THE ARCOT NAWABS TRAIL AT TRIPLICANE – A HERITAGE WALK WITH KOMBAI ANWAR – PART – IV ( AMIR MAHAL )

…a continuation post to The Arcot Nawabs Trail at Triplicane - A Heritage walk with Kombai S Anwar - PART -III ( WALLAJAH BIG MOSQUE )

21^th August 2017.

Finally reached our last stop of our Heritage walk at Amir Mahal on Bharathi Salai, Royapetah. After the death of the last Nawab in 1855, the Khalas Mahal was heavily in debts. The British took over the Palace and Nawab’s successors moved to Shaadi Mahal. After British recognized,  the Prince of Arcot and moved to this Amir Mahal. The Mahal is like a mansion, has about 300 and odd rooms. The present prince of Arcot Mohummad Abdul Ali with his  three brothers still lives in Amir Mahal. The present Prince of Arcot enjoys the privileges as a rank of state Cabinet Minister by the Govt of India. 

The Amir Mahal is about 300 meters off main road with an entrance arch. Cannons are lined up on the right side of the Amir Mahal portico. We are allowed to visit the ground floor lounge, First floor Durbar Hall and Dining hall.  The Amir Mahal, display contains the Photos of Nawabs taken with important personalities, paintings of former Nawabs, who holds power, arts, rifles  and palanquin ( at the ground Floor lounge ) etc. The durbar hall is  beautifully decorated and the walls are adorned with paintings of former Nawabs.

We were also allowed take photographs and Mr Kombai S Anvar asked us not to post in any media. After thanking the staffs, wounded our "The Arcot Nawabs Trail at Triplicane" heritage walk. After the Heritage walk we landed at Rathna café for our break fast. Disbursed after thanking Kombai S Anvar for the excellent Heritage walk and said good bye to all participants, hoping to meet in the next opportunity.

LOCATION:CLICK HERE 

Canons on the left  

End of The Arcot Nawabs Trail at Triplicane.    

THE ARCOT NAWABS TRAIL AT TRIPLICANE – A HERITAGE WALK WITH KOMBAI S ANWAR – PART – III ( WALLAJAH BIG MOSQUE )

… A Continuation post to The Arcot Nawabs Trail at Triplicane – a Heritage walk with Kombai S Anwar – Part- II ( Azeempet ) 

21^st August 2017.

After AZEEMPET, we headed towards the Wallajah Big Mosque. During our earlier visit to this Wallajah Big Mosque Wallajah Big Mosque, we are  not allowed in side the prayer hall, instead a person took us around the  mosque. But this walk along with Mr Anwar we were given a warm welcome and the ladies are also allowed inside the prayer hall. After washing our feet entered in to the mosque.

The complex consists a Mosque and a Dargah with a  big open space in front. The mosque is with two minarets,  was built  during 18^th century by Mohammad Ali Khan Wallajah with stone including ceiling. The minarets are built with stucco. It was told that the minaret stupi or kalasams are made of Gold.

  

Wallajah followed the secularism during his rule.  The niche of the centre of the mosque mihrab is inscribed with a  chronogram   (  “Chronogram” meant “time writing”. For example, the word ‘scatterer’ is year 1492 the year in which Jews were expelled from Spain. Rajah Makhan’s Chronogram, ‘Dhikrullahi Akbar’ (Remembrance of God is great) gives us the year of construction as 1209 Hijri which translates to 1794 CE. Taken from Mr Venkararangan's post.  Thanks for the information sir).  This contains the numerical value  assigned to each letter in the text when added gives the year of the event. This verse was selected after a competition and composed by a Hindu Rajah Makhan Lal Hirat. It was told that Sindhi community is allowed to  serve “nonbu kanchi” during Ramzan fasting period  at the mosque. Wallajah also donated to Hindu and Christian temples. Mr Anwar pointed out that the Kapaleeswarar temple Tank / pond was gifted by Wallajah. 
LOCATION: CLICK HERE

On the right is the Dargah of Bahrul Uloom  a great scholar. Wallajah invited him to teach in his madrasa which is adjacent to the mosque. When he arrived to Madras, Wallajah personally carried the palanquin which carried Bahrul Uloom in to the Mosque. Many Wallajah family members are laid to rest in this Dargah.

On the left side of the open ground there is white building, which was the “Ottoman Empire’s Consulate". As a consul of Turkey Mohamed Badsha Sahib started a business on Triplicane High road in 1812AD. When he was on tour in west Asia during 1866AD, his family sent money   for the Hamede-Hadjaz Railway Project which connects Holy cities of Arabia with Turkey. This Railway line was featured in the film “ Lawrence of Arabia”. 

When we finished our visit of  Wallajah Big mosque, it was around 08.30 hours, so we rushed to Amir Mahal, since as per the schedule we are supposed to be there by 08.00 hrs.  On the way  we peeped in to a mid 18^th century “Majid Anvari” mosque with plain prayer hall & courtyard and an another Mosque of the same period which has a central dome structure adjacent to the previous one.

Majid Anvari

Majid Anvari ( A mosque with dome is another one )

On the way to Amir Mahal, passed through “Khana Bagh Street”. ( Khana in hindi  – song  ). Mr Anvar told that this street was busy with musicians and dancers during Nawabs period. The Hindustani music also flourished  in Triplicane area.

 ….. to be Continued The Arcot Nawabs Trail at Triplicane – A Heritage walk with Kombai Anwar – Part IV ( Amir Mahal )

THE ARCOT NAWABS TRAIL AT TRIPLICANE – A HERITAGE WALK WITH KOMBAI ANWAR – PART - II

…a continuation post to The Arcot Nawabs trails at Triplicane. A Heritage walk with Kombai S Anwar - Part - I.

21^st August 2017.

After Khalas Mahal visit, we walked towards the  Wallajah Road entrance ( Patabhiram Gate ) of M.A.Chidambaram  Stadium. This stadium  was part of the Nawabs Palace once. The gardens residential Quarters for the servants, Horse stable etc was once in this complex. The remains of this is the arch  Gate pillars with terracotta reliefs on the three sides. The reliefs contains the floral arrangement.

Our next stop was at another arch way gate Pillar further towards Triplicane High Road. Mr Anwar told that the Nawab’s Palace had tipple arch gate ways and this was one of them. The pillar also has the terracotta reliefs of Hindu god Vishnu’s incarnations. Hope the freedom was given to the contractors to choose their own design and materials for construction

On the opposite side of the road there is a white building  called Guest House. It was told that during British  period this building served as a residential quarters for the British soldiers.

Further down the arch Gates we stopped on  Triplicane high Road, junction from where Mr Anvar pointed out a red building which was once a kitchen cum dining for vegetarian food prepared by Bhramins, called Lunkar Khana. Now the Triplicane Police station is functioning in this building.

Little further on the Triplicane High Road, stopped opposite to an arch on a lane called Appavu Gramani Street squeezed between residential complexes. The name “AZEEMPET” is written on the arch painted with light bluish green. Mr Anwar told that the arch has an interesting story.  

The arch was once the entrance of the palace of Sultanuniss Begum,  sister of the Nawabs Dynasty’s third ruler Umdat-ul-Umra. It was told that she holds the power behind the throne during late 1790s. Both brother and sister wants their sons to succeed to become Nawab of Arcot. Sultanuniss Begum’s dream of her son succeeding was not fulfilled. So she didn’t allowed his brother’s body after his death to cross the arch. The body was kept overnight on the street and the wall was broken to take out the body next day morning.

On the opposite side of Azeempet Arch, Mr Anvar  pointed out a building called Mohammadian Public library, started during 1918. Still the 167 years old Library is functioning on the first floor. Some of the books were donated by the then Governor of Bengal and Egypt.

…. To be Continued Wallajah Big Mosque.   

THE ARCOT NAWABS TRAIL AT TRIPLICANE – A HERITAGE WALK WITH KOMBAI ANWAR – PART –I.

21^th August 2017.

This scheduled walk of “The Arcot Nawabs Trail at Triplicane” kick started on 20^th Aug 2017,  after a delay of 20 minutes around 06.20 hrs,  from Madras University entrance on Walajah Road. This walk is a part of Madras day celebrations. Registered for this walk well in advance. Since all the gates except one,  of PWD offices are closed,  reached back side of the Khalsa mahal through small passage. Mr Anwar gifted us a small bottle of “ather”,  a perfume extracted from the natural flowers, which normally used by the Muslims before going to the Mosque and functions. The he started explaining the details of the Kalsa Mahal and Humayun  Mahal. The story of the Nawab’s Chepauk Palace goes like this…  

The Carnatic usually refers to South India, once the power center of various dynasties like Mughals, Marathas, British, French and also The Nawabs of Arcot. This dynasty of Arcot was controlled between Mughals and Marathas during 17^th century. Till date the present Prince, Nawab Mohammad Abdul Ali holds the seat of power as Arcot and Madras, presently called Chennai as their Home.

At the end of 17^th Century, while Marathas are trying to establish their base in South, Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor  wants to overtake Marathas. So he sent Zulfikar Khan, who could not do  anything for about 6 years.  Seeing this the local chieftain Yechamma Nayak had written a  letter to Aurangzeb saying that   Zulfikar Khan is fooling the Emperor and if he is given power, he would defeat Marathas within a weeks time. But the letter some how landed on the hands of Zulfikar Khan. So he called Yechamma Nayak cunningly for a meeting, without revealing, how he got the letter written to the Emperor  and killed him. After Marathas were defeated Zulfikar Khan was recalled to Delhi and also Zulfikar Khan was asked to make Yechamma Nayak's son to the throne. ( This shows that Aurangzeb  knew the feud between Zulfikar Khan & Yechamma Nayak ). Saadatullah Khan or Mohammad Saiyid,  the successor of Zulfikar Khan has become the Nawab of Arcot. 

While the Arcot Nawabs grew, the British East India company also established their strong hold from Fort St. George. The friendship between Nawabs and British also grew slowly. The British supplied liquor and expensive gifts to the Nawab Daud Khan Panni, who was a drunkard. He has the funny character of giving villages in the drunken state and ask British to return back during normal.

Zulfikar Khan’s successor Saadatullah Khan or Mohammad Saiyid wants to suppress the business of British by establishing a Port at Mylapore, but landed at Kovalam. He invited Armenians and Belgium East India Company  for the trading to get more revenue. The Robert Clive and Dupleix  clashed in the wars of carnatic, British won the war and Mohammad Ali Wallajah  came to the Power of Arcot. When Wallajah wants to move to Madras, where there are no friends, asked British to build  his Palace in side the St.George Fort which was turned down. ( There is an another version that the Governor himself asked Wallajah to built a Palace within the fort, which was denied ). A new Palace was built at Chepauk on the banks of River Cooum. The Palace’s north boundary the present Madras University has become the bathing ghat for the Wallajah.

The present Chepauk Palace consists of two blocks namely Khalas Mahal, which was built in mid 1760's  with minaret entrances on west and south and Humayun Mahal with a single story. It was believed that the Khalas Mahal was designed by Paul Benfield.  In the mean time the Khalas Mahal was taken over by the British  for the debt of Wallajah. Robert Chisholm  made alteration in both blocks and converted in to offices for the Revenue board of Governor Lord Napier. The original single story Humayun mahal was added with madras terrace first  floor. Both blocks are inter connected with a 75 feet tall domed and minaret square tower called Records tower in 1870AD, by Robert Chisholm.

Since we are not allowed to enter the Khalas mahal under renovation  and all the gates are closed, we returned back on the same way and headed towards Wallajah Big Mosque. 

LOCATION: CLICK HERE

Khalas Mahal an old Photo – Courtesy : The Hindu & Mr Muhiah  

….. to be continued The Arcot Nawabs Trail at Triplicane – A Heritage walk with Kombai Anwar – Part -II