Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh


Our first visit in the heart of Incredible India – Madhya Pradesh, was Burhanpur where Mumtaz mahal, wife of Shah Jahan the great Mughal emperor, was buried. She died in Burhanpur in 1631 while giving birth to 


their 14th child, princess Gauhara. The queen's body rested here for several months until it was disinterred and taken to Agra to finally rest in peace in the glorious Taj Mahal. Unfortunately this monument is totally neglected and am sure that, given the due importance and publicity, it can attract a lot of tourists. When we visited we were the only visitors!


It is in the Ahukhana  or deer park, which is an enclosed garden with tanks and pleasure houses constructed during the reign of Shah Jehan(1627-58).


Across the river Tapti is the Shahi Qila. The ruins of this palace fort is maintained beautifully with rose 


gardens and offers some excellent views from top.


History of the Shahi Qila states that it was originally built by the Farooqui rulers and where Shah Jahan resided when he was the governor of Burhanpur. Shah Jahan became so fond of the fort that it was here, in Shahi Qila that he established his court for the first three years of his ascending the throne. Shah Jahan spent a considerable time in this city.


In the premises there is the Zenana Shahi Hamam (Ladies Royal spa) which was apparently used by Begum 


Mumtaz to bathe in luxury. It still has some beautiful paintings on the ceiling.  One of these paintings depicts a monument which is said to have been the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.
Twenty kilometers from Burhanpur is Asirgarh – popularly known as the ‘Key to Deccan’ as the fortress 


overlooks a pass through the Satpuras, which connects the valleys of the Narmada and Tapti rivers, one of the most important routes from northern India to the Deccan.



There is a Masjid and a Shiva temple which are relatively intact and being used for religious purposes.


Just opposite the temple is the point where criminals would be hung, and once dead, thrown over the cliff.
This fort has a long history and as per the local legend Ashwathama (character from Mahabharat) used to come to the temple daily and pray to Lord Shiva!


One can also find a graveyard of the British with some intact tombstones that will give you an idea of the time when the British had occupied this fort.


The presence of a couple of huge natural water tanks must have been a good supply point of water for the residents of the fort even when beseiged.
Burhanpur sure takes you back a long way into history and is the perfect introduction to Madhya Pradesh – the heart of Incredible India! It is well connected by rail, road and air.


Burhanpur is around 200kms south of Indore, 73kms from Bhusawal, 400kms from Nagpur and 500kms from Mumbai. 
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36 comments:

  1. Beautiful place, Deepak! and sorry to say i wasnt even aware of this place!

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  2. this is fascinating, thanx for sharing. didn't know about this place and i m sure there are others like me who aren't aware of this place.

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  3. Thanks for sharing, you are so lucky, you visit many places

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  4. I have been to Burhanpur...the ruins look great in your feature!

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  5. That was beautiful. I so envy you for being there.

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  6. beautiful ruins. simply great.
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  7. You have not written where exactly it is located. I was not aware of Shah Jahan's MP connection at all :) The hammam looks great and so does the garden.

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    1. My apologies Zephyr. Thanks for reminding me. Have made the necessary corrections and incorporated the map and distances.

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  8. Shahi Qila by the river is very picturesque and looks magnificent. And so is the Shahi Hamam. For further reading on Burhanpur: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambhaji

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  9. A beautiful post. It seems the best time to go to Burhanpur will be the Monsoons, am I right ?

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    1. Thank you Purnendu. Yes the monsoons will surely green up the surroundings.

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  10. A month ago I went all around MP but Burhanpur because it is too off the circuit on the borders with Maharashtra. The ruins are interesting.

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  11. Excellent coverage Deepak ji. I have been longing to visit Burhanpur as also Asirgarh for quite some time. Its so close to me (from Bhopal)and yet I could not make it. It happens.

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    1. Thank you Subramaniamji. You must visit Burhanpur. You will enjoy it!

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  12. What a beautiful place!! excellent photographs..thanks for sharing..:-)

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  13. incredible really- so many historic places in our country and many of us are not even aware of them.
    it was like a well conducted tour- the narration was perfect! The painting on the ceiling is so intricate- nicecof you to share the capture!

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  14. This is a sad story; this place really needs to be seen by more people. You've definitely done something about it.:).
    A masjid and temple side by side? Wow!

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    1. Have seen temples and masjids side by side all over MP and people living in total harmony. It is only the self styled 'leaders' who try to play up religious fanaticism.

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  15. Beautiful place and I didn't heard it before....thanks for sharing.

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  16. That is a wonderful travelogue propped up by fitting pictures.I loved the view of the Shahi Quila across the Tapti.

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  17. Great pictures of Burhanpur & Shahi Qila.

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  18. Loved the blog…
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  19. A lovely visual post! Somehow, missed visiting this lovely place:(

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  20. It was this posting by you "magiceye" that inspired me to take a visit to the historic city of BURHANPUR which is having around 52 points to visit. I visited Burhanpur on 13 Feb 2014 (along with my friends) but we could see only 8 spots as we reached there in the late noon. We visited the (1) Jama Masjid, (2)The Shahi Qila (containing (a)The Shahi/Royal Hamam, (b) The Laongi Mosque Minar, (c)The Deewaane Aam, (d)Deewaane Khaas, (e)Soldiers' Barracks, (f)Raj Ghat etc.), (3)Two tombs(a) Adil Shah Farooqi's Maqbera and (b) His brother Nadir Shah Farooqi's Maqbera, (4) Bilqis's Maqbera (5) Shanawaz Khan or Pahelwan Sha's Tomb (6) AAHU KHANA containing (a) Aahu Khana - An 20 acre walled garden where dears were inhibited and called as Baghe Alam Ara or Baghe Zainabad (b) Baradari with 12 doors (c) Mahal-E-Khas with camel-hump like domes and (d) A Hauz or water tank with a platform, which was Mumtaz Mahal's Temporary Abode for 6 months (7) Khuni Bhandara, A sequence of underground wells. (Now renamed as Kundi Bhandara) (8) Dargahe Hakeemi.
    Most of the sites are very well maintained by the archaeological survey of India but the AAHU-KHANA and the two tombs of two brothers: Adil Shah and Nadir Shah are left unattended. The two tombs are made of stones but the roots of peepal trees have grown up on the rounds of these tombs. If not removed early the tombs can succumb to ground. Hence it is a request to the concerned archaeological authorities to save these national heritage buildings from permanent extinction.

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  21. Thanks for sharing Details and images of our city Burhanpur

    I Loved My City Burhanpur

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