By Anees Maniyar
From, the sky-kissing palaces in the city, to the dust-biting burials in the graveyard, there is something in common; that’s brevity. The spacious chambers, the courtyards, the pavilions, gardens, and everything that once added stars to the beauty of the palaces is now in ruins. Their patrons have shifted themselves permanently to the graveyards to become one with the earth. Their relentless pursuit of worldly pleasures yielded them nothing but a fistful of dust for their mouths.
Wandering aimlessly inside the graveyard of Shahnur town, of Haveri District, I threw glances at various burials. At one of the corners, there were a few graves with monolithic sarcophaguses, with intricate floral patterns and calligraphy etched on them. Their presence in the graveyard was unobtrusive, suffused with weed and vines. When enquired, they belonged to the Nawabs of Shahnur. To the other side there were graves built with stones, crumbling to the ground, as though the time has wreaked havoc on them. Those were the graves of their kith and kin. The graveyard is also replete with countless burials of town dwellers, of recent times. There is a single cubicle, four-walled structure, with a large dome and minarets. That was a tomb of wife of one of the Nawabs, who belonged to the lineage of Prophet (PBUH).
Those who would strut about with arrogance are no more, and their descendants are hard to locate; like the beetles on a tree, that run away in all directions, when it is shaken. The time has also played a cruel game, as there are no chronicles to portray their life and time of the past. Only the legends make rounds inside the city, glorifying few of them as equal to saints and others are portrayed in lowlight.
I cringe, and often falter as I walk through those ruins. Their whines and whimpers are unbearable to my heart. Everyone thinks they are soulless; stone, mud and water; however, like everything else in the universe, they have life, embedded in their each element. They want them to be buried next to their masters, rather live a burdensome life. The pitiful wails, however, fall on deaf ears. I become their sole companion in grief, as we both believe we have so much in common to share with.
Beautifully written article! Beautiful perspective.. That fact about Nawab’s wife belonging to a lineage from Prophet (pbuh) was surprising.. Somehow i wish these Nawab had invested in education and empowerment of people around them.. So much wealth and resources down the drain and the reality is clear in Sachar report.
Nawabs of Savanur are also famous for giving modern touch to this town and for their citizens. They started started Urdu and Kannada medium schools and colleges which now have been turned as Government institutions after independence, however the name of the patron the last Nawab Maj. Abdul Majid Khan Bahadur II still remains close to the hearts of the locals. He is the one who funded the education of so many people out of which one name stands tall, the renowned Laureate Dr. V.K. Gokak the Jnanapitha awardee the proud son of Karnataka.
One more very special thing which is being stressed by the present Governments is sanitation the Swatch Bharat Abhiyan… The then Nawabs of Savanur promoted this concept upon their subjects during their governance and had made it compulsory for every house hold to construct the latrines in their premises and ensured that no lady should go out to the fields for defecation as step towards welfare of women.
As elaborated by the writer the glory of past is in dim light in the current times, however it was a thing of glory for them at their times…