Telangana state: History behind monuments - Charminar

The Hans India plans to feature the detailed note on the history and heritage of the famous monuments and other tourist spots in Telangana, the newly emerged state of India. Telangana indubitably begins with Hyderabad, which is delectably called the Pearl City of India, offers a variety of tourist attractions ranging from Heritage monuments, Lakes and Parks, Gardens and Resorts, Museums to delectable cuisine and a delightful shopping experience. To the traveller, Hyderabad offers a fascinating panorama of the past, with a richly mixed cultural and historical tradition spanning 400 colourful years. Today’s feature is on Charminar located in Hyderabad.

What the Taj Mahal is of Agra or the Eiffel Tower is of Paris is the same about the Charminar to Hyderabad. It’s the signature of Hyderabad, the Shan of Telangana. In 1591 at the centre of the original city layout, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of Hyderabad, built Charminar.

History reveals the fact that Charminar was built as a charisma to ward off a fatal epidemic intense at that time. Four graceful minarets soar to a height of 48.7 m above the ground. Charminar comprises of 45 prayer spaces and a mosque in it. The landmark has become a global icon of Hyderabad, listed among the most recognized structures of India. The Charminar is situated on the east bank of Musi River. To the northeast lies the Laad Bazaar and in the west end lies the granite-made and richly ornamented Makkah Masjid.

The literal meaning of Charminar is “Four Towers"; the eponymous towers are elaborate minarets attached and supported by four grand arches. Some of the popular legends that are recorded in accord with the monument's architectural appearance are appended below:

According to ASI (The Archaeological Survey of India), the current caretaker of the structure, "There are various theories regarding the purpose for which Charminar was constructed. However, it is widely accepted that Charminar was built at the center of the city, to commemorate the eradication of plague", as Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah had prayed for the end of a plague that was ravaging his city and vowed to build a Mosque at the very place where he prayed. According to Jean de Thévenot, a French traveller of the 17th century whose narration was complemented with the available Persian texts, the Charminar was constructed in the year 1591 CE, to commemorate the beginning of the second Islamic millennium year (1000AH). The event was celebrated far and wide in the Islamic world, thus Qutb Shah founded the city of Hyderabad to celebrate the event and commemorate it with the construction of this building.

As far as historian Masud Hussain Khan is concerned, according to him the construction of Charminar was completed in the year 1592, and that it is the city of Hyderabad which was actually founded in the year 1591. According to the book "Days of the Beloved", Qutb shah constructed the Charminar in the year 1589, on the very spot where he first glimpsed his future queen Bhagmati, and after her conversion to Islam, Qutb Shah renamed the city as "Hyderabad". Though the story was denied by the historians and scholars, it became popular folklore among the locals.

The Charminar is a square structure with each side 20 meters long, with four grand arches each facing a fundamental point that open into four streets. At each corner stands an exquisitely shaped minaret, 56 meters high with a double balcony. Each minaret is crowned by a bulbous dome with dainty petal like designs at the base. Unlike the Taj Mahal, Charminar's four fluted minarets are built into the main structure. There are 149 winding steps to reach the upper floor. The structure is made of granite, limestone, mortar and pulverised marble. Initially the monument with its four arches was so proportionately planned that when the fort was opened one could catch a glimpse of the bustling Hyderabad city as these Charminar arches were facing the most active royal ancestral streets.

There is also a legend of an underground tunnel connecting the Golkonda fort to Charminar, possibly intended as an escape route for the Qutb Shahi rulers in case of a siege, though the location of the tunnel is unknown. A mosque is located at the western end of the open roof and the remaining part of the roof served as a court during the Qutb Shahi times. The actual mosque occupies the top floor of the four-storey structure. A vault that appears from inside like a dome, supports two galleries within the Charminar, one over another, and above those a terrace that serves as a roof, bordered with a stone balcony. The main gallery has 45 covered prayer spaces with a large open space in front to accommodate more people for Friday prayers. The clock on the four cardinal directions was added in 1889 and there is a Vazu (water cistern)in the middle with a small fountain for Ablution before offering prayer in the Charminar Mosque.