My travels is all about... My views, thoughts and experiences on/about/at/with random places of interest, persons, things, events, issues etc,. I am an eternal student with a restless mind and a tumultuous heart!

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Four Towers of Gratitude

(Travel/Historical Monument - Poem) 

'
میرا شہر لوگوں سے مامور کر
راكهيو جوتو دريا میں مچھلی جيسے

- Mohd. Quli Qutub Shah's prayers on Hyderabad, while laying the foundation of Charminar (c.1591-92 CE, 'Deccani Urdu')
Translation - Fill this city of mine with people, as you filled the river with fishes, O Lord ! 
'
"
Long back, against all odds, when there was an end to the  Deccan's Great Plague...
The Sultan wished to show gratitude, yet all his thoughts were vague.
But a monument was built, the 'Four Towers' of gratitude,
The best minds of Persia, Delhi and Deccan, all worked to exactitude.

This was a balm on the Deccan, where great battles of pride raged
Around this structure, people now have their own battles to be staged.
For the bangles of Laad Bazaar, Pearls of Pather Gatti, the Ittar and all exquisite items -
bargaining wars in 'Deccani' - The old city's still game for little stratagems. 

In the city of Hyderabad, despite the separation by language and religion,
With A Sufi Dargah, Bhagyalaxmi temple and Mecca masjid on the near horizon,  
This citadel stands aloof, unmindful of the hoary past and the pestering present.
But, more awareness and better management needed badly, to put it so blunt.

The taming of River Musi by Sir Viswerayya, the grandeur of Qutub Shahis' rule,
People's struggle and Operation Polo ending the last Nizam's delusional mis-rule...
To all these events, this global icon stood as a witness...
And would continue to do so, but the onus is on us!
"





References (If any)

1. Place and Date -
@ - Charminar (Char Kaman), Ghansi Bazaar, Hyderabad - 500 002, Telangana.
On -26th of February, 2017

2. Subject - "Four Towers of Gratitude" (Travel/Historical Monument - Poem)
Charminar (c.1591-92 CE) is a monument constructed by the fifth and the greatest Qutub Shahi rulers of Golconda- Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah (c.1565-1612 CE). A prime example of Indo-Saracen architecture, there are many legends and theories associated with the reason as to why it was constructed. The major reason seems to commemorate the end of a Plague in Deccan and the shifting of capital from Golconda to the present day city of Hyderabad. Now considered a global icon of the city of Hyderabad, it is a square structure of four towers each of 20 meters high (66 feet), on a raised platform with 149 long winding steps to reach the upper floor. Located close to the iconic Mecca Masjid, the Laad Bazaar (Jewellery and Bangles), Pather Gatti (Pearls), and with a small Bhagya Laxmi temple at the base, Charminar is a popular tourist destination and a must visit!

More details (Including credit to Urdu Couplet at the beginning) -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charminar

Picture on top - Charminar, credits to By Gopikrishna Narla - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21422797(Note-This is an Old Picture evidently as there is restoration work going on in one of the minarets)

Pictures on bottom - 'Itar' has a history (Information Plaque inside Charminar) & Mecca Masjid as viewed from Charminar

No comments:

Post a Comment