beyond the boundaries of life and death

in this extreme unpredictability of life, seldom we realize that the most predictable aspect of life is death... and most of us tend to make preparations for all small and big events of our lives, barring death, .... but not the Qutub Shahi rulers of Hyderabad!

....an evening walk around the royal graveyard would justify my statement...the Qutub Shahi tombs... Built by the emperors of the Qutub Shahi dynasty, the graveyard primarily consist of mosques and tombs built on the graves of the kings, queens, their close relations and descendants.......most of the kings constructed their own tombs amd mosques during thier lifetime, hence preparing for his life post death....there are a total of 16 tombs, of them 7 big ones belonging to the kings, and the rest belonged to their successors...a big well supplied water to bathe the corpses before the burial ceremony.... the bodies were then shifted to a mosque, where the last 'Kalma' was read as a ritual, the king was thereafter moved to his tomb for the final burial....post burial, the mosque and the tomb was sealed, and access was restricted except for the family members ....most of the tombs seem similar ...but an eye for detail would reveal the minute engravings that distinguishes and separates a tomb from another... a half constructed tomb would inevitably catch the visitors eye...the tomb designated to one of the last rulers could not be completed due to intervention and interruption posed by the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb during his conquering spree...i remember seeing tombs of Kuli Qutub Shah (1, 2 ...and lost the count), Hayat Bakshi Begum, the royal doctor, mnister, and the 2 Hindu sisters, Taramati and Premamati...in terms of the charm the place exuded, i fantacized it as the Indian counterpart of the great pyramids of Egypt...

as always, sharing the album here

Never seen a graveyard so beautiful and romantic...
...as i strolled down the majestic tombs, a song by Tagore oozed from my heart and flooded my mind..."jibono moroner shimana chharaye...bondhu je aamar royechho daraye..."
(Bengali to English translation for my handful readers:
Beyond the boundaries of life and death...
you, my friend, you are waiting for me...
in the sacred sky of my heart.....
your seat is encapsulated with light.....
dont know, in what deep faith and unknown hope and happiness...
i seek you with open arms...beyond the boundaries of life and death)