In Hindu temples and a surfeit of stories, gods and images. Here in Bijapur – Islamic architecture, the Agra of the South as some call it. The buildings impress with their overall concept and moods. The Golgumbaz has one of the largest free-standing domes in general and the Ibrahim Rauza is a beautifully designed mosque and a mausoleum . And while at Hindu sites there is just one temple next to the other, it seems that there are as many mausoleums as mosques in Bijapur which already gives a clear indication of the different burial rituals.
It seems to me – at least from the outside – that religions can not be more different. And although religious clashes in India regularly keep the world in suspense, I see far above all, that both religions live side by side very much alive.
Overall, I believe that Bijapur gave me a first impression of the north. It’s kind of the end of the south. This is also the conclusion of a french couple, with whom I had dinner in the absolutely uncozy hotel restaurant one evening. The landscape is flat, the air suddenly very dry. On the road, all point to me, look at me angrily, follow me or bump into me. I neither speak Hindi nor the local language Kannada which is not appreciated.
Bijapur is also the city where I finally realize that it’s important to me, to have a pleasant place to sit (best outside). My hotel does have a garden, which opens only at 7:00 in the evening, and the hotel staff wants to prevent me almost physically going there. It is in fact a “Beer Garden”, where men sit. And so I make use of the large gardens that surround the main attractions, for extended periods, reading and journal writing.
After three days I leave Bijapur for the south . A more extended trip to the North (Rajasthan) is then scheduled for January. I’m now very curious about the contrast.
