Bidar

Karnataka > Bidar

Guru Nank Jhira in Bidar

Bidar, the District headquarters, described as Viduranagara, a place of Mahabharatha times, is 740 kms. to the north of Bangalore. It is a cool place, being at an altitude of 664 metres. The Bahmanshahi rulers made it their capital, in c, 1426 and fortified it. It is still intact. Inside it are the Solha Kamb mosque (1423) and palaces like Takht Mahal, Chini Mahal and Rangeen Mahal; some of them are highly decorated with mosaic and wood work etc. The fort has magnificent doorways and massive bastions. Gawan's Madrasa in the town is a gorgeous imposing building of Indo-Saracenic style. After the decline of Bahamanis, the Barid-Shahis ruled over Bidar and it was taken over by the Bijapur rulers in 1619. Later it fell to Aurangzeb, and finally it came under the Nizam. Jharani Narasimha temple here is quite famous. Ashtur near Bidar has tombs of Bahmani Sultans which are tall structures, and one of them has paintings. The Gurudwara at Bidar is built at Nanak Zhira, which is described as a fountain created by Guru Nanak during his visit.

History of Bidar

In ancient time, Bidar formed an important part of the kingdom of Vidharba, referred to in the Mahabharata. It became the part of the Chalukyan Empire in the 10th century. The capital city of the Chalukyan rulers is located at Kalyani, which is 57 km from here. Bidar witnessed many upheavals during the early medieval period. It was taken over by the Yadavas of Devangiri and later by the Kakatiyas of Warangal in the 14th century. It then became a part of the Bahamani kingdom in the 14th century. The disintegration of the Bahamani kingdom into five small states led to the rise of the town and the Sultanate of Bidar. Sultan Ahmad Wali I shifted his capital from present-day Gulbarg to Bidar and built a fort here in 1429. The Bahamani rulers ruled here until 1487. The chequered history of Bidar did not stop here. The Barid Shahi dynasty took over Bidar, which was in turn taken over by the Adil Shahi rulers of Bijapur. It was annexed and incorporated into the Mughal Empire by Aurangzeb in 1656 while on his way to conquer the southern parts of India. The Nizam rulers of Hyderabad took over Bidar in the early part of the 18th century. After India gained independence in 1947, the rule of the Nizam was abolished and Bidar became the part of the Indian state of Karnataka.

How to Reach to Bidar

Air : Rajiv Gandhi International Terminal, Shamshabad, Hyderabad is Just 150 Kms away from Bidar District Head Quarters. Its just 3 hours drive from the airport to Bidar on NH9 till Zaheerabad and a diversion of 30 KMs after Zaheerabad.

Rail : Rail facility is available from Bangalore and Hyderbad. Bangalore - Nanded Link Express Via Bidar, Departure from Bangalore at 9.50 PM. Secundrabad - Manmad Express from Hyderbad Departure at 6 PM from Secundrabad Station, Hyderbad. Hyderbad - Aurangabad Express from Kachiguda weekly thrice. One can also take Udyan express or KK Express from Bangalore reach Gulbarga and take a bus from there, its 105 KMS from Gulbarga.

Road : From Bangalore many Govt Luxury Buses of KSRTC ply daily via Hyderbad, Its 16 hours journey from Bangalore via Hyderabad on NH 7 and NH 9. From Bangalore Via Gulbarga and Bellary its 20 hours journey. From Hyderbad Imaliban bus stand for every 15 minutes a Bus to Bidar is available from Plat form No 36.

Wild Life in Bidar

There is not much diversity in the wildlife found in the division. There are no wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the division. The forests do not sustain varieties of animal. However leopards may be seen occasionally far from human habitations. Wolves, spotted deer, wild boar, hares, wild cats and jackals are also seen.

Wild life in the district consists of Black bucks, Spotted Deer, Porcupines, Foxes, Jackals,Wild boars, Langursetc. In addition varied bird life like Peacocks & Partridgesetc also exists.

The existing natural water holes have to be developed by desilting. Herds of spotted deer and peafowl are found in Kamathana, Chitta, Shahapur and Godepalli forest areas. Poaching of deer in these areas is common. Hence, protection should be given to these animals. Salt licks should be provided in the above areas to increase their population. Wild boars and porcupines area also found in the above areas. Creation of wild life sanctuary may be contemplated in future when the number of wildlife increases. Some of the bigger sized trees act as a roosting place for peacocks, which is the national bird of India. Such trees should be protected. The following forests support considerable wildlife:

1. Narayanapur reserved forest in Basavakalyan range.
2. Dubalgundi and Benchincholi forest blocks in Humanabad range.
3. Kosam,Khanapur and Dhanura forests in Bhalki range.

ECO-Tourism in Bidar

A new initiative in eco-tourism has been taken in the division in the form of establishing Shahpur Prakruti Vihar. This is about 6 kms from the city & is a part of the Shahpur Reserved Forest. About 150 ha area has been enclosed. It has a Forest Information Centre, Ritucharya- the tourist huts, Dev-Dev Vana, Tathagat the Forest rest House & watch Tower etc. In the Dev-Dev vana a number of sacred grooves have been created with a number of fountains & landscaping. In Ritucharya tourist huts have been made using the locally available materials. It has got a very rural environment. In the Information Centre information about forests is displayed by way of Paintings, Charts, Photographs & posters etc.

It is heartening to see that the forest where hardly anybody went is today echoing with the sounds of the visitors - most of them being the students of schools who throng to the Vihar for picnicking. Daily hundreds of visitors visit the Vihar.