Bidar - The Enchanting City As I Know

I would like to dedicate this article to my son Ravi  Nibhanapudi who was an ardent traveler and always encouraged me to write articles.

Bidar is a small city which is 80km away from Hyderabad but falls in the territory of Karnataka.  It is the city I stayed for a short period as it was one of the stations my father was posted during his service in the Indian Air Force in early ‘70s.  We stayed in the rented accommodation in a huge building called Akhmal Pasha Building.  Our house was facing the road. One of my father’s colleagues rented another portion which was parallel to ours.  We had a very big common veranda. That uncle had four children and I had five siblings.  All of us had a very adventurous spirit and enjoyed our stay in this city.

There was water scarcity in the city. The tap was at least 4 feet below  the ground level.  It was the only source of water for both our families.  The supply hours were very limited. We enjoyed filling water during morning and evening supply hours.

Surprisingly in outskirts of the city probably in 10 or 15 km radius there were temples which had continuous water flow. One of them was Narsimha Jhira.  Lord Narasimha resides in a cave filled with water.  There were 3 or 4 steps at the entrance and as we got down the steps we enter the canal. We have to wade through the water for some 2 to 3 hundred meters to reach the deity.  There were bats hanging in the cave but they were unperturbed.

Second was the Guru Nanak Jhira.  It is said that Guru Nanak came here to meet some Muslim peers. Through them he came to know about the scarcity of water in the city.  Moved by their plight he just pulled a pebble with his toe and there came a flow of clean, sweet drinking water.  It flows into a pond now and the actual flow of water is covered with wire mesh.  It may be to restrict people from damaging it.  We could even see the foot print of the horse that Guru Nanak rode.

I remember having stuck in dust storm while returning home and there was no shelter reroute to our house. We took shelter under a tree which was dangerously whistling and tilting.  It was one of the scariest evenings of my life.  After that incident my father used to arrange a vehicle to go anywhere.  Our joy walks and hiking’s were stopped at that.

There was Anantasayana Swami temple water flowing underneath its steps. We did not know where the water was flowing from.

There were many small and big Madrasas where children used to go for studying.  One such Madarsa was in front of our house where small children used to come to study.

Another interesting aspect of this city is it had underground passages.  As the state was under the Bahamani sultans these passages were up to Bijapur on one side and Golconda on the other side. There were huge openings starting from the Bidar fort across the city. People were warned not to venture in to the open spaces as these were dangerously hidden by shrubs and bushes.  And those who have gone there unknowingly fell in them and lost their lives.  Basically these were meant to provide ventilation and air to the passengers using the secret passage.

There was one such well near the fort.  In our group few of us used to go down and the rest stand on the edge of it on top to alert people in case something happens.  It was so adventurous.

There was a minaret and a watch tower the steps of which we climbed a number of times. We were told underneath this too there was a secret passage.

There were only four theatres at that time in the city.  The manager of one of the theatres (Sangam) was an Andhrite.  Whenever we felt like watching movie we used to go there sit for some time if we did not like the movie, went back. There was hardly anybody to watch movie.  Sometimes they would look through the projector to see if there is anybody to start the movie.

Now coming to our Akmal Pasha he stayed in the centre of the compound with a huge portico and open space in front. There were many houses surrounding this open space. It must have been a palacial building once upon a time. Women hardly came out of the house. We do not know how many people stayed inside. But many gents used to sit in the portico enjoying hukka and many children played in the ground.  They did not mingle with us.  May be they were scared of my father’s Khaki uniform.  One day there was a lot of hustle and bustle in their portico. A huge wooden box was placed in the centre of the portico and all the children gathered there.  Curious enough I asked my siblings to follow me to see what it was all about.

By the time we reached there, many items were on display. There were all the royal items like swords, shoes worn during war time and peace time, dresses, head gears, Copper shields, Persian and Urdu engraved plates probably gives as rewards in appreciation of their service, silver cutlery, dinner sets, Royal messages which were given on blue velvet cloth all very neatly kept in covers.  An old man was taking out each and every item and explaining in Urdu about its ancestral importance and who used it. Looking at all those items I guessed the fore fathers of this family held a very high post close to the king. Probably the building was also given to them by the then rulers.  The display went on close to 3 hours.   It was to educate the present generation about their royal connection and also to check if all the items are in good condition. I was told this is done once a year by the head of the family. I was amazed to see the care they have taken to maintain the legacy even after so many decades.

Last but not the least Bidar is famous for a unique art Bidri works. This art work is done on black metal with thin silver lining.  Those who visit Bidar take  home these items  as souvenir.

Bidar remains fresh in my memory as a wonderful city and it earned a place in the world monument watch list in 2014 and most of its monuments are protected by the archaeological survey of India.