Bijapur

It was at Bijapur, Jama Masjid, we got to see one of the rare mihrabs of world which still has rich gold inlay work intact. The inner courtyard of the mosque can accommodate 2250 worshippers during the prayer times. Spaces are neatly marked black outline in the polished floor for each worshipper. This was built by Ali Adil Shah I, the same ruler who built the Gagan Mahal.


At Malik-e-Maidan (Monarch of the Plains) we saw a huge canon with Islamic inscriptions. It was brought as a war trophy to Bijapur. Observe the canon carefully; you will see the head of the canon shaped like a tiger, whose razor sharp jaws are closing on an elephant. “The tiger represents the Islam while the elephant represents the Hindus,” our guide told us. ‘Was it necessary, this religious interpretation of something artistic?’ I wondered. Anyways we moved on.


The monuments and the major tourist attraction posts are all well maintained, but the city as such isn’t so well maintained. Chaotic and congested traffic, it looks like those typical sleeping towns which suddenly woke up to the hustle and bustle of busy in-flowing traffic of the tourists. Walk little bit in to the interiors you will find the typical Indian village life. People still stand in long queues for their weekly/monthly quota of fuel (kerosene).


We saw colorful pots, all in a row. They were left behind by their owners to indicate their position in the long wait for water. Water is available to them just on timely basis. If you notice carefully, there is no tap, only an open outlet. This is Bijapur, a historic city, wealthy with palaces, mausoleums and monuments, yet not rich.

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Gagan Mahal, Bijapur

Another imposing structure of Bijapur is the Gagan Mahal, meaning the Sky Palace’. One of the tallest structures of Bijapur, now in ruins, but very beautifully maintained. Lots of greenery around, plenty of parrots squawking away to glory, it is difficult to comprehend the fact that the ruin is amidst this beautiful suroundings.



Gagan Mahal was built by Ali Adil Shah I around 1561. The building then was used as royal residence and also as the Durbar Hall. Today just this 21m façade remains. The ceiling is no longer there and admission to the crumbling rooms which was the private residence of the King and in the higher floors is not permitted.



The Durbar hall in the ground floor of the structure has been rightly compared with an Opera stage set. Four to five centuries back, this place echoed the sounds of musicians’ notes and the dancers’ anklets. Today it is the cacophony of horns of vehicles plying all around this Palace.

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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. :)”