'Bhagmati: Why Hyderabad's Lost Queen is the Soul of the City' book review: Tale of an unsung Queen
Most of us still have questions about the way history was taught in school: ruler, kingdom, war and the duration of his reign, over and over. Though Bhagmati by Moupia Basu is a well-researched book offering a view of the kingdom from the gaze of writers, poets, travellers and courtiers, it still retains certain elements of how history has been narrowed down to the story of a king’s rule. The topic of the book is enviable: a history of how Hyderabad came to be. And as such, it is celebrated and falls back on a plethora of texts in Urdu and otherwise to provide a holistic view of the creation of a city.
There were two main contenders in the Deccan: Vijayanagara Empire and the Bahmanis. Both were on their wane and from the rubble of the Bahmanis, five new dynasties grew, which included the Qutb Shahis of Golconda. The Kakatiyas of Warangal are said to have fortified the mud and brick remains of a local chieftain’s fortifications.
When the Kakatiya rule ended, that fort came into the hands of the Bahmani king, Muhammad Shah III Lashkari. In 1501, the first Qutb Shahi Sultan Quli was appointed as the governor of Telangana. It was in the year 1518 that Sultan Quli renamed the area around the fort Mahmodnagar and began modifying it. But it was completed only sixty-two years later, by Ibrahim Qutb Shah. His addition of lime and stone to the reconstruction work made it stand the test of time as the Golconda Fort.
The fame of Golconda grew until it was the land of fables, with streets paved with rubies and pearls. Its diamonds were famed the world over. And in stature, the kings grew more powerful than their neighbours. There even was a Golconda school of poetry; early poems in Dakhni and Urdu found patronage here. The fort at Golconda and the buildings around it made Golconda a place to visit.
In 1592, 12 years after the death of the king, Quli Qutb Shah created a new well-planned city and originally named it Muhammadpuram. The name still exists in the locality today. Later, he built an annexure called Ibrahimpuram, but it encountered water scarcity. So, he began seeking an alternate site and went across the river Musi. There was already a road running towards Masulipatnam, which helped in connectivity. His Prime Minister, Mir Momin, enthusiastically began executing the king’s vision.
The jewel on the crown of the new city would undoubtedly be the Charminar. It was intended as a gateway, a madarsa to teach children Persian and Arabic, and housed a mosque on its second floor. There are patterns of flowers and leaves on the walls. The building is replete with Shia iconography, including dragons. On the ground floor of the building there is a fountain meant for wazu, but it may have been used as a water source too, in memory of Imam Hussain.
However, not enough justice has been done to the lady in the title, Bhagmati. There are valid references to the city of Bhagnagar. However, even the author constantly errs on the side of caution; that may have been a myth. It goes that when he was fourteen years old, Muhammad Quli came across and fell in love with a dancing girl.
The king was not too perturbed by it but when on a rainy night with the river in spate, the prince ventured to the other side, and the king decided to build a bridge, Purana Pul. When he ascended the throne, he took Bhagmati as his wife and built the city of Bhagnagar for her. However, Mir Momin has erased all traces of her from history.
She exists neither in text, coins, legends nor monuments. Apart from oblique references to the city’s name, she has vanished. Given the fact that Muhammad Quli and the Qutb Shahis were powerful and established wonders like the fort of Golconda, the city of Hyderabad, and the Charminar, their story is captivating enough. Why then would the author name this Bhagmati and provide minimal information—no irrefutable proof that she ever existed? Or are women doomed to be unsung?