ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE OF DECCAN INDIA GEORGE MICHELL & HELEN PHILON PHOTOGRAPHS
ANTONIO MARTINELLI
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INTRODUCTION
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Other colleges in the Deccan have simpler designs with courtyards surrounded by double storeys of arcaded chambers. An example is the Dar al-Shifa in Hyderabad, erected shortly after the foundation of the city in 1591. Intended as a teaching hospital, it accommodated patients as well as doctors and students. The Shia Imam Kotla in the northern part of Ahmadnagar also has an arcaded courtyard entered through an arched gate (198-9), as does the Suni madrasa on the northern outskirts of Aurangabad (392-3). The latter complex adjoins a spacious, Mughal-type charbagh with a central baradari pavilion where Pir Ismail, a Sufi religious figure, met with pupils and where he was eventually buried. Shi’ite religious architecture in the Deccan is also represented by ashurkhanas, where annual Muharram rites were celebrated and metal alams, or standards used in processions, were stored. Among the many institutions of this type in Hyderabad is the Badshahi Ashurkhana. Though the building is a simple prayer hall with slender wooden columns carrying a flat timber ceiling, its masonry walls are clad in splendid tile mosaics. (365-9)
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IDGAHS Accommodating huge gatherings of worshippers at the two annual festivals of Id, these outdoor places of worship were generally sited some distance away from cities and forts. Idgahs in the Deccan are mostly rudimentary structures consisting merely of a qibla wall, though some examples are invested with particular magnificence. For instance, the idgah in the plain beneath Asirgarh fort comprises a long high wall, articulated with arched recesses below and arched openings above, topped with a balustraded parapet and flanked by massive circular towers containing staircases. Steps in the middle lead to a platform from where the sultan could address his subjects during Id festivals and his troops before military campaigns (below). The Qutb Shahi-period Purani Idgah in one of Hyderabad’s outer suburbs has a facade treated exactly like a mosque. Its five arches lead to a single-bayed hall with a mihrab set into the rear wall, while massive circular buttresses at the corners rise above the roof as minarets (376-7).
Asirgarh, idgah, 16th century: this outdoor place of worship is located in the plain beneath Asirgarh fort.
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DECORATION
of Ali I Shah Barid outside the city. Though the panels above the outer arches of the tomb were probably reserved for tiles (never added), the sepulchral chamber preserves splendid underglazed ceramics with Qur’anic texts in white thuluth calligraphy set on floral backgrounds with contrasting colours (184). The practice of embellishing buildings with tile decoration in the Deccan seems to have shifted from Bidar to Golconda, where several tombs in the royal funerary complex preserve traces of polychrome, crudely fitted mosaic ceramics. A more complete idea of this technique under Qutb Shahi patronage may be had from the Badshahi Ashurkhana in Hyderabad, whose interior walls are entirely cloaked in mosaic panels (now partly restored) (366-9). The designs here vary from staggered hexagons filled with geometric patterns, and vases containing fanciful floral arrangements, to petal-shaped alams filled with letters in rotational and mirrored formations. The bright green, turquoise and mustard-yellow colours on a blue background are typical of Deccan ceramic workshops.
MURALS Only one complete ensemble of paintings, that within Ahmad I Shah Wali Bahman’s tomb at Ashtur, is preserved from the Bahmani period (76-7, 142-3, 174-7). Its remarkable range of designs demonstrates the calibre of the Bidar artists who belonged to the international Timurid style. The walls of the sepulchral chamber are covered with bands of calligraphy and panels of different shapes, including characteristic Timurid styled “cloud-collars” filled with arabesques, all realised in brilliant vermillion and blue tones with gold and black highlights. A similar colouristic palette enhances the paintings inside the dome. Concentric bands of calligraphy incorporate the names of the twelve Shia imams and the name of `Ali. Elsewhere on the walls are extracts from the teachings of Shah Nimatullah, whose descendants are buried in the nearby Chaukhandi tomb. Significantly, there is an overall absence of Qur’anic passages. Painted decoration flourished under the Adil Shahis, but again the available evidence is limited. Relief carvings in the mihrab of the Jami Masjid in Bijapur, already noted, preserve extravagant paintwork with abundant gilding, best seen in the faceted part-dome, which is filled with leaf-like calligraphic alams hanging on chains, surrounded by feathery, leafy stems and blossoms, in gold on a deep blue background (70, 287-91). Murals in the upper chambers of the Asar Mahal express the original courtly purpose of the building, with their scenes of women and attendants set in European-type landscapes (opposite). Elsewhere, arched niches are filled with vases ornamented with arabesque motifs in the finest Timurid manner, while wall surfaces are covered with creepers bearing tiny blue flowers (282-3). Paintings at Kumatgi outside Bijapur are sadly incomplete, but seem to depict courtly pastimes, including figures in foreign dress, perhaps Dutch envoys (316-7). Such compositions suggest a fascination with European art, perhaps introduced to the Adil Shahi court by travelling merchants and missionaries. With the conquest of the Mughals a new pictorial tradition is introduced into Deccan architecture, though little of this can now be seen. The murals in the Soneri Mahal on the outskirts of Aurangabad, a palace that took its name from its golden paintings, have now vanished. In contrast, the paintings inside the Kharbuza Mahal in Burhanpur are amazingly complete (230-1). Here, tiers of arched niches are filled with leafy, floral creepers with green and red tones on a cream background, a tonal scheme that resembles the cotton textiles for which Burhanpur was renowned.
OPPOSITE Bijapur,
Asar Mahal, 17th century: mural portraying jewelled courtly women. FOLLOWING PAGES
Bidar, tomb of Ahmad I Shah Wali Bahman (d. 1436): murals adorning the walls and dome.
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INTRODUCTION
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BIDAR
TAKHT MAHAL 15th century Serving as a ceremonial hall for the Bahmani sultans within Bidar’s citadel, this complex also had a mandapa with regularly laid out timber columns (only the dolerite footing blocks remain) facing north into a rectangular walled court. A square domed throne chamber opening off the rear of the hall has a complex plan with part-curving sides. Open courts at either side had pools set into the floor. Protruding wings running along the sides of the courtyard terminated in chambers with lofty portals, but only that on the western side still stands (both are indicated in the restored plan below). The surviving portal has a central arch flanked by double tiers of arched recesses with sharply pointed profiles outlined in dolerite strips. The mosaic tile designs in the spandrels of the central arch depict sunburst emblems with royal tigers.
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BIDAR
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ASIRGARH
The crest of Asirgarh is dominated by the Jami Masjid erected in 1589 by Adil Khan IV Faruqi. As in the virtually identical mosque in Burhanpur of the same date, its vaulted prayer hall is flanked by a pair of lofty minarets and is preceded by an arcaded court. It, too, is provided with a bilingual inscription giving the genealogy of the Faruqi Khans (227). Extensive reservoirs and deep wells dotted throughout the fort guaranteed a permanent supply of water.
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BIJAPUR
The sepulchral chamber within the tomb of the Ibrahim Rauza is surrounded on four sides by a flat-ceilinged verandah carried on temple-like columns. The chamber’s basalt walls are covered with panels of geometric designs and calligraphic quotations in Arabic and Persian, all executed in shallow relief (6-7, 70 and previous pages). Calligraphy even adorns the stone jali screens admitting light to the interior (opposite). .
The 13-metre square (140-foot square) sepulchral chamber is roofed with an ingeniously constructed horizontal vault with curved sides, the blocks being secured by strong mortar (above). A ceiling motif of nine squares with a central lotus is positioned above the sultan’s own cenotaph, flanked by those of Taj Sultan and their various children.
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GOLCONDA
Just beneath the summit of the Bala Hisar at Golconda is a small mosque with slender minarets. Dating back to Bahmani times, this place of worship was remodelled by the Qutb Shahis for their private use. From here there is a splendid view of the Qutb Shahi palace complex some 125 metres (410 feet) below (340-1).
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AURANGABAD
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