Twins of Hyderabad architectural legacy

The Charminar and the The Charminar and the Char-kaman are the iconic ancient structures of Hyderabad – One is super-fine and the other bizarre in architectural aesthetics. are the iconic ancient structures of Hyderabad – One is super-fine and the other bizarre in architectural aesthetics. They are the twins of Hyderabad architectural legacy. When a historian, architectural critic writes about Charminar, he cannot leave the Char-kaman untouched. When these two edifices are observed from aesthetics point of view, they are not going well together.

In this article a maiden attempt is made to find out the reasons behind it.

Before going into the subject in detail, it is necessary to know the personality of the founder of Charminar, Muhammad Quli Qutab Shah.
Muhammad Quli Qutab Shah: He was the son of Ibrahim Qutab Shah (1550-1580) His mother was Bhagirathi, the princess of Vijayanagara empire. Ibrahim Qutab Shan was a political refugee of the Hindu empire of Vijayanagar for some years and his marriage to a Hindu woman influenced his attitude towards the local language and his Hindu subjects. The same legacy carried over to his son Muhammad Quli Qutab Shah. Muhammad Quli was a poet who wrote largely in Dakhni. Some people were of the view that he wrote poetry in Telugu also, but no evidence has been found so far.

Quli’s description of his women, their types, nature, dress and ornaments, makes Prof Sayeda Jaffer suggest that he was well-versed in the classical Sanskrit literature on the subject. He seems to be familiar with Kok Shastra and Rati Shastra, famous Indian treatises on the art of love. Those Sanskrit works had already been translated into Persian and Urdu. Jama, a court poet of Muhammad Quli is said to have translated Kok Shastra into Persian and Quli seems to have read this because he refers to the four types of women described in the Kama Sutra, viz., Padmini, Chitrini, Sankhini and Hasthini.

Narendra Luther, the author of, ‘Prince Poet Lover Builder – Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah - The founder of Hyderabad,’ observes about Quli: “The Indian element in his poetry is refreshing and substantial. His similes, his metaphors, all the literary device, all his allusions draw not upon foreign, imported contrivances but upon everything Indian.” Also he says that, “In his poetry, it is not the rivers of Arabia or Persia that he talks of, not the Dajla and the Farat of the Jehoon or the Sehoon but the Ganga and the Yamuna, the eternal rivers of Hindusthan.”

Quli Qutub Shah’s knowledge of musical Ragas, Raginis and musical instruments in his poetry seems to be vast and profound. He makes special mention of Asavari, Dhansri, Gauri, Malhar, Kalyan, Basant and Ram Kali Ragas. He was obviously a connoisseur and patron of music and dance.

“In the glossary of old or archaic words used by Quli and other poets prepared by some anthologists, one sees Sanskrit, Hindi and Punjabi words but very few from Arabic and Persian. Even common Arabic terms like khuda and Allah for Almighty are seldom used. Instead, he used epithets like Kartar, Swami, Dayawant, Gosain Sain and Niranjan which are Hindu forms of address for God and which were also used by Kabir and Nanak and other poets of the Bhakti movement. There is no foreignness in his language, no heaviness, nothing which sends one looking for lexicons. There is a fresh smell of earth of one’s own land in Quli’s language.”

When he refers to himself as a king, he doesn’t use the common Persian terms for king or emperor (padshah or shahanshan) but Hindi terms – Raja or Rajadhiraj. In his poem, ‘Raj Tarana’ which should mean royal anthem, he depicts himself as one.

Muhammad Quli was a versatile poet in whom a keen observation, a fertile imagination, a sound knowledge of Indian music and aesthetics and an extensive vocabulary joined to produce a remarkable effect. There is also a complete synthesis of the Persian and Indian culture and religious with a happy predominance of the Indian element’. It seems this Indian element in his thinking and life style played a role in the construction of Charminar at the cross roads.
Charminar
Goethe described architecture as frozen music; if so then Charminar is melody set in concrete. The soul and symbol of Hyderabad, it is to Hyderabad what Taj to Agra, the Gateway of India to Mumbai and the Qutub to Delhi! Often called the ‘Arcade Triomphe of the East.’ Hyderabad is best represented by Charminar or ‘the monument with four minarets’ as it literally means.

The Charminar, by far the most remarkable architectural monument in the kingdom of Golconda, was built 1590-91 by the illustrious Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah. According to the author of ‘Tuzuk-i-Qutub Shahi,’ the Charminar was one of the first monuments erected when the foundation of the (extended) city was being laid at the cross road. It is 80 yards from the southern to the north Kaman of Char Kaman.

The perfect number theory (6, 10, & 16) of ancient Roman Architect, Vitruvius is also reflected in this iconic structure as detailed below:
Charminar is square in plan each side measuring 60ft. If number “Six, is taken as unit, it is ten times to such unit. (6 x 10 = 60). The height is 60ft. If ‘perfect number ‘sixteen’ is taken as a unit, it is ‘Ten’ times to sixteen. (16 x 10 = 160). The width of the arch on each side is 24 feet, that is ‘Four’ (four fingers of a palm) times perfect number ‘Six’. (6 x 4 = 24). The height of the arch on each side is 30ft, that is five (half of Ten) times to perfect number ‘Six’ (6 x 5 = 30). The central open space of the Charminar is ‘Sixteen’ units i.e., (4 x 4 = 16).

Char Kaman
Located about hundred yards north of Charminar is the great piazza, then known as Jilukhana (Guards Square) popularly called Char Kaman (four arches). It was completed in 1592 AD by Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah, according to Bilgrami Syed Ali Asgar. The Char Kaman encloses an octagonal cistern at its centre. The arches are 50-foot high and each arch is separated from the center by about 100 yards. The names of the arches reveal interesting stories, Machli Kaman or fish arch in the north, got its name from the belief that the fish was the symbol of good fortune for the Qutb Shahi kings.

The eastern arch was known as Naqarkhana shahi or the house of royal drums, now known as Kaali Kaman (Black Gate). The western gate was called Sher-i-Ali gate now corrupted to Sher-i-Batil. (initially known as Daulatkhana-e-Batil). Mir Momin, the Prime Minister of the Qutub Shahi rulers, had this gateway decorated with a huge tapestry of gold. The southern gateway was originally called Charminar Kaman now known as Mewawala Kaman or Fruit Vendor Circle. It was also the entrance to the Jamay Masjid or Royal Mosque.

According to the archeological report 1918-19, the arrangement of Char-kaman is reminiscent of the Hindu practice of building gateways facing the cardinal points, which was once very popular in the Deccan, and examples of which exist to this day at Warangal, Kulpak and other places.

The architectural style of the Kamans is, however, purely Muslim, simple and somewhat austere in outline; but lofty and vigorous in execution. Some scholars who have noticed symbolism even in Muslim architectural forms observe that the pointed arch is an expression of the Islamic idea of the Unity of God – duality of creation and the creator merging into one Supreme Power, the fountain of virtue and evil, matter and law.

(Writer is Senior Architect and former Chairman, The Indian Institute of Architects, AP Chapter, 1992-94)