Taj Mahal of Karnataka in shambles at Sr'patna

Taj Mahal in Agra, is a monument built by a lovelorn husband, Shahjahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz and is an inspiration and symbol of love for thousands of lovers.

A similar monument of love - Gulam Ali Khan Gumbaz is built in old Mysore region, at Srirangapatna in neighbouring Mandya district.

The monument situated on the right side of Srirangapatna-Chandagalu road was  built during the 18th century. Now, with Valentine’s Day on Thursday, it is on the verge of extinction, crying for attention.

Gulam Ali Khan a minister for external affairs in erstwhile Tipu Sultan’s court erected the memorial after the death of his wife.

A tomb seen inside the gumbaz is a proof of this. Four foot high pillars were built to support the structure and an attractive gumbaz was built on the top. The 50-ft tall structure is built using burnt bricks, stones and ‘churuki gaare’ and topped with a metal made kalasha.

The interiors have paintings of climbers. The structure said to have built in Indo-Sarcenic style has continued to crumble year after year.

The left side of the structure had partially collapsed around three years ago and now half of the structure has fallen. The premises is covered by wired fence to prevent trespassers. The vacant space in the front is filled with weeds and shrubs.

However, one portion of the memorial has turned into a cattle shed  It is also believed that this gumbaz was the inspiration to Tipu Sultan to construct a gumbaz in memory of his father Hyder Ali at Srirangapatna. 

History

Samiulla Sharief, a local said that Gulam Ali Khan was the maternal uncle of Tipu Sultan and no people of the community gave importance to him for the reason that Khan was suspecting Tipu Sultan.

This memorial which is a symbol of love is in shambles and ironically, majority of the locals and officials of department of archeology are unaware of such a memorial existing in their taluk.

Deputy director of Heritage department Jagadish said he is not aware of such gumbaz in Srirangapatna and would make a spot inspection soon.

   R Gopal, director of State archaeology department said there was a proposal to renovate the gumbaz at a cost of Rs 15 lakh and government too had given a nod for the same, but is still pending due to technical reasons.