous post. Like the Mughal kings, the Baridis were also fond of fountains and it can be noticed in laying of waterworks in many of their buildings.

The Rangin Mahal, however beautiful its wood carving and fascinating are its tiles and mother-of-peal work, suffers by the smallness of its dimensions and shows a lack of vision on the part of the builders. But the plan of the structure is so much altered at various periods, that it is difficult to visualize in its original form or to appraise correctly its beauty or defects.

In the basement of the Rangin Mahal there is a series of rooms, which were apparently occupied by guards and the menial servants of the palace. The ceilings of these rooms are vaulted, being massively built with a view to supporting the weight of the royal apartments above.

It is said that people not only should remember you when lived, but also after death. The Tomb of Ali Barid Shah is a fitting example for this statement. Which looks like a simple monument from outside turns out to be one of the most finest examples of Islamic architecture and beauty. As I mentioned in the previous post, there is a two storied gateway which leads to this tomb. There should have been some kind of a pathway, but none exists today and you can only see bushes towards it.

Before we start talking further, we need to know a little about the Barid Shahi dynasty. It was founded by Kasim Barid, who migrated to India during the regime of one of the last Bahmani Kings, Mohammed Shah and later was made as the Prime Minister of the Bahmani Kingdom by Shihamuddin Mohammed in 1492 AD. His son, Amir Barid declared himself the king of Bidar after the fall of the Bahmani Kingdom. However, the for of Bidar was conquered by Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur and Amir Barid was taken as a prisoner. He was later released and made a feudatory king of the Adil Shahi dynasty.

Amir Barid was succeeded by his son, Ali Barid Shah in 1542 AD and the latter had a prolonged stint as the ruler till 1580 AD. Ali Barid’s rule was marked with wars including the famous Talikota war which saw the end of the Vijayanagar Empire. The dynasty came to an end in the year 1619 AD with Ibrahim Adil Shah-II of Bijapur taking over the area. Even though there was not much done during the reign of the Baridi dynasty, it is to be noted that these kings have contributed to architecture and sculpture in the period that succeeded the Bahmani dynasty.

Baridshahi structures in Bidar are small but very decorative. Colored tablets, wood carvings and pearl shell work are the hall marks of this style. Scholars have found some kind of a synthesis between the Islamic architectural style and those practiced by the Hindu builders/masons in the Baridshahi architecture. This situation is particularly evident in Rangin Mahal and the the tomb built for himself by Ali Barid Shah. Yazdani explores this issue further, in the context of the tomb built for himself by Ali Barid Shah and Kali Masjid also built during the Baridshahi days. Ghulam Yazdani, chief archaeologist of the last Hyderabad Nizam, took a personal interest in preserving the structures and reviving the garden. Yazdani feels that the architecture became more and more decorative/ornamental because of the preferences of the Hindu architects and sculptors. However, he appreciates the attempts at fusion and openness for mutual influences. He contends that the chief characteristics of the architecture of this period are the outcome of the Hindu methods of building and their ideas of decoration. This is a brief account of a minor dynasty which was not politically powerful but had a few kings who were artistically inclined.

The tombs of Ali Barid and Khasim Barid are built in the middle of a 30-acre plot Deccan garden. We will first start with the one of Ali Barid.

A monument of striking beauty, and an ever inspiring work place for students of fine arts, is the tomb of Sultan Ali Barid Shah. The structure is nearly 70 feet high. It has a big dome supported by four pillars. It has a grand pavilion based on a high platform built by green granite and laterite rock.

The inside and outside walls of the tomb have been embossed with inscribed tiles. Verses from the Quran are written in Persian script all over the building. Weather changes have peeled off some of the tiles. It has a Shikhara made of an alloy of gold. There are some interesting facts about the tomb. Ali Barid, who ruled between 1542 and 1580, had a keen interest in architecture. He built his own tomb, three years before his death. He reserved spaces for his wives inside the tomb’s main pavilion. He also built some empty tombs for members of his harem outside the pavilion which is in the south-west corner of the platform having several rows of graves. A Persian style char-bagh once surrounded the tomb of which only fragments of enclosure walls and entrance portals remain.

We can understand the beauty of this construction only when we walk inside. Inside of the dome is laid with colored tiles with verses of Quran written in Persian. Each corner of the dome is carved with exquisite carvings on plaster and is a delight to watch. The inner walls are also fitted with colored tiles It is quite extraordinary that this inner beauty has withstood hundreds of years of weather considering the fact that it is open on all sides. Both sides of the entrances are designed with flower panels. We can have a great view of the surroundings from this pavilion, especially the Mosque which we had seen in the earlier post and the tomb of Kasim Barid. The latter is separated by a small doorway which is right in front of Ali Barid’s tomb.

The tomb of Kasim Barid is almost similar to the one of Ali Barid. However, we do not find any colors inside the tomb. Kasim Barid, being an earlier ruler probably did not concentrate much on design. The inner design of the dome is exactly like the former but completely plan. Some of the flower designs are very intact and beautiful. There are some other tombs in this complex, which are unnamed and completely ignored. The structure complex needs maintenance as some of its walls are collapsing. Some people have tried to encroach upon the land around the tomb.

This is just the beginning of an artistic journey across Bidar. A little more need to be understood on the later rulers of the Bahmani dynasty before moving further, which we will do in the next post.

Reference: Bidar – Its History and Monuments by Ghulam Yazdani.