The Indo-Islamic architecture of Aland

Main gateway minarets of Dargah complex of Hazrat Ladle Mashaikh at Aland. Photo by Special Arrangement

Grand Mausoleum of Hazrat Ladle Mashaikh Ansari. Photo by Special Arrangement

Dargah of Ladle Mashaikh. Photo by Special Arrangement

During the last days of the Russian traveller Afanasy Nikitin’s sojourn in the Bahamani Sultanate in India in the 15th century, he describes a visit to Aland and the dargah of Hazrat Shaikh Alauddin Ansari.

Describing the Urs (annual festival) of this Sufi-saint, Nikitin in his book The journey beyond three seas writes “There is a place the tomb of Sheik Alauddin at Aland, where a fair is held once a year, and people from all over the Indian country come to trade for ten days. It is twelve kovs from Bidar (he assumed one kov to be approximately equal to six and a half miles). As many as 20,000 horses are brought for sale, and all kinds of goods, too. It is the best fair in the land of Hindustan.”

Even today, the historical town of Aland in Kalaburagi is well-known for the dargah of the 14th century’s great Sufi-saint Hazrat Shaikh Alauddin Ansari, popularly known as Ladle Mashaikh. The main attraction of the dargah is the 82-feet-long minaret at the gateway of the complex.

Adil Shahi connection

A mosque, built by Ali Farhad (the brother of Afzal Khan, a general of the Adil Shahi dynasty) stands within a few metres from the dargah.

Popularly known as the ‘Kali masjid’ because of the dark black stones used in its construction, it has three arches outside, with the middle arch bearing a Persian inscription stating that the mosque is built by Ali Farhad Khan.

The inner portion of the mosque has three arches on the western wall, the middle one encompassing a small arch with an enclosure which is the mihrab (a niche in a mosque indicating the direction of Mecca), decorated with floral motifs, Quranic verse and holy names.

Built on an elevated platform, the mosque also has four minarets. Right in front of the mosque, there is a historical well (now in a dilapidated condition) and two raised platforms with the tombs of Ali Farhad Khan and his wife, facing each other. His tomb also has floral motifs, along with engravings in Arabic and Persian.

Both the dargah and the mosque, declared as protected monuments, come under the jurisdiction of the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage. In addition to this, both being gazette notified institutions, come under the jurisdiction of the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf, Government of Karnataka.

The dargah complex itself is an ideal specimen of the Indo-Islamic style of architecture.

Other structures

Located on 47 acres and four guntas of land, the dargah also houses a few other historical structures such as the gyarah seedhiyan (eleven steps) and ghadiyal-khana (clock house) both attached with the inner gateway, chhappi-chaudi (believed to have served as a tower house in a bygone era), naqqar-khana (drum house), bolti-gumbaz (whispering dome) and adjoining jamat-khana (dormitory) and old mosque, sama-khanna (Qawwali performing hall), aabdar-khana (water-house), sandal-sofa (sandalwood paste extracting room), kutub-khana (library), baoli (step-well), sirahne-dahleez (northern gateway).