Begum talab, Vijayapur

Another kind of water body commonly seen in Bijapur are talabs. Talab means a tankor lake, which are different from the bavadis.

Begum talab is an example of the technological excellence achieved during the Adil Shahi era in ensuring water supply to the city of Bijapur. This tank, which is two miles to the south of Bijapur was built by Mohammed Adil Shah in 1651 under the supervision of Afzal Khan. Prior to its construction, his grandfather, Ali Adil Shah I had implemented the Toravi water supply scheme. When this could not meet the demands of the city for water, Mohammed Adil Shah built the aforesaid tank by making provision for the flow from the nearby Saravad and Khwajapeer streams to flow into the tank.

On the right hand corner of the talab is a small stone window offering a glimpse of an underground room, which is presently full of mud. Historical facts dating back 350 years lie buried beneath this pile of mud. During the rule of the Adil Shahis, water collected in the tanks was supplied to the city through this underground room by using clay pipes. Once it entered the fort area, it was stored in tall four- cornered water towers called gunj. The intention behind the erection of these towers was to ensure that dirt and slush in the pipes would remain at the bottom of thetower thereby allowing clear and free flow of water to the top. These water towers vary in height ranging from 25-40 feet. The gunj in the vicinity of PDJ School near Bagalkot Cross was linked to an underground canal. A few years ago, a tap was fitted to this tower. As water is still available from the tower, it can be inferred that the underground canal is still in good condition.

The Begum talab maintained by the Department of Minor Irrigation dries up in summer. It has a total capacity of 25-35 million cusecs and when completely full, its outflow is 1657 cusecs. Dredging work had been undertaken about seven years ago. Vijay Halkudi, chief engineer says that the cost would be an estimated Rs1.5 - 5 crores depending upon the method of dredging, if it is to be repeated. As the tank is away from the city, sewage water does not mingle with it. In addition, there is no fear of effluents as Bijapur has no industries. Thus barring the growth of Ipomoeaweeds, this talab is in a fairly good condition.

Dargha-e-Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chisty

Allahumma Salle 'Ala Syedina Mohammedin Wo 'Ala Al-li-hi Syedina Mohammedin Wo Barik Wo Salim.

"Ala Inna Awliya Allahi la Qauf-un Alaihim wa Lahum Yah-Zanoon"

Name of Dargah : Dargha-e-Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chisty (RA)

[A'la Sher-E-Khuda]

City / Town: Shahpur Hillock, 2 Miles away to north of "Great Black Walls" of Bijapur.

District: Bijapur Shareef

State: Karnataka, India.

Bijapur shareef is the sand of greatest Awliya ALLAH of their time and Sayyad Sadaths in Karnataka. There are more than 10,000 AwliyaALLAH buried in Bijapur and near by places belonging to different orders of Silsilas like Chistia, Qadiria, Shuttaria, Haidaria, Naqshabandia, Soharwardia and etc..

Notably, Hazrth khwaja Ameenuddin Ali allha shere khudaChisty rahmatulla is one the greatest sufi saints of Chisty Order and comes on the top order of peer-o-murshids of Hazrath Khwaja Mehboob Ali Shah Chisty Al-Ma'roof Hazrath Khwaja Lalu Bhai Qasir Chisty (RA), M.R. Pallaya, Bangalore in the Shijrah Mubarak of Silsil-e-Chistiya.

Hazrath Khwaja Lalu Bhai Qasir Chisty ( Khwaja-e-Bangalore, M.R Pallaya, Bangalore ) has personally visited all the Dargahs of great Sufi saints of Silsila-e-Chistiya and of entire India and of abroad only by walk starting from Khwaja-e-Khwajagaan, Hazrath Khwaja Moin-uddin Chisty (Hindal Vali Atta-e-Rasool Sal-lal-lahu Alaihi wa Sallam). After seeing them with his own eyes, he has narrated the Muqhams of these Awliyahs in his Arifana Kalams. Thus, the greatness of Hazrath Khwaja Amin Uddin Ali A'la Sher-E-Khuda Chisty (RA) is also mentioned in some of the greatest kalams namely "Aye Chisth Ke Waali" "Kashf ke Maali" "Bisht Ke Jajmain". All these great kalams are read and recited from the past for more than hundred years during Chatti Shareef Fatiha which is held during 6th moon of every Urdhu / Arabic month as well as in Majlis in the Dargah shareef of Hazrath Khwaja-e-Bangalore (RA). The main Chatti Shareef which is celebrated during 6th moon of every Rajab month in this Dargah Shareef is very famous in whole Bangalore itself.

URS-E-SHAREEF :- The Urs-e-Mubarak of Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali (RA) A'la Sher-e-Khuda Chisty is very famous and popular in the entire Karnataka State.

The new posters designed urs posters are in a beautiful colours and patterns which are circulated in all the cities of south india.

Below is the list of Some Awliyah ALLAH / Sufi Saints of Bijapur :-

1) Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Aala Sher-e-Khuda Chisty (RA)

2) Hazrath Ainuddin Ganjul Uloom (RA)

3) Hazrath Shamshul Ushaq (RA)

4) Hazrat Sayyed Shah Moulana Qutub-ul-Aktaab Haashim Peer Dastageer (RA)

4) Hazrath Syed Jaffer Sakaf Qadri Muqbil Sadath (RA)

5) Hazrath Sheikh Hameed Qadri (RA)

6) Hazrath Sheikh Lutfullah Qadri (RA)

7) Hazrath Syed Qasim Qadri (RA)

8) Hazrath Murtuza Qadri Haidari (RA)

9) Hazrath Syed Abdur'Razaq Qadri (RA)

10) Hazrath Haji Rumi (RA)

11) Hazrath Haji Makki (RA) (Haji Mastan of Tikota)

12) Hazrath Ma'abari Khandayat (RA)

13) Hazrath Ziauddin Gaznavi

14) Hazrath Shah Sibghatullah Shuttari (RA)

15) Hazrath Kareem Mohammed Shuttari (RA)

16) Hazrath Abdur Rahmaan Shuttari (RA)

17) Hazrath Sheikh Muntajibuddin Dhoulaki Siddiqui (RA)

18) Hazrath Burhanuddin Janam (RA)

19) Hazrath Syed Habeebullah Sibghatullahi (RA)

MIRACLES OF BIJAPUR Williams Dalrymple travels to Bijapur to witness a miracle - Hindus and Muslims bowing down at the TOMB OF SUFI MYSTICS Hazrat Amin ud-din Ala

The shrine of the great Sufi, Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali (RA) Aala Sher-e-Khuda Chisty (RA), lies on the Shahpur hillock, two miles to the North of the great black walls of Bijapur, the most beautiful of medieval city states of the Indian Deccan.

The people who cannot afford medical treatment sometimes change of place and the spiritual atmosphere of the shrines will help them. Rather than suffering at home they come here. Other people with the same problems are here so they are not alone. And sometimes - just occasionally - Karamaths (Divinely Miracles) are witnessed here because Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chisty (RA) is very powerful in such cases. Both Hindus and Muslims find help here and revere him greatly."

There was a Hindu pilgrim from near Mysore who used to visit the Dargah often because Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali A'la Sher-e-Khuda Chisty (RA) saved his child and he narrates the incidents as quoted below.

"When our boy was an infant he became very ill," said the man. "No medicines from any doctor helped. We tried everything, but our son only got weaker. Then some neighbors said we should come here. We were desperate, so we got on a bus and brought the boy straight to the shrine. One of the pirs [guardians] cured him in a second. What could not be done in twelve months he did in a minute."

"The child was sick, and he was made right," said his wife. "So now we believe. Each year we come back to thank the Khwaja Saheb [ Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chsity (RA)], and to bring him our problems. Every year our wishes are fulfilled."

"Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chisty 'Ala Sher-e-Khuda' (RA) is still here," said her husband. "Many people see him in the crowd."

"Its true," said his wife. "Some see him sitting on his tomb, dressed in a white robe with an orange turban and a green scarf. Others see him walking around his shrine. To others still he appears in dreams.

"It depends on the intensity of your devotion," said the man. "But Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chisty (RA) looks after every one of his followers."

Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chisty (RA) lived in the early seventeenth century, Bijapur's Golden Age, when the city became a beacon of tolerance and learning that attracted scholars, artists and mystics from across India and the Middle East.

Relations between Hindus and Muslims had always been easier in the Deccan than in the more polarised North, and it had long been a Deccani tradition that every Muslim sultan should have a Hindu Chief Minister. But during the lifetime of the Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chisty (RA), under the rule of Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II, that tradition of tolerance and syncretism reached an astonishing climax.

This atmosphere of languid, courtly free thinking is reflected in the Bijapur School of miniatures which underwent its Renaissance under Ibrahim's patronage. In these wonderful otherworldly Images, water drips from fountains as courtesans as voluptuous as the nudes of South Indian stone sculpture attend bejewelled princes. There is a sense of timelessness and calm, of quiet abandon to the joys of love, qawwali and poetry.

The holy tomb of Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chisty (RA) - an exquisite jewel box of a building - lies within a low walled enclosure just beyond the black bastions of the Adil Shahi walls. Behind it lies open farmland, rich well watered black earth where bullocks plough fields edged in palm groves and mango and guava orchards.

There are no high rises, and from the roof of Ibrahim's tomb, the screen of trees shuts out the cars and roads and new villas, returning you instantly to the world of the Bijapur miniatures: of domes and palms and soaring palaces; of the Jama Masjid and the shrines of Bijapur's many Sayyad Sadaths and AwliyaALLAH.

All around the city fragments of this old courtly world survive almost completely intact, yet nowhere more so than at the shrine of Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Chisty (RA).

A farmer quotes the greatness of Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chisty (RA) as follow,

"We never have any trouble. We think all Gods are the same. Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chisty (RA) did not just welcome the Muslims but welcomes everyone." "There is one God only," agreed his wife. "We are friends with our Muslim brothers and we have faith in their saint. Most of the pilgrims who come here are Hindu." "We try to keep up this tradition," said one of the shrine's Muslim guardians who had walked up and was listening to what the woman had said. "As in the day of the Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Chisty (RA), no one is turned away but welcomes everyone. This has always been the tradition of this city."

About Bijapur Shareef: - Bijapur is a district headquarters of the Bijapur District in the state of Karnataka. It is well known for the great architectures of historical importance built during the Adil Shahi dynasty. The city is located 530 km northwest of Bangalore and 550 km from Mumbai (Maharashtra).

Bijapur is best known for its magnificent Gol Gumbaz' which is the second largest dome in the world and other historical buildings, including the Jamiya Masjid, which has been called one of the first mosques in India. This ancient town was first settled in the 11th century by the Chalukyan dynasty and later rose to prominence as the capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty. Today, it is an important tourist destination in Karnataka with its smorgasbord of places of historical, cultural and architectural interests.

Buses/Train/Flight Services to Bijapur: - There are frequently buses plying from Bangalore, Mysore and Gulbarga Shareef to Bijapur shareef. Bijapur is well connected by a broad gauge railway to Bangalore, Mumbai and Hospet. It is also connected to (Gadag-Hotgi railway line) Hotgi junction near Solapur and Kurduvadi on Central Railway towards the north and to Bagalkot on South West Railway towards the south. The metre gauge railway track from Bagalkot to Hotgi junction on the Hubli-Hosapete railway is being converted under Project Unigauge and is likely to be commissioned in the second half of 2008. The nearest airport is at Belgaum (205 km)

Allah and Rasool Allah Sal lalahu Alaihi wa Sallam Aap ki har mushkil door kare. Ameen. Aap ki har jayes tamana puri kare. Ameen. Aap ki and Aap ke Ghar walon ki hayati ki darasi karne. Ameen. Ap aur Ghar walon ke upar tah qayamat tak Auliya Allah and buzurgan-e-deen ka saaya rahe. Ameen. Aap ko Ghar walon ko deen aur duniya me kamiyabee hasil kare. Ameen. Ya Rabbil 'Alameen.

Allah humma Salle 'ala Syedina wa Maulana wa Rahati Qulubina wa Shafiya Zunubina wa Tabeeba Zaherana wa Batina Mohammedinw wa 'Ala Alihi wo Ashabihi wo Auliyahi wa Ummatihi bi Rahmatika ya Ar-Rahmarraheem wal Hamdullilahi Rabbil 'Alameen.

Allah aur Rasool-e-Kareem, Sal-lal-lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam aur Hazrath Khwaja Ameen Uddin Ali Chisty (Rahmathullah Allaih ) almaroof A'la Sher-e-Khuda ( RA) may do khass Nazar e Karam on you and your family and your beloved ones.

Ameen. Ameen. Ya Rabbil A'lameen.

Mehtar Mahal

 Mehtar Mahal, 

Mehtar Mahal is the ornamental gateway located in Vijayapur which leads to an exquisitely crafted mosque and a beautiful garden. Mehtar Mahal is also known as the ‘Sweeper’s Palace’ and is believed to be dating back to 1620 AD.

The entry gate of Mehtar Mahal is built in Indo-Saracenic style. The place is three-storied and has beautifully carved arches. The grand minarets of the Mahal are finely designed with pictures of birds and rows of swans that would make it a picture perfect shot for a photographer. The carvings are crafted in Hindu architectural style with brackets that support balconies and stone trellis work.

Mehtar Mahal has a mosque which is believed to be built by the sweeper of the palace by collecting gold coins that were showered upon him by the King. The ground floor of the mosque has a staircase that leads to a room above. The most stunning among all the carvings is the motif of lion and elephant. It is a perfect blend of perfection and art that takes you back to the time when artists came from across the world to create such masterpieces with their handiwork. Mehtar Mahal takes pride in being, one of the finest architectural monument of India.

Photograph of the Mehtar Mahal, Bijapur from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections taken by Henry Cousens in the 1880s.

The early 17th century Mehtar (mihtar) Mahal, though modestly sized, is one of the city's most beautiful structures. A gateway leading to the Mehtar Mosque, the graceful three-storey building is surmounted by two slender minarets and covered with delicately carved birds and rows of swans. Balconies projecting over the street are supported on angled struts carved as if they were made of wood.

Cousens Wrote, "….It is a building of no exceptional design, yet, nevertheless, the clever treatment of its parts and its decorative detail, make it one of the prettiest structures in Bijapur. Though called a mahall, or palace, it is really the gateway to the inner courtyard of a mosque...It is however, a little more than a mere gateway, for it has upper rooms and balconies above the entrance, where men might assemble and spend an hour lounging in the bays of the windows and enjoy the pleasant views of the city...'' Henry Cousens, 'Bijapur and its architectural remains' (A.S.I., Imperial series, vol. XXXVII, Bombay, 1916), pl. lxv, pp. 84-87

Percy Brown Observes : 

The fineness of the workmanship is astonising, the stone being manipulated as it it were plastic clay. Either in the chiselling of the low relief pattern around the doorway or in the deep moulding of the coffered ceiling of the ground storey, all is executed with a loving are recalling that of the artists of the Italian Quottro-Cento. The entire structure seems to imply that not only the artisans themselves took a pride in the perfection of the handiwork, but they were encouraged to do so by their patrons who experienced an equal pleasure in seeing such exquisite forms grow under their hands.

Maintenance:

The site is managed by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).

Entrance Fee:

Entrance is Free and The Site is having a Mosque So People will come here for praying.

Visitors:

Annually around 10000 tourists visit this Place and Daily Local People visit this place For Praying in the Mosque.

Infrastructure:

ü  There no cleanliness maintained outside of this Place. Local Corporation have kept Dustbin just outside the entrance of this Mahal and Surrounding People dump their household waste in this Dustbin so entrance area of this place will looks like a Sewage Dumping Area.

ü  There is No parking Facility.

ü  There is no any information Boards which Gives information of this Monument.

ü  There is No Guide facility available.

Security:

ü  There is No any Security Guard.

Ongoing Projects:

ü  There are No any ongoing Projects.

Basic Connectivity:

ü  Mehtar Mahal is located in the main Road. So one can get plenty of busses, autos, Tangas etc. and one can visit this place by auto or taxi also. 

Basic Accomodation

ü  The Mehtar Mahal is in Vijayapur city itself, and more number of hotels are located in the City, so for accommodation people will stay in Vijayapur city. 

Collection of Old Photos of Monuments Vijayapur

Collected Some Old Photos of the Monuments of Vijayapur, Karnataka