Panchakki - The Water Wheel

Aurangabad is not just about carved caves and fascinating forts or towering temples and silencing sepulchers. Here you will find one of the rare engineering marvels of medieval India: The Panchakki, meaning the water wheel. It is situated right in the heart of the city and will take just an hour to tour the complex.

As we entered we were surrounded by a group of guides, and the haggling started. Strangely we found they settle for around Rs.200 whether it is for three hours at the Ajanta Caves or four hours at Daulatabad Fort or the half-hour tour at Panchakki. These guides earn maximum during the winters and monsoons when many more tourists visit Aurangabad. During the summers when temperature is around 45degrees, there are days when most guides earn nothing at all. Felt really sorry for the guys there.

The young guide who took us around described with pride this little known tourist spot. At the complex there is a huge tank brimming with water and a centuries old fountain at the center functional even now. Underneath this reservoir (pic.), he explained there are spacious rooms which were used by the pilgrims in the earlier days. During summer these cool rooms provided lot of relief to the tired travelers. These rooms are not in use now and are not open for tourists.

This complex also houses the tomb of Sufi Saint Baba Shah Jaffar. He was the spiritual advisor to Emperor Aurangazeb. There is a small museum here; rows of arrows, beads used in prayers, other crumbling artifacts and pottery are displayed here. No access to its interiors however. I wish they were properly labeled and displayed.
The waterwheel is below the ground level. We peeped through a grilled space at ground level to have a glimpse of the water wheel. There was no water and the Panchakki wasn’t moving.
He hurriedly explained during the rainy seasons water flows in turning the waterwheel at great speed. This energy is used to turn the grinding wheel. He then turned the water wheel with his hand, and asked us to check the grinding wheel. It was moving. He seemed happy that he could impress us. The wheel-turning, I suspect, is one of his favorite guide-acts.

“Three centuries ago huge quantities of grains were ground here. The bread made out of the flour was used for feeding orphans, fakeers (saints), poor people and devotees then.”

“Water reaches this spot through a maze of clay pipes, from a spring in the mountains 8 kilometers away. These days the big industries that have moved in are siphoning off water at the source point. So only during rains the water wheel functions.” He sounded very worried. May be he is worried tourists will stop visiting this spot then. We were touched by the amount of interest he took to explain everything in detail.

Pointing towards the Banyan tree next to the tank he said it is over two hundred years old and suggested that we take some rest in the shade of the tree, “You will be blessed and it will give you lot of peace of mind, Sir.”

To Mother, with love, from son

No it is not the Taj Mahal, it is the Taj of Deccan. I have not seen the Taj Mahal yet; probably that is why I could be in awe at this stupendous monument. Popularly known as Bibi ka Maqbara meaning Tomb of the Lady is the mausoleum of Aurangazeb’s fourth wife, Rabia-ul Durrani. It was Prince Azam Shah who got the tomb built in memory of his mother.

One of the minarets...An inscription here reads: “This mausoleum was designed and erected by Ata-Ulla, an architect and Hanspati Rai an engineer. It took 10 years to complete the work from 1651 to 1661AD”. It was modeled on the Taj Mahal at Agra, Uttar Pradesh. There is the central tomb with four minarets at four corners of the raised square platform. The pathway is simply beautiful; there are the fountains, pools and tall trees on both sides.
The main entrance to Bibi ka Maqbara.
The mosque adjacent to tomb.

The mortal remains of Rabia-ul Durrani are at a lower level in an octagonal enclosure made of marble screens. The lady lays here alone unlike in Taj Mahal of Agra, where the lovers are laid side by side. What a contrast when compared with the tomb of her husband Emperor Aurangazeb which is few kilometers away at Khuldabad.

The middle portion is covered with plaster and given a marble finish. The floral motifs in shell lime plaster are peeling off at places.
The lower body and tomb is made of pure marble. The geometric and floral designs in marble…














There are finely worked brass doors with floral motifs. The marble screens and doors have exquisite designs. No doubt this monument is one of the best Mughal buildings at Deccan.


One last glance at the monument built by a son for his mother… I am curious, is there any other monument in this vast world built in honor of one’s mother?

Our Lovebirds - Part 2

In my earlier post Our Lovebirds, I mentioned about a big brown bird that might have attacked one of our lovebirds. Well, I captured it, I mean in my lens. I clicked the picture through the glass pane of my window, so it is not very clear. As I tried to get a clearer picture, the bird flew off. Can you tell me what bird is this… a falcon or is it a kite or…? (Click on the pic. to get enlarged image.)This big bird appeared at my balcony to have a closer look for food. It now has a taste of easy prey and returned to check whether it could prey on one more. I hope you can spot it sitting in one of the branches.I remember in my childhood, I had two white rabbits as pets. They would go digging around in the garden of our huge lawn much to my mother’s annoyance. In the evenings we would chase them around to put them back in the hutch. It was fun. Whenever my daughters hear such childhood stories of mine, they are tempted to have some pets. Today living in flats, one can have such pets only in dreams. Read my earlier post on Tech Toys for Tiny Tots.

My mother had given them these lovebirds to satisfy their cravings for pets. One and half years of attachment with the birds… it will take some more time for me to convince them to return the bird to the pet store. I am sure, very soon they will come and tell me to return the lovebird to the pet store on their own.

Daulatabad Fort

Continuing on my blog posts on our trip to Aurangabad … this one is on Daulatabad fort. Daulatabad fort is just 12kms from Aurangabad. We set off all fresh and eager to explore this largest and strongest fort of Deccan plateau.

Originally Daulatabad was known as Devagiri, meaning hill of Gods. It was ruled by as many as six dynasties and each of them may have conquered this fort by deceit or strength. The fort was founded by Bhillama Raja of Yadava dynasty in 1187 and ruled by several rulers after him. In 1327 it was conquered by Mohammed-bin-Tughlaq. He was so enamored by the fort and the city that he decided to shift the capital here and renamed the city as Daulatabad. The fact that his mission failed is another story!

The fort is surrounded by three huge fortifications and is a unique combination of Ground fort and Hill fort. The first one, the Amberkot is around the city. The other two Mahakot and Kalkot are at the entrance to the citadel. The walls are steep and scaling them is near impossible. The fort is surrounded by two moats, (one of them now dry) and these must have been teeming with crocodiles then. Earlier days the bridge across the moat was made of leather which could be rolled up when attacked by enemies, we were told. The new iron bridge was built in 1952.

We were awestruck seeing the massive gates at the entrance with spikes studded on them. They are still intact, though if you observe carefully some of the spikes are missing. These gates prevented the entry and damage by elephants.

The trek upwards was a gradual slope. We must have climbed a couple of thousand steps here on our clamber to the summit. We had to go through series of pitch-dark tunnels with unbearable stench of bat droppings, zigzag paths, steep climbs at some stretches; we even crossed the bridge over a moat. Canons are mounted at various points, which may have been strategically important for the defense of the fort. We took short breaks in between, taking a peep here and a shot there.

The Chini Mahal has many mysteries and skeletons enclosed within it. This is where the last king of Golcanda Abul Hasan Tanashaha, the last king of Bijapur Sikander Adilshaha, Ganapati the last king of Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal were held as captives till they died or were mysteriously killed.

Daulatabad Fort was the pride of many Kings and Emperors in the past. And many have left their mark in the form of architectural splendors. The Chand Minar was built by Ala-ud-din Bahamani in celebration of his victory over the fort in 1435. Emperor Shah Jehan built the Baradari, the palace at the top of the hill. Sri Janardhan Swami, (who was a quilledar, an officer in charge of fort) a great saint meditated in a cave in the fort and is believed to have left his footprints there.

Well, today tourists too are leaving their marks. The condition of the moat is disheartening to say the least… filthy and full of plastic bottles :o(. Earlier enemies wouldn’t have waded through this moat for fear of crocodiles, today one look at the filthy water none would dare to put a finger in it!

The walls of Baradari (twelve windows) are scratched and scribbled on. It is disgusting to see the walls coated with telltale red stains that speak volumes about the thriving Indian paan industry. The Kings and Emperors will do several flip-flops in their graves if they ever come to know of the state of their palaces here.

Huffing and puffing, we reached the summit. The view from here is exhilarating. But for those few negative factors mentioned the palace seemed to be a well maintained one. Walking through those corridors of the octagonal palace with twelve windows-the Baradari, gave me goose pimples all over. Wasn’t this the same corridor through which Emperor Shah Jehan once walked?


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Our Lovebirds

They look cute? Or they don’t? I could never decide which. May be they would look beautiful outside the cage. They had been with us for past one and half years. Night we would get them inside and during day time, they were left in our balcony garden. This had been the practice for past so many months and we were so used to each other; the birds and us.

Today, to our horror we found one of them lay dead inside at the edge of the cage. It was bleeding and bruised at the neck, blood and feathers strewn all over. Ishani and Arundhati were in tears. It must have been a torturous end for the bird. I was too shocked to react. How could it happen in this third floor? What could have killed it? The cage was intact. What made it come so close to the bars of the cage?

Looking around I saw a big brown bird, may be a kite, perched in one of the branches of a tree just across the balcony. Could that have attacked the lovebirds?

Now what? With these two babies(11 and 7) crying incessantly, blaming me for having left the cage in the open and the other love bird totally silent, I was numb. My mother (she is no more) had gifted these two pretty yellow lovebirds to them on their birthdays. And just as these thoughts were racing across my mind, Arundhati wailed out, “Dida is dead and now her gift is also dead.”

I had to do something fast. I took out the dead lovebird from the cage, it was still warm, and buried it in one of the flower pots. I don’t know how I did it, but I did it, I had to do it. None of us could bear to see it lie limp and lifeless there. Once out of sight, my daughters calmed down a bit. Now their focus was on the other one.

I suggested we leave it at the pet store. Vehement protests and pleadings followed. I refused to budge, enough is enough, and birds inside cages don’t look good. “Okay, then get us a dog!” they demanded in chorus. DOG. Who will look after it; take it out for walks, and bathing? I don’t have so much time. I backtracked fast and agreed to get a new pair of lovebirds.

This time I have to be more careful.

Wordless Wednesday

Wonderful Wordless Wednesday! Doing one for the first time.


.... in my balcony garden! (click on pic. to get an enlarged image)

Chand Minar, Daulatabad.

Paithani silks and Himroo shawls at Aurangabad

Another unknown weaver! He weaves his soul into the sarees and shawls little by little, only to disappear for ever unnamed. He will be forgotten but he will leave behind the dream saree of a bride or a shawl to keep you warm. So engrossed is he in his work that not once does he look up to see the crowd around him. Focusing just on the design drawn on the tracing paper by his side, he chooses the golden and silk threads to be woven. It will take one whole day for him to make just one inch of the fabric.

This was the scene at the Himroo industry run by the Quereshis in Aurangabad. The Quereshi family there is putting in a lot of effort to preserve this precious art. They have been promoting and preserving this art for the last 100 years. The cost of Paithani sarees can be anywhere between Rs.5000 to Rs.50, 000, some even more depending on the design. They have to pay the weavers well they explained. And when the saree becomes old you can sell it off for the gold and silver in it, so it is a good investment, they went on. Such priceless art pieces, can they be really rated? (Click on the pic to see a larger image.)

The sarees they displayed were all tempting... beautiful combination of rich colors and traditional designs, one can only regret for not buying them. Himroo shawls are made of silk and cotton, and also from silk and wool. Glad I picked up some shawls from here. Proud that our country has such classy hand woven fabrics that no machine woven fabric can match.
This Himroo Industry is worth the visit if you can spare an hour or two after your visits to the caves. It is open 7.30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on all the days

Location:
Aurangabad Himroo Industry and the Paithani Weaving and Training Centre
Jaffer Gate,
Mondha Road,
Aurangabad