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Visit to the damsels of the royal harem

There are rows of clothes left to dry on clotheslines that are tied to the pillars.

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Sultan Ahmad Shah, the ruler who founded Ahmedabad, was a ladies’ man like all contemporary monarchs. But the crypt where the loves of his life — his queens — are buried, welcomes everybody, including encroachers, imbecile graffiti artists, and surreptitious lovers. In other words, modern India, with its slyness, filth, and insensitivity, is eating into sites that I decided to explore for DNA Heritage Audit.

For a person who has lived in Ahmedabad all her life, I have to confess that I never took the trouble of venturing into the ‘real’ Ahmedabad. As a real Amdavadi, I had heard a lot about the famous eateries in Manekchowk. I thought it apt to kick-start my exploration from there.

Manekchowk, as the name suggests, was once very famous for trading in gold and other precious metals. There were shops and stalls selling various kinds of jewellery. But, what caught my attention was the Badshah no Hazira and Rani no Hazira, mausoleum of the emperor and his queen which lay cloistered among a number of shops selling rich fabric and various jewellery items.

Lucky for me, that I had taken a rickshaw to reach the marketplace to get a dekko at these monuments. Though there were a number of signs pointing to the ‘Science City’, the Old City did not have a single board to guide visitors and tourists to the monuments of national importance. Moreover, if you travel on your personal vehicle, beware! You will hardly find any place to park. And even if you do, there are no sureties that the vehicle will be in the same condition as you left it, thanks to the super heavy traffic and the citizens who seem oblivious to the need to preserve their limbs, let alone others.

At the monument, centuries-old and archaic norms still rule: women are forbidden from entering the Badshah no Hazira. So, national heritage or not, female tourists be ready to miss out on the beauty of the Badshah’s mausoleum. So what if the Badshah refused me an audience. I decided to pay my respects to the damsels of the royal harem and headed towards Rani no Hazira. The sombre beauty of the structure shall depress you, not because the mausoleum evokes poignant sentiments, but because its timeless grandeur is besmirched by contemporary filth.

As I climbed the steps of the Hazira, I could see rows of clothes left to dry on clothesline that were tied to the centuries old pillars of the structures. The resting place of the royal ladies is home to atleast a dozen families now.

An aged caretaker eager to divulge the story of the Hazira greeted me at the entry. (Although very little of what he said sounded like facts) For instance, according to the caretaker, who called himself Huzro, the Hazira was constructed by magicians who used their magical powers to move the heavy stones and erect the beautiful structure. Which leaves me to wonder as to why the magicians didn’t cast a spell on the structure to keep it safe from vandals of the future centuries?

The eager caretaker also told me that even as we spoke, the beautiful royal ladies of the past were present in the Hazira in spirit, listening to every word we spoke. Spooky! It took all my courage to tamp down the urge to bolt and venture near the tombs to look at them closely.

The cenotaphs lie in the open air, allegedly in conformity with the wishes of Ahmad Shahi queens. The enclosure stands high above the surrounding streets and the galleries are screened by beautifully wrought stone jalis. The tombs are exquisitely carved, and covered, by brilliantly coloured pieces of brocade for which the city was once famous and which lent it much of its prosperity. On top of the graves are scattered fresh flowers, renewed daily.

There are elaborate carvings and inlay work of mother of pearl and metal on the graves. All the precious stones and pearls have been plundered by foreign invaders. The structure in compliance to all the other structures of that era has wonderful architecture. But the lack of proper care is evident. There are no special amenities for the tourists who come here, like water or lavatories. So if you are planning to make a trip to the the Rani’s Hazira, you better carry a water bottle of your own. And please don’t litter. Instead try and gift them a dustbin and make it a huge one.

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