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    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

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      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

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      Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

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      Brief history of Delhi’s Bagh-e-Bedil — and a Beloved Poet

      [Book excerpt] Abdul Qadir Bedil was considered a Sufi saint by many.

      inBook and Publication
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      Harkî raft az dîdah dâghe bar dîl-e mâ tâzah kard dar zamîn-e narm naqsh pâ nomâyân meshawad

      The one who is out of my sight, left a wound in my heart

      The soft earth reflects the footprints

      — Mirza Bedil

      The great Persian poet Abdul Qadir Bedil was born in India in 1644 AD during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, and died in 1720 AD when the Mughal empire was faltering under Emperor Mohammad Shah. Popularly known as Bedil Dehlvi, he was a highly respected poet. He was born to an Uzbeki family from Turkestan that moved to India in the early seventeenth century.

      Daryâ nakashî, agar nahangî nakunî bar kooh natâzî, ar palangî nakunî

      yak jur’a-e tust, qulzam-e kown wa makân ai hawsêla-e khîyâl tangî nakunî

      You cannot sip the ocean, if you cannot be like a whale

      You cannot gallop up the mountain, if you cannot be like a tiger the world’s ocean becomes one gulp for you

      O the patience of imagination, if you do not lose capacity

      Mughal empire was faltering under Emperor Mohammad Shah. He was born to an Uzbeki family from Turkestan that moved to India in the early seventeenth century.

      He was considered a Sufi saint by many, since he believed the world was in eternal, constant motion. His tomb or mazaar is near Pragati Maidan, well-kept and known as Bagh-e-Bedil.

      rana-d_060618112213.jpg
      Bagh-e-Bedil… Photo: Rana Safvi
      rana_060718041231.jpg
      The tomb near Pragati Maidan. PC: Rana Safvi
      rana-r_060718041252.jpg
      In 2015, PM Modi’s gift for President of Tajikistan was a miniature of Poet Bedil’s tomb at Bagh-e-Bedil. PC: Rana Safvi

      Nayab Muttawalli, whose family has been the caretaker of the place for at least 600 years, told me about the story of the controversy around the name of the place. He says this building was built eighty years ago by a Nizam of Hyderabad, and spruced up in 2006 for the visit of Emomali Rahmanov, the then-president of Tajikistan.

      The original tomb is said to have been near a haveli by the river Yamuna, but his body was taken back to Kabul.

      Dr Abdul Ghani corroborates this in the bookLife and Works of Abdul Qadir Bedil, which draws its history from an admirer of Bedil from his times, a man called Bindaban Das “Khushgo”. He writes:

      “[Bedil] was down with typhoid fever towards the end of Muharram 1133 AH (Nov 1720). After four or five days the fever disappeared, and, thinking that he had recovered, Bedil took a bath on the 2nd of Safar 1133 AH (December 3, 1720). On Wednesday the 3rd of Safar there was a relapse of fever, which remained for the whole of the night. Nawab Ghairat Khan Bahadur … was with him for the whole of the night. Sometimes Bedil swooned, and then came to himself. When he regained senses, he would burst into laughter involuntarily. The hopes of recovery waned at last, and at dawn the condition changed horribly. It was Thursday, 4th Safar 1133 AH (December 5, 1720) when six gharis had passed after sunrise, the Bedil’s soul winged its way to Heaven. His sacred remains were buried in the courtyard of his house, on the bank of the river Jamna, at the place specified by himself.”

      690-ss_060618112832.jpg
      The Forgotten Cities of Delhi; Rana Safvi; HarperCollins India

      Khushgo is said to have written the chronogram for the tomb:

      Alas! Bedil concealed his face from this world! That pure jewel sleeps under the earth

      When Khushgo asked his intellect for the chronogram

      It said ‘Mirza Bedil departed from this world

      I have no idea where this tombstone is.

      (Excerpted with permission from HarperCollins India.)

      Published on DailyO.in

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      Rana Safvi

      Come, explore and fall in love the Beauties of Delhi (Dilli ki Ranaiya’n) and the World with me, Rana Safvi

      I have a masters in medieval history from the prestigious Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of History, AMU. A firm believer in our Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb, I am passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge and these days I am doing it via the social media platform.

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      © 2018 Rana Safvi - A blog Exploring Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of India, website handcrafted by Abu Sufiyan.