Sunheri Mahal on the outskirts of Aurangabad City

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

As I was standing next to the Aurangabad Caves I got a beautiful view of the city below. The view is simply amazing. Barren lands and houses in Aurangabad city sandwitched between the hills ranges.

I got a beautiful view of Bibi Ka Maqbara and Sunheri Mahal from here. Though these places were far away they looked so big even from a distance. Just makes me imagine how gigantic it will be when I am close to it.

Sunheri Mahal as the name states was shining in the sun. It was painted yellow in color and shone in the sun. I could see it from atop Aurangabad Caves. It had a garden like thing before its building. Like a “aangan” in Marathi.

Sunheri Mahal from Aurangabad Caves

From a distance it was appearing that huge; imagine how big it will be when I am in its premises.

Within 15 minutes by rickshaw we were at the entrance of Sunheri Mahal.

There was on old structure standing there, which stood as the entrance to Sunheri Mahal. It’s a good thing that it is being redone. I am happy to see that we are taking care of your history.

As you enter it, you will see a small narrow rectangular water fountain which had identical flora growing next to it and in front of us stood Sunheri Mahal.

The yellow painted structure stands out in the mud colored hills behind it.

Sunheri Mahal

Sunheri Mahal is a golden palace situated in the outskirts of Aurangabad city at Paharsinghpura. It is inside the campus of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University.

The Palace was built by a Bundelkhand Chief who had accompanied Aurangzeb to the Deccan.

Sunheri Mahal was built between 1651 and 1653 at a cost of Rs.50,000 and in 1934 it was sold to the Nizam of Hyderabad for Rs.26,400.

The entrance of the Palace is decorated with beautifully done arches.

The Palace is now a Museum. It was set up in 1979 and displays sculptures, paintings, ornaments, pottery and weapons. The museum is open from 1030 hours to 1700 hours each day except for Monday.

Aurangabad Caves from Sunheri Mahal

No photography is allowed in the premises of the museum. As I entered the museum I saw black colored cannons standing there with cannon balls next to it.

The walls were adorned with beautiful paintings made on wood and glass. Never seenpaintings like this before but they were truly good. There were sculptures in Stone, Bronze and Brass of Hindu Gods kept for display in the premises. These were beautifully carved out.

Swords, Cannons, Guns and GunCannon were kept for display. Out of which what caught my attention is GunCannon. It had the trigger of a gun and had a long funnel and I guess miniature cannon balls need to be loaded in it to fire.

The Darbar gallery was beautifully painted. It is said that the interiors of this place were once painted Gold. But due to repair work done on this it is now repainted. But some parts of the previous paintings can still be seen.

Musical instruments used then are also up for display. Now with the coming of DJ music who plays these instruments. I guess they are played only if some performance is given.

Beautifully designed and decorated treasure chests are on display all over the place.

A throne for Ganpati made of wood and polished dark brown is also on display within the Palace premises.

The museum is on the ground floor and the office is on the first floor.

It’s good that they have now started maintaining the premises. After all a 400 year old Palace has survived that long and should be worked on to survive for centuries to come.

I enjoyed my visit here in the history museum.

Aurangabad Caves in Aurangabad

Sunday, May 25, 2014

We got ourselves a rickshaw to visit Aurangabad Caves and Sunheri Mahal; both are located on the outskirts of the city.

Aurangabad Caves Eastern side from a distance

The rickshaw cost was included on our package tour including the Darwazas of Aurangabad.

Sculptures in the Caves

We headed to see the Caves first. In a matter of minutes we were out of the city premises and on to the hills, we were climbing up and down hills to reach the caves.

Caves

The land around the caves was barren; we could hardly see any greenery around. The heat was getting unbearable here but that didn’t dampen our spirits and we continued on our quest.

Eastern side of the Caves

Aurangabad Caves are divided into two halves. The Eastern and Western side.  Caves 1 to 5 are on the Western side and the others on the Eastern side.  These caves were cut between the 6^th and 8^th century in the Siyachal ranges.

Cavings inside the cave premises

I am not sure which side we landed first but we headed to get ourselves a ticket. There was no one at the ticket counter. It was locked. But there was no gate to see the Caves.  The price of ticket was Rs.5.

Sleeping Buddha

There are few caves here in comparison to Ajanta and Ellora  Caves. The caves are almost identical to Ajanta and Ellora Caves so I am of the understanding that they might have been built in the same era.

More carvings

Again these caves appeared to me as if they are being maintained. I won’t be surprised if the Japanese are looking after its wellbeing.  Like Ajanta Caves.

They have nicely constructed steps to view each of the caves, nets are put up all over the caves so that Bats don’t make them their homes and the caves are nice and clean.

Carvings

Again these caves have beautifully carved pillars and mythological figures carved on the walls as Ajanta Caves.  The carvings were repetitive.

Though the heat was killing us when we were approaching the caves, the weather here was quite pleasant. God alone knows how. As we are on the hilltop.

Western side of Aurangabad Caves

As we were exiting we saw the ticket counter open and we got ourselves tickets. The person vending tickets also told us that the ticket is the same for all the caves.  So we kept the tickets safely.

Not a soul other than Namrata and Me here.

Sculptures carved in the rock

We then boarded the rickshaw and went over to the other side to see the other part of the caves.

A series of constructed steps leads to the top. These steps were constructed by the ASI as they are looking after the wellbeing of the Caves.

Stupa

There was no one here to check the tickets. Lol.

Climbing up the stairs can put pressure up on your knees so climb slowly.  As we were climbing a few people noticed peacocks atop the hill, sadly we didn’t notice them.

Doors to the Caves

Finally we reached the top. Again the walls were beautifully carved with mythological figures and so were the pillars. Each of the caves had a sculpture of Buddha in them. I also noticed that some of the caves had been painted in beige color which had started to peel off. 

More Caves

Not sure why they were painted. Most were the way there were meant to be.

Carvings on the walls of the Caves

The Caves offers a wonderful view of Bibi ka Maqbara and Sunheri Mahal in a distance and also the city of Aurangabad.

Next pitstop Sunheri Mahal.

Bibi ka Maqbara in Aurangabad

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

I you don’t have the money to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra, then you should visit this place, nicknamed Mini Taj Mahal. Just kidding.

Though both the Taj Mahal and Bibi ka Maqbara look similar they are different in all ways.

Bibi ka Maqbara in Aurangabad

We took a ticket at price of Rs.5 each to see the Maqbara.

This beautiful structure was built by Prince Azam Shah in memory of his Mother Rabia-ul-Durani alias Dilras Banu Begum between 1650-1657 AD. She is the wife of Aurangzeb. The architectural brains and construction was done by Ata-Ulla and Hanspat Ria respectively. This structure is also called the Taj of the Deccan. It was constructed at a cost of Rs.6,68,203.70.

Minaret

The mausoleum is in an enclosed area and has four identical minarets erected next to it and can be accessed by steps from all four sides. Next to it is a beautiful garden.

The entire structure is made of marble and beautifully decorated with carvings.

The grave is surrounded by marble which is beautifully decorated. 

The grave is flooded with currency notes which are offered there. I too made my contribution to the same. No photography is allowed in  the premises.

Interiors of the Mosque

There is no entry to the minarets.

Though Bibi ka Maqbara is around 400 years old it has still survived time and weather. Some parts of the structure are being redone to restore it to previous glory, but as we all know, we cannot match what was constructed 400 years ago, but we can still try.

There is a mosque which is located next to it. It was built by the Nizams of Hyderabad in 18^th century. Basalt is used in the construction of the Mosque. The interiors are truly beautiful, made-up of pillars and corner pilasters all connected to each other by beautiful arches. This area could accommodate around 377 people during Namaz.

Closer view of the Bibi ka Maqbara

I was finding it very difficult to gauge this structure. It was a marvel to my eye, so beautifully done and inspite of the strong heat the marble was cold. I could feel it on the palms of my hand. The technology used by them to build such marvelous structures was truly amazing.

After viewing the fine carvings on the whole structure, I am of the understanding that I would have been so difficult to make such carvings on a structure so tall but they still did a fascinated job and a job so well done that it has stood time i.e around 400 years from 

the making. 

The tomb in the basement with money scattered all over it

This place should be visited on a trip to Aurangabad.