Think
of Bijapur and the first thing that comes to mind is the Gol Gumbaz -
the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah. Gol Gumbaz boasts of the second largest
dome in the world. 44 meters in diameter, this dome forms a highly sensitive
echo-chamber.The slightest whisper echoes seven times over and the tick of a clock held at one end can be distinctly heard at the opposite end - 125 feet away ! But there's a lot more to Bijapur.
On the western outskirts of the city lies the mausoleum of Ibrahim Adil Shah II - Ibrahim Roza, said to have inspired the Taj Mahal in Agra. Embracing 1,16,300 square feet is the Jumma Masjid - "one of the finest mosques in India". Here, in a beautiful mihrab -covered by a heavy curtain - are verses of the Quran, beautifully inscribed in letters of gold.
Malik-e-Maidan - the largest medieval cannon in the world - is fourteen feet long, weighing about 55 tons. Legend has it that if you touch the gun and make a wish, it will come true ! Bijapur is full of such legends. Liked the one surrounding Afzal Khan's Centaph. It is said that Afzal Khanstarted the construction of his own tomb in his lifetime.
But
eventually could not be buried here. You could spend days exploring Bijapur.
Wandering around the Arakilla, the Anand Mahal, the Mehtar Mahal, the
Bara Kaman, the Gagan Mahal, the Amin Durgah, the Assar Mahal, the Chota
Asar, the Faroukh Mahal, the Jahz Mahal, the Jod Gumbaz… Listening
to the quaint Deccan dialect. Sampling the spicy curry with jowar rotis.
And packing a host of delightful memories to carry back home.
