Hidden Secrets of Bibi ka Maqbara-Gorgeous Beauty of the Maqbara
The
aspect of the beauty of this lovely shrine of love and sorrow is difficult to
express in words or pictures. If someone makes an effort to pen its praise, the
attempt is likely to be repetitive in nature, as adjectives and epithets,
similes and metaphors would be well exhausted in its delineation. It is not very
easy to present the visage of this paradise as it actually is, in size, setting
and finish, truly a genre of fine and rare workmanship.
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| View of Dome of Maqbara from the Cupola of the Minaret |
The
beauty of Bibi-ka-Maqbara has been narrated in the writings of a number of
travellers though it wasn’t given its deserved entitlements compared to the
Taj Mahal of Agra. Travellers and critics like Hamilton, Seely, Tavernier,
Thevenot and artists like captain Grindly have recorded their fleeting impressions
in their travelogues.
There
is no doubt that the Taj Mahal is one of the wonders of the world as expressed
by Berniero Lord Roberts who expresses the magnificent beauty of the Taj and
insists that the admirer “Go to India” to see it. Lord Curzon[1]
who was deeply impressed by the magnificent beauty of the Taj called it the world’s
most divine building creation.
For
Mrs Sylvia, it is lovely beyond description.[2]The
Taj is said to have been the supreme monument of the development of Mughal art.
It is the perfect symbol of architecture with perfectly composed elements
combined in a perfectly artistic design.[3]
The length and breadth of the four minarets raised at the four corners are in
perfect proportion, in relation to the main building of the Taj.[4]
Any
attempt to enlarge or reduce the dimensions of the main building in relation
to the size of minarets will result in the loss of the grace and grandiose
of the mausoleum.[5]A
number of writers and travellers, who happened to visit the Taj at first and
later on visited Maqbara, we're unable to do justice while describing the
Maqbara of Dilras Bano Begum.
However, Hamilton[6],
Ghulam Ahmed, R. Nath and editors of the Aurangabad District Gazetteers have
done justice while describing the Bibi-ka-Maqbara.
The Maqbara lost its beauty due to the mosque built on the platform
by H.H. Nizam Sikandar Jah
As
a matter of fact, the biased and prejudiced hearts of the writers mentioned
earlier could not make note of the supreme beauty and feminine characteristics
of the Maqbara of Rabiya Daurani.
The
beauty of the Maqbara lies in its innovation and combination of forms, one part
harmoniously set with the other in the total formation of the Maqbara, which is
so ethereal that it appears to be the form of a fantasy, a mirage, an illusion
and its beholders are filled with awe due to the height of its greatness and
its aesthetic appearance. It will not be an exaggeration to state that it is a
supreme monument of the development of Mughal art at its highest peak.
The
fusion of the minarets, with their artistic shape and size, with the main
building of the Bibi-ka-Maqbara, is a fine similitude to feminine beauty. The
main building of the Taj Mahal looks like a beautiful robust woman and on the
other hand, the Maqbara delivers an impression of a beautiful slender lady.
Dr Shaikh
Ramzan
[1] David Caroll, “The Taj Mahal” (New
York, Newsweek, 1972), p. 134
[2] Sylvia Crowe, “The Gardens of
Mughal India”, Delhi, Vikas Pub., H. Pvt. Ltd. 1993 P.167
[3] Nath, op. cit., p.159
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Hamilton, op. cit., p. 145, Ghulam
Ahmed Ex-Subedar Aurangabad, p.222 Nath, op. cit. p. 159
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