Damdi aka Damadi Masjid (Mukundnagar) near Ahmednagar Fort in Ahmednagar

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Damdi aka Damadi Masjid (Mukundnagar), is located very near to the Ahmednagar Fort. One has to travel by the Burhan Nagar Road to reach it. Directions to reach it are available on Google Maps. It is looked after by the Damdi Masjid Kabrastan (Trust). 

Damdi aka Damadi Masjid near Ahmednagar Fort in Ahmednagar

Apart from the Masjid are many old tombs in its premises. Not sure to whom these tombs belong as there are no signboards around them. The Masjid was built around in 1567.

Damdi aka Damadi Masjid near Ahmednagar Fort in Ahmednagar

The Masjid is very small in size but is very beautiful. Art work is very clearly visible on the Masjid walls. The stone engraving, the arches, the minar atop are beautifully done. I have seen many Masjid's but nothing like this one.

Tombs in Damdi aka Damadi Masjid near Ahmednagar Fort in Ahmednagar

Not sure if the Masjid is still operational, as the entry  gates are locked so we couldn't see it from the inside. but there is a family that stays near its premises. The cemetery is operational.

Entrance to Damdi aka Damadi Masjid near Ahmednagar Fort in Ahmednagar

We then headed over to see the Cavalry Tank Museum.

State Transport bus ride to Ahmednagar

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Ahmednagar, thus this word rings bells in your head. For me it truly does. In school, history was my favorite subject. In history we learned about the Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar.

I decided to take a trip to Ahmednagar along with my friend Manohar, who had accompanied me to several treks around Maharashtra. Nagar is another name this city is known by. Had heard this name while I was returning from Aurangabad.

Ahmednagar is located around 239 KM away from Mumbai. It can be accessed by road and rail. We decided to take road transport as at such notice we would not get train tickets by train it is around 255 KM away. There are no flights to Ahmednagar. We decided to take ST bus to reach Ahmednagar instead of taking the car along.

Apart from State Govt buses, private buses ply to Ahmednagar on a regular basis. We boarded the 11:00 PM ST bus from Dadar TT to Tarakpur in Ahmednagar, it was to reach Ahmednagar in the morning around 6 AM.

Finally at a cost of Rs.410 a ticket we boarded the semi luxury bus to Ahmednagar, the moment the took off, I fell asleep and I slept like a log in the bus. The bus driver drove the bus like a formula one car, racing and turning on the roads, but that didn't affect me much. Finally at 5 AM we were at Ahmednagar bus stand aka MSRTC Main ST stand located very close to the Swastik Chowk Pune Bus Stand. MSRTC Tarakpur bus stand is the next stop and around 1.6 KM away. ( These bus stand are all in Ahmednagar)

I checked up the places on my itinerary for the day. I had Ahmednagar Fort, Chand Bibi Tomb, Daria Bagh Palace, Damdi Masjid and Calvary Tank Museum.

In the premises of the ST bus stand, are restrooms and washrooms available for a minimal fee. After refreshing ourselves we headed over to have some hot tea. The weather was cool though not cold as I had expected. Sadly the jumper that occupied the most space in the bag, remained in house only. LOL.

I know it is last moment research, but still came in handy while planning the places to visit at the last moment. We decided to do Chand Bibi Tomb, Damdi Masjid and Faria Bagh Palace first as there is no entry time limit nor entry fee for the same.

We asked a couple of rickshaw drivers outside the bus stand, to charged us Rs.1000 to visit the five places, they informed us that it would take us around 5 to 6 hours to see then in entirety. I so miss not taking the car along. But again with the car we would have to ask for directions as there are no signboards around. Hope GPS works here.

We kick started our trip, with Chand Bibi Tomb.