The early next morning, we set off for the GOL Gumbaz the monument synonymous with Bijapur. Our guide for the day (a special friend of my sister-in-law) recommended that the early morning was the best time to see the monument.

The monument looked large as it emerged through the early morning mist, its huge dome becoming smaller and smaller as we approached it. When we finally reached the end of the pathway, the minarets and the dome had vanished!

This is the first secret of the Gol Gumbaz : it is not a single building as it appears from afar, but a series of three structures perfectly aligned to create the illusion of a single structure!

The mausoleum was built by Mohammed Adil Shah, the 7th Sultan of Bijapur. The first structure is the Nagara Khana, where the king used to visit to oversee the construction of the tomb. Today, this building houses the Archaeological Museum. Apart from the many artefacts and sculptures that come from the area, one can see the special porcelain plate that changed colour if the food placed on it was poisoned. This was the Sultan’s way of ensuring that the food he was going to eat was safe to consume.

The gateway to the mausoleum consists of a long structure with the central archway perfectly aligned with the succeeding ones to create an illusion of one archway becoming bigger till you come into the precincts of the mausoleum.

To the right of the mausoleum is the mosque.

One of the building’s chief features is the whispering gallery near the dome, where a whisper can be heard at the opposite end with ease. A sound as soft as the ticking of a clock, a rustle of paper too can be heard at the other end.

Constructed from black basalt, the stones are interlocked, and the structure is kept cool with 3-inch-thick gratings that draw in cool air. In the four corners are octagonal minarets accessed by a narrow staircase leading to the dome at the top.

The dome is a total wonder. It is held aloft by eight intersecting arches and is the single largest free-standing dome in India, and the second largest in the world. Its span is only surpassed by the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Below the dome lie the graves of Mohammed Adil Shah and his family. But unlike the other tombs, the mistress of Mohammed Adil Shah gets pride of place and rests to his right, unlike his queen.

This is the second secret of the Gol Gumbaz : The grave to the right of the Sultan does not belong to his chief wife but to his favourite mistress Rambhavati.

Legend has it that the Sultan wanted to test his wives’ love and asked each of them to jump off the balcony to prove it. Each one of them refused save Rambhavati, his mistress that he had abducted from Sri Lanka. But Rambahavati was smart and said she would do so on condition that the Sultan present her with a special 40-foot-long piece of cloth. This she draped around her so when she jumped, it acted like a parachute and she landed safely!

The steps to the gallery are steep and the stairwell is narrow. Since the steps aren’t even, I only climbed up to the first floor and came down. But the rest of the gang enjoyed the view from the top and thoroughly appreciated the song that our guide whispered from the far end.

I only wish I had visited this architectural marvel a few decades earlier. I would have then been able to climb to the top with ease.

Look out for the next post when I share my experience of the cave temples of Badami.

Ciao,