Skip to main content

Featured Post

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport.  That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’t ju

Bibi Ka Maqbara

Shahjahan built a monument for the love of his life – his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The monument has come to symbolize love over the centuries. His son, Aurangzeb considered his father’s love of luxury and opulence with contempt, and chose an all too simple lifestyle dedicated to his religious beliefs. It was probably inevitable, considering that years of decadence had seriously depleted the royal coffers. None of the rulers after Aurangzeb managed to make their mark on Indian history – neither with their conquests, nor with construction. One of the prime examples of this is the Bibi Ka Maqbara.



The Bibi Ka Maqbara was built by Azam Shah, the oldest son of Aurangzeb. This was his attempt to rival the Taj Mahal built by his grandfather, albeit in memory of his mother, Rabia Durrani, the first wife of Aurangzeb. Unfortunately, he lacked the treasury his grandfather had access to, as well as the skilled labour the treasury bought. Today, the Bibi Ka Maqbara is simply a replica of the Taj, and is popularly known as the ‘Deccani  Taj’ – the Taj of the Deccan.



Azam Shah’s only claim to fame is the Bibi Ka Maqbara. He was the son of Aurangzeb, but he was Emperor of India for a very short time – a period less than three months! He declared himself emperor after the death of his father, but within three months, he was defeated and executed by his brother, Shah Alam.



Seen by itself, the Bibi Ka Maqbara is a beautiful piece of work, but it pales in comparison to its famous forbearer. 



While I am neither an architect nor an architectural expert, there is just something about the proportion of the structure, at first sight, which makes it appear a poor cousin of the Taj. Incidentally, the structure isn’t much younger than the Taj. Construction of the Taj Mahal was completed in 1653, while the Bibi Ka Maqbara was built sometime between 1651 and 1661. The difference lies not in age, but in detail and opulence... especially the latter. It is said that while the Taj Mahal was built at a cost of approximately 32 million rupees, the amount allocated to Azam Shah for the Bibi Ka Maqbara was a paltry 7 lakhs!



Azam Shah must have been a young man at the time.... he had to wait over half a century before claiming his right to the throne. I wonder – would the result have been different if Azam Shah had access to the royal treasury instead of the handout from his father, the emperor? Or would the result have been the same?


Comments

  1. As you said in its own right it is beautiful but compared to Taj Mahal many things will pale!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Mridula, not many monuments manage to stand up to the Taj!

      Delete
  2. I didn't see Taj as well as Bibi ka Maqbara. So I don't know how to compare. Thanks for sharing the information and pictures of beautiful monument

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vishal, i shall expect your comments after you visit both!

      Delete
  3. Have heard a lot about this monument. Got to visit.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

The Havelis of Bikaner - A Photo Post

The lanes are narrow , twisting and turning amidst buildings old and new. Crumbling old structures with intricate workmanship stand side by side with art deco buildings, and more modern constructions, which follow no particular style. Autos, bicycles, motorcycles and vans rush past, blowing their horns as loudly as possible, while cows saunter past peacefully, completely unaffected by the noise. In the midst of all this chaos, children play by the side, and women go about their chores, as we explore these by-lanes of Bikaner, and its beautiful Havelis. Facade of one of the Rampuria Havelis

The Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves , located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri, about 11 Km off the coast of the Gateway of India, Mumbai, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit to these caves, excavated probably in the 6 th century CE, is awe-inspiring, and also thought-provoking. Over the years, I have visited the caves a number of times, and also attended a number of talks by experts in the fields of art, history and archaeology on the caves. Together, they help me understand these caves, their art, and the people they were created for, just a little bit better. Every new visit, every new talk, every new article I read about the caves, fleshes out the image of what the island and the caves would have been like, at their peak. I last wrote about the caves on this blog, in 2011, almost exactly 11 years ago. Since then, my understanding of the caves has, I would like to think, marginally improved. Hence this attempt to write a new and updated post, trying to bring to life, the caves of Elephan