Aurangabad and more ....
It took me about five hours by road from Pune to
Aurangabad via Ahmednagar. Reached before lunchtime and after a good lunch (a
veg thali) set off to take a look at the city of Aurangabad. Not a city, I
would say a large town, which is defined by its chowks (crossings) and Darwaze (gates).
My first stop was the Biwi ka Maqbara (the Wife’s Tomb).
This is the mausoleum of Aurangzeb’s wife, Rabia-ul-Durrani and was built by
Aurangzeb’s son, Azam Shah. It has a striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal and
is known as the Taj of Deccan.
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| Entrance to Biwi ka Maqbara |
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| Taj of Deccan |
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The
next stop was the Pan Chakki which is a water mill. Yes, this is a mill that is
driven by water and was used to grind wheat more than 200 years ago. Underneath
the grinder is a fan that rotates by the force of water released into the tank.
An engineering marvel, the water is carried through earthen pipes from the underwater
springs of the nearby hills.
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| The waterfall at Panchakki |
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| The grinding stone |
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| The ancient banyan tree |
The water was forced over a high wall and a waterfall is created that falls into a huge water tank. In one corner lies the panchakki with the hidden fan underneath. The tank is full of fish. I saw the grinder still rotating. Many many years ago, it was used to grind grain to feed the devotees visiting the dargah in the premises. A huge banyan tree, more than 500 years old, stands next to the tank providing shade even today!
Next Stop --- The Caves of Ajanta
1 comment:
Lovely Almost feels like I was there Bibi ka Macbars and Panchakki fascinating
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