Now we can see Premamati mosque from Taramati baradari - a solid granite structure which is like a solid block of stone - no minarets and other beautiful finishings of the mosques we normally see. It however looks very solid and there must be some reason behind it as well. Another question that comes up is how come Taramati got a baradari and her sister Premamati got a mosque named after her?
 |
| Going up to Premamati's mosque |
 |
| Almost there |
We crossed the rather busy road in front of the Taramati baradari and walked towards Premamati mosque. The big landmark in this area is the Vasavi College of Engineering which also had a College of Management (its Principal had once invited me to speak to his MBA students and I did go there - never got a repeat invite after that). We walked left into the lane leading to the college and turned again towards the mosque. In the background was the sound of shelling and Sibghat who was leading the way with me following close by said 'that's artillery shelling' or something to that effect. We were on the fringe of defence land so it was to be expected I guess. In the open ground before the mosque i saw a blue Santro which was there the last time i visited this place. Hmm.
 |
| The sarai below |
 |
| View of villas on the right in the middle of Ibrahim Bagh and hopefully not in the cheruvu |
The gates to the mosque were open. The steps leading up to the mosque were narrow. To the right and down below was a sarai (not in good condition now). Once inside we found this amazingly solid granite mosque that rose to a great height. Massive pillars, arches, kalash type carvings - all rising to a level and then an abrupt end.
 |
| The mosque |
 |
| Arches |
 |
| Another view |
The story is that Premamati herself had this mosque built in the 17th century - the time of her sister Taramati and of Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah. Premamati is referred to as a Muslim courtesan so the Hindu name does not make sense (need to find out more about that). Anyway she was rich and was influential and held an elevated position at the Sultan's court - had to be to undertake a project of this size. Unfortunately Premamati died before the mosque was completed and it was left incomplete. Hence the lack of minarets and such and just this solid structure.
 |
| The roof |
 |
| Another view of the mosque |
 |
| Lovely view of the city and the sunset |
 |
| Another view |
To one side were views of the new city, the sun setting on the horizon. We walked down one level and followed the platform on which the mosque stood and it offered great views all around including that of the mosque. Sibghat explained that the openings on the sheer wall on the side were a sign of the craftsman (most of them brought in from Vijayanagara after its fall) creating a small imperfection so as to show that they were human. Similarly there are markings right up there at the back of the mosque which look like lamps or birds and that he said was probably their signature. They left quite a few of those - just in case.
 |
| Taramati baradari from Premamati mosque |
 |
| The new city from the mosque |
 |
| Golconda fort in the distance |
 |
| A group pic |
We took some pics and one group pic and then left. I had a meeting at 730 at Secunderabad and left in a hurry.
No comments:
Post a Comment