Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur

Continuing with my journey through Bijapur for the That's My World series, this week I relate my experiences at Gol Gumbaz.

Gol Gumbaz is the second largest dome in the world, the first being St. Peter's Basilica, Rome. It is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah (1627-56 AD), the 7th ruler of this dynasty. Adil Shah II wanted a monument that matched his fathers’ tomb, the Ibrahim Rauza. Little did he know then that same monument would turn in to his sepulcher. It was designed and built by the renowned architect Yaqut of Dabul but could not be completed as the king died unexpectedly in 1656. This incomplete building was converted in to his sepulcher.



On entering the massive structure we were surprised to see that it was a single huge room. The entire floor area we were told was 1700 sqm, in the centre were the cenotaphs of the Mohammad Adil, his two wives, his mistress Rambha, his daughter and grandson. The hugeness and hollowness of this single room is unfathomable from outside. The Gumbaz, meaning the dome, was high up at a height of 51m.

We climbed the stairs of one of the minarets, seven floors, to reach the Gumbaz. In fact we hurried through the stairs to reach the whispering gallery. The whispering gallery of Gol Gumbaz is famed for the clear echoes of the faintest whistle, not once but more than nine times. There has to be pin drop silence to hear that.

The Gumbaz opens at 6AM; we were there even before that. There was one more family of three members and we had an unspoken understanding to maintain pin drop silence. When one member made a sound the rest of us listened and counted in silence the echoes. We could very clearly hear seven echoes, then the fainter ones too. Whispers were clearly audible at diametrically opposite side of the dome. Children had fun exchanging whispers. Awed completely by the acoustical wonder we sat there in darkness marveling at this treasure of India. More than three centuries old, the monument stood strong bearing the brunt of nature.



Soon it was morning; local crowd started trickling in, with of course no spoken or unspoken understanding. Each of them wanting to hear his own echo, and then there was total cacophony. We then walked along the gallery around the base of the dome, its width just about 3.54m peeping down at the tombs down below. Any accidental fall from there would mean sure… Outside the dome, the petals like structures were reflecting the red glow from the sun’s rays. The monument stood high and mighty to face one more day. If this was the marvel in its incomplete state I wonder what it would have been, if it was completed!

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When elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers.

Another interesting incident to share…

We witnessed this when we were on a boat safari on the Kabini River. Kabini river banks are a land of elephants. The recent census of elephants there stated: there are approximately 6000 elephants in the forests on both sides of the river. These forests are home to tigers too, but they are very less in number. We were sure whether we spot any tiger or not, we would surely get to see elephants.



As the boat advanced north of the river, we did see elephants moving around in herds. There were seventeen in one of them. As we neared the elephants, it seemed to us that those tiny silhouettes of elephants gained their real size. Our guide suddenly drew our attention to two elephants who were preparing themselves to charge at each other. I could not understand how he said so, because they looked very normal to me. Something inside me told me to believe his words and I positioned myself armed with my zoom lens and Camera set in sports mode. Just in case he was right I didn’t want to miss the golden opportunity. The boat kept advancing towards the (may be) battlefield, I was happy the sightings were more clear.

And then it happened. It really happened. A head on collision between two elephants… a mammoth collision. I was reminded of the African proverb: When elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers. Well in this case we would be the grass, because by now our boat was quite close and in their enthusiasm of fight what if they roll over the bank, both the elephants would be ‘plonk’ on us.


The common interpretation of this saying in today’s political discussions is “the suffering of a feeble or helpless country when two superpowers engage in warfare or ally themselves”. Think about the political scenario in the world today in general, there is turmoil and strife everywhere. It is the common man who suffers the brunt ultimately, it is their life that gets disturbed, and families get uprooted and are forced to flee the land that was their homes for centuries. Lifestyles change abruptly and think more deeply it is the children who silently suffer. Any solution???

Back to the elephantine fight, I have this to tell to your delight or dismay, they parted soon. It looked like a friendly collision between the two. It was over in moments. Some of us were like “Oh! No!” and some like “Thank God!” I was happy I could capture the collision; probably a film maker would have been disappointed.

The Intelligent Crow

Twice a year the Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens of Bangalore hosts flower shows. They have an amazing collection of plants and display various models with flowers and leaves. One such display in the last flower show organized by them, was of the crow dropping pebbles in a pot, based on the famous story of ‘The Thirsty Crow’.

Even the adults there must have been transported back to their childhood days when they would have listened to this bed time story. More than 5000 roses were used we were told.


In one of my previous posts: The Battle of the Bird Brains, I had mentioned about avian intelligence and parrots and pigeons. The Crow family or the Corvids too ranks high in intelligence. In the Audubon Society of Encyclopedia of North American Birds, ornithologist John K. Terres says Corvids have achieved the highest degree of intelligence of any birds. The brain-body ratio of crows equals that of dolphins and is almost same as human beings.



Birds are known to have their genes programmed for various activities and some even have advanced learning capabilities. Of these species crows are credited to play tricks on each other, make tools to suit their requirements and even steal fish from the fishermen’s catch in pots. Many interesting videos are available on net which have recorded these so called intelligent acts of crows.

Clever Crows
Intelligent Crows

And I present one art work by my younger daughter Arundhati, when she was six.


Next time you call someone a bird brain, think twice as Carletta said in my previous post: “Being called a 'bird brain' takes on a whole different meaning. :)”

Asian Openbill-Stork

You will not fail to identify an Openbill Stork, if you see one in a huge flock of different species of storks. The reason is obvious: its peculiar huge bill with arching mandibles leaving a narrow open gap between them. They are grayish white with black in their wings.

We spotted few of them at Ranganathittu bird sanctuary. The chicks had very short bills and we found them clamoring around the mother bird each time she would come with a catch in her bills.



Their diet usually consists of frogs, crabs, large insects, snails and small living things. The unique structure of their bills help them to crack open the thick shell of the snails and separate the soft body. Their nests that we saw at close distance were just like a circular platform of twigs. The chicks were slightly grown up with new feathers and a face that only a mother can love. Do click on them to get a better view.

Answers to Camouflaged

I got the most overwhelming response for the tiny ‘spot the critter’ contest, camouflaged last week. Almost everybody gave the right answers for at least one of them. Some of course had both answers right.


Hitchwriter was the first with both answers right. Others who got both answers right were Keats The Sunshine Girl, Ribbon, Rajesh, Anu, Deborah Godin, Adrienne in Ohio, Carletta, Julie, Karen, Ajeya Rao, Pratiksha Kulkarni, Ravishankar, Hilary.
The frog was spotted rightly by:
Dora, carmat, Baron’s Life, Esther Garvi.


The spider was spotted rightly by:
Sylvia, Ladynred, Reader Wil, Destination Infinity, Anya.


You can download and put the pics in your blog if you wish. I hope you are enjoying this as much as I am.

Bara Kaman, Bijapur

Have you seen crumbling arches? Arches those are silently crumbling, yet graceful? Bijapur has the remains of one such monument. In fact it is the incomplete mausoleum of Ali Adil Shah (1656 to 1686).



Ali Adil Shah of the Adil Shahi dynasty wanted to build a mausoleum of unmatched quality of architecture. As per the plan twelve arches will be placed vertically as well as horizontally surrounding the tomb of Ali Adil Shah. However due to unknown reason the work on the structure was left incomplete and only two arches were raised vertically. The remains of the twelve arches placed horizontally can be seen.


The thought of visiting mausoleums gives me a very uneasy feeling. The sight of structure of tombs dampens my spirits, and the profound mood continues a long time after the visit too. Yet, I toured. I was curious to see all that I learned in my history classes for real.

Bijapur(530 km northwest of Bangalore) is dotted with many such mausoleums and the architecture there, though many of them are crumbling, is stunning. The stern elegance of the discolored monuments is is in complete contrast to the colorful Rajasthan we visited a couple of months back. But then India is a country of many contrasts!

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Camouflaged

This happened while taking a walk in the banks of the Kabini backwaters.

Thick growth of trees and plants make the walk easy even at 11 and 12 at noon and there I was simply looking at this nature. It was healing and calming. The rustle and crackle of dried leaves under my feet was like music to my ears. But then suddenly, there was a distracting rustle among the dry leaves… as if some creature was trying to flee the stamp of my mighty foot. I stood still, very much afraid now to put the next step. What could it be? A snake? If it was a snake I better flee. I mustered up some courage and put my next step… no sound…Then the next step and I saw it, staring innocently at me. I smiled to myself, ‘How could I be scared of this tiny fellow?’


Can you spot him? He is so well camouflaged. At least can you guess who he is? And as I continued my walk I came across another well camouflaged creature, sitting cosy in the bark of a tree. This should be easy to guess and spot. Let me know your guesses, you will have the answers soon.