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India - Maharashtra - Aurangabad - Bhadkal Gate - 2dd by Manfred Sommer

Aurangabad (About this sound pronunciation (help·info) Marathi: औरंगाबाद Urdu:اورنگ آباد) is a city in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. Aurangabad ("Aurang City") is named after the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The city is a tourism hub, surrounded by many historical monuments, including the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as well as Bibi Ka Maqbara. The administrative headquarters of the Aurangabad Division or Marathwada region, Aurangabad is titled "The City of Gates" and the strong presence of these can be felt as one drives through the city. Aurangabad is Tourism Capital of Maharashtra.

HISTORY

Khadki was the original name of the village which was made a capital city by Malik Ambar, the Prime Minister of Murtaza Nizam, Shah of Ahmadnagar. Within a decade, Khadki grew into a populous and imposing city. Malik Ambar died in 1626. He was succeeded by his son Fateh Khan, who changed the name of Khadki to Fatehnagar. With the capture of Daulatabad by the imperial troops in 1633, the Nizam Shahi dominions, including Fatehnagar, came under the possession of the Moghals.

In 1653 when Mughal prince Aurangzeb was appointed the viceroy of the Deccan for the second time, he made Fatehnagar his capital and renamed it Aurangabad. Aurangabad is sometimes referred to as Khujista Bunyad by the Chroniclers of Aurangzeb's reign.

In 1724, Asif Jah, a Turkic general and Nizam al-Mulk of the Mughals in the Deccan region, decided to secede from the crumbling Mughal Empire, with the intention of founding his own dynasty in the Deccan and decided to make Aurangabad his capital. His son and successor, Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah II transferred his capital from Aurangabad to Hyderabad in 1763. In 1795, the city came under the Maratha rule, following the Maratha victory in the Battle of Kharda, along with an indemnity of 30 million rupees paid by Ali Khan Asaf Jah II, Nizam of Hyderabad to the Marathas. However, Maratha rule lasted only eight years before the city came under the rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad, under the protection of the British East India Company, following the British victory in the Second Anglo-Maratha War. During the period of the British Raj, the city was known as Aurungábád.

Aurangabad was a part of the Princely State of Hyderabad during the British Raj, until its annexation into the Indian Union after the Indian Independence in 1947, and thereafter a part of Hyderabad state of India until 1956. In 1956 it became a part of newly formed bilingual Bombay state and in 1960 it became a part of Maharashtra state.

The co-ordinates for Aurangabad are N 19° 53' 47" – E 75° 23' 54". The city is surrounded by hills on all directions.

Climate Classification: Aurangabad features a semiarid climate under the Köppen climate classification.

Temperature: Annual mean temperatures in Aurangabad range from 17 to 33 °C, with the most comfortable time to visit in the winter - October to February. The highest maximum temperature ever recorded was 46 °C on 25 May 1905. The lowest recorded temperature was 2 °C on 2 February 1911. In the cold season, the district is sometimes affected by cold waves in association with the eastward passage of western disturbances across north India, when the minimum temperature may drop down to about 2 °C to 4 °C.

Rainfall: Most of the rainfall occurs in the monsoon season from June to September.Thunderstorms occur between November to April. Average annual rainfall is 710 mm.The city is often cloudy during the monsoon season and the cloud cover may remain together days. The daily maximum temperature in the city often drops to around 22 °C due to the cloud cover and heavy rains.

GEOLOGY

The entire area is covered by the Deccan Traps lava flows of Upper Cretaceous to Lower Eocene age. The lava flows are overlain by thin alluvial deposits along the Kham and Sukhana river. The basaltic lava flows belonging to the Deccan Trap is the only major geological formation occurring in Aurangabad. The lava flows are horizontal and each flow has two distinct units. The upper layers consist of vesiculara and amygdaloidal zeolitic basalt while the bottom layer consists of massive basalt.The lava flows are individually different in their ability to receive as well as hold water in storage and to transmit it. The difference in the productivity of groundwater in various flows arises as a result of their inherent physical properties such as porosity and permeability. The groundwater occurs under water table conditions and is mainly controlled by the extent of its secondary porosity i.e. thickness of weathered rocks and spacing of joints and fractures. The highly weathered vesicular trap and underlying weathered jointed and fractured massive trap constitutes the main water yielding zones. The soil is mostly formed from igneous rocks and are black, medium black, shallow and calcareous types having different depths and profiles.

DEMOGRAPHICS

2011 census has put the city of Aurangabad in million plus metro club of India. The city municipal area has total population of 11,71,260 while population including metropolitan area counts to 14,13,711. City ranks 5th in the population of metrocities of Maharashtra after Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Nashik. 52.5% of Aurangabad's population is in the 15–59 years age category. Around 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Hinduism is majority religion in Aurangabad city with 51.07% with 600,183 followers. Islam is second most popular religion in city of Aurangabad with approximately 41.79% with 361,817 people following it. In Aurangabad city, Buddhism is by 178,307 which makes 08.17% and Christianity is followed by 10,060 people making 0.86%, Jainism by 19,073 that is 1.62%, Sikhism by 3,427 making 0.29% and Around 0.04% stated 'Other Religion', approximately 0.15% stated 'No Particular Religion'.

ECONOMY

As one of the largest cities in India, and as a result of its many colleges and universities, Aurangabad is emerging as a prominent location for IT and manufacturing.

There is evidence to believe that Aurangabad was developed as a trading hub four centuries ago. Aurangabad is one of the fastest developing cities in Asia. It tops the chart among the developing cities. It lies on a major trade route that used to connect north-west India's sea and land ports to the Deccan region. Recently Aurangabad was in news for placing single largest order for Mercedes Benz cars in a single transaction in India - 150 Mercedes Benz cars worth Rs 65 crore. Without a local Mercedes-Benz showroom and encountering an indifferent Mercedes-Benz dealer in the nearest city, a group of successful citizens pooled their orders and negotiated a record agreement with the firm. Soon after that, bulk purchase order of 101 BMW cars was also placed.

INDUSTRY

The city was a major silk and cotton textile production centre. A fine blend of silk with locally grown cotton was developed as Himroo textile. Paithani silk saris are also made in Aurangabad. With the opening of the Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railways in the year 1900 several ginning factories were started. After 1960, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) began acquiring land and setting up industrial estates. Aurangabad is now classic example of efforts of state government towards balanced industrialisation of state.

Major Industrial areas of Aurangabad are Chikhalthana MIDC, Shendra MIDC and Waluj MIDC. A new industrial belt namely Shendra - Bidkin Industrial Park is being developed under DMIC. The Maharashtra Centre For Entrepreneurship Development's main office is in Aurangabad. Many renowned Indian and MNCs have established themselves in the Industrial Estates of Aurangabad:

Recently Aurangabad became the third city in Maharashtra (after Pune & Nashik) to host an auto cluster namely Marathwada Auto Cluster(MAC). Electrical goods major Siemens has set up a plant for manufacturing of superior quality bogies for locomotives, electric multiple units and metro coaches at Shendra MIDC Aurangabad.Modern Retail Industry has made its presence felt in the forms of Malls. Prozone Mall spread over 1 million square feet is the biggest in the region. The industry is a big employment generator. Prozone alone created direct employment opportunities for 4000 people.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Modern banking in the district may be said to have begun when the Central Bank of India was established in Hyderabad State on 19 February 1932, at Jalna, and in next year i.e., on 20 December 1933, at Aurangabad. Later on in 1945 the Bank of Hyderabad was established under the Hyderabad State Bank Act of 1350 Fasli.

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, Aurangabad has seen a spurt in financial activities, with almost all public sector and private banks have opened up branches including the State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, State Bank of Hyderabad, Bank of Maharashtra, Citibank India, Deutsche Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of India, HDFC Bank, etc. Also Regional Rural Bank viz. Maharashtra Gramin Bank has its regional head office in Aurangabad city.

ADMINISTRATION AND POLITICS

LOCAL ADMINISTRATION

Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is the local civil body. It is divided into six zones. The Municipal Council was established in 1936, the Municipal Council area was about 54.5 km2. It was elevated to the status of Municipal Corporation from 8 December 1982, and simultaneously including eighteen peripheral villages, making total area under its jurisdiction to 138.5 km2 extended its limits.

The city is divided in 99 electoral wards called as Prabhag, and each ward is represented by a Corporator elected by the people from each ward. There are two Committees, General Body and Standing Committee headed by the Mayor and the Chairman respectively. AMC is responsible for providing basic amenities like drinking water, drainage facility, road, street lights, healthcare facilities, primary schools, etc. AMC collects its revenue from the urban taxes which are imposed on citizens. The administration is headed by the Municipal Commissioner; an I.A.S. Officer, assisted by the other officers of different departments.

STATE AND CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION

Aurangabad division is one of the six administrative divisions of Maharashtra state in India. Aurangabad divisions almost completely coincides with the Marathwada region of Maharashtra.

Aurangabad contributes one seat to the Lok Sabha – Aurangabad (Lok Sabha constituency). The seat is currently held by Mr. Chandrakant Khaire, MP of the Shiv Sena party. In latest constituency arrangements made by, Aurangabad will contribute one Loksabha seat, and three state assembly seats namely Aurangabad East, Aurangabad West and Aurangabad Central. The latest MLAs being – Aurangabad (East) – Atul Moreshwar Save (BJP), Aurangabad (Central) – Imtiyaz Jaleel (AIMIM) and Aurangabad (West) Sanjay Shirsat of Shiv-Sena.

JUDICIARY

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court was established in 1982. Initially only a few districts of Maharashtra were under this bench. Subsequently in 1988, Ahmednagar and others districts were attached to the bench. The jurisdiction of the Aurangabad Bench is over the districts of Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalna, Jalgaon, Beed, Parbhani, Latur and Osmanabad. The Aurangabad bench has now 15 judges. The first phase of centrally located magnificent High Court edifice, having 6,202.18 square metres built up area was opened in the month of June 1995. Aurangabad also has one of major central jail in Maharashtra state named Harsul Central Jail.Local transport

The Maharashtra State Road transport Corporation (MSRTC) and numerous other private bus operators provide bus service connecting the city to all parts of the state. (MSRTC) also operates an intra-city bus service called 'Aurangabad City Bus' which connects different parts of the city together along with connecting the city to its nearby suburbs.

The local Municipal corporation have taken a big step in creating a good road condition by converting the roads in Cement inside the city. The AMC also decided to create the Bridges on the Main road in side the city in order to avoid the traffic Jams.

As part of creating a Smart City, Aurangabad is going to create a good infrastructure.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Aurangabad is a very historical city along with its surrounding towns and villages. It receives tourists and surveyors from all over the world.

- Bibi Ka Maqbara: The Aurangabad city is known for the Bibi Ka Maqbara situated about 3 km from the city which is the burial mausoleum of Emperor Aurangzeb's wife, Dilras Banu Begum also known as Rabia-ud-Daurani. It is an imitation of the Taj Mahal at Agra and due to its similar design, it is popularly known as the "Taj of the Deccan".

- Daulatabad Fort: The Daulatabad Fort (aka Devgiri Fort) located about 15 km north-west of Aurangaabd was one of the most powerful forts during the medieval period. Built in the 12th century CE by the Yadava Dynasty, it's a citadel that was never conquered by any military force. The British called it the "best fort of India", due to its extraordinary military strength. Built on a 200 metre high conical hill, the fort was defended by moats and trenches running around the hill at its foot besides the most complex and intricate defence system. The fort has two fixed massive canons which can be pivoted. The fortifications comprise three encircling walls with bastions.

- Ellora and Ajanta Caves: The world famous Ellora and Ajanta Caves are situated at 29 km and 107 km respectively from Aurangabad city and come within the Aurangabad district. The Ellora Caves consist of 34 caves built between 5th and 10th century CE under the patronage of Rashtrakuta Dynasty. They represent the epitome of Indian rock cut architecture. The Ajanta Caves are also 30 rock cut caves around a gorge, built by the Satavahana, Vakataka and Chalukya dynasties between 2nd and 5th century CE. They contain the rarest and finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, especially painting. Both the Ellora and Ajanta Caves are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

- Panchakki: The 17th-century water mill (Panchakki) situated at a distance of 1 km from the city is known for its underground water channel, which traverses more than 8 km. to its source away in the mountains. The channel culminates into an artificial waterfall that powers the mill.

- Gateways: The city is also famous for the 52 gateways built during Mughal era which gives it the name of "City of Gates".

- Aurangabad Caves: These are situated at a distance of 5 km, nestled amidst the hills are 12 Buddhist caves dating back to 3 A.D. Of particular interest are the Tantric influences evident in the iconography and architectural designs of the caves.

- Salim Ali Lake & Bird Sanctuary: Popularly known as Salim Ali Talab is located in the northern part of the city near Delhi Gate, opposite Himayat Bagh. During the Mughal period it was known as Khiziri Talab. It has been renamed after the great ornithologist and naturalist Salim Ali. It also has a bird Sanctuary and a garden maintained by the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation. The Shuli bhanjan is a nearing hill station with Dattatreya temple.

- Tomb of Aurangzeb: The tomb of the last great Mughal emperor Aurangzeb is located in the village of Khuldabad, 24 km to the north-west of Aurangabad in Aurangabad district It is located in the south-eastern corner of the complex of the dargah of Sheikh Zainuddin.

- Siddharth Garden & Zoo

- Prozone Mall

GATES IN AURANGABAD

One of the things that made Aurangabad stand out from several other medieval cities in India was its 52 "gates", each of which had a local history or had individuals linked with it. Aurangabad is known as the "City of Gates".

Out of the 52, only four main and nine subordinate gates have survived, the most famous, oldest and biggest of them being the Bhadkal Gate near the Naukhanda Palace of Nizams.

HISTORY

AURANGABAD CITY WALLS

When Aurangzeb made Aurangabad his capital, there were 54 suburbs which were walled in the city itself, the chief of these were Begumpura and Aurangpura.

During Khan Jahan's second viceroyalty, Aurangzeb built a wall around the city in 1682, to protect it from the incursions of the Marathas; and in 1696 he erected a similar fortified wall for Begumpura. The city wall is terraced, and is of solid masonry, but of no great height, being in many parts not more than fourteen feet. The battlements are loop-holed, and the merlins over the gateways and at certain places along the wall, are machicolated; while semi-circular bastions surmounted by towers, occur at each flanking angle, and at regular intervals along the works. The wall is pierced with thirteen gateways, exclusive of a small postern wicket, and its total length is a little over six miles. All gates barring one are associated with Aurangzeb.

The four principal entrances face the cardinal points, and consist of the Delhi gate in the north, the Jalna gate in the east, the Paithan gate in the south, and the Mecca gate in the west.

Besides these, there are the Jaffar, Khirki, Barapul, Mahmud and Roshan gates; as well as four others, now closed, the Khizri, Khadgar, Mada, and Kumhar. The Barapul had also been walled up for some time.

BHADKAL GATE

Bhadkal Gate is a building in Aurangabad City, India. This gate is the biggest gate of city. It was built by Ahmadnagar's, Murtaza Nizamshah's Vazir Malik Ambar. It was built in memory of victory against Mughal in 1612. It is also known as victory gate. Bhadkal Gate has unique architectural style. It is India's first column structural Building.

DELHI GATE

The largest and the most stately, it was built by Aurangzeb. It is situated to the north of the city facing Delhi. It is similar to Lahore gate of Delhi’s Lal Quila (Red Fort).

PAITHAN GATE

The gate is smaller in size and was royal gateway leading to Paithan town. This gate is smaller in size compared to other gates.

MECCA OR MAKAI GATE

This gate leads to Begumpura another walled quarter of the city, and is the only gate that has a canon installed on it. It faces the holy city of Mecca towards the west.

KHAS OR JALNA GATE

The gate is simple in design but was disintegrating. It has been restored recently. It faces the Jalna city in the east.

KAALA DARWAZA

This gate leads to the palace fort of Qila–e-Ark. The palace had its own fortification walls and had five gates other than the Kaala darwaza all gates are in ruins.

ROSHAN GATE

This gate is located to the north of Jalna gate or Khas gate. It is bigger in size and stature as compared to Jalna gate. Roshan gate is said to have been named after Aurangezeb’s sister Roshanara to whom the emperor was much attached and she remained his favorite friend and advisor.

CULTURE AND CUISINE

CULTURE

The culture of Aurangabad city is heavily influenced by Hyderabad. The old city still retains the cultural flavour and charms of Muslim culture of Hyderabad. Its influence is reflected in the language and cuisine of the locals. Although Marathi and Urdu are the principal languages of the city, they are spoken in Dakhni – Hyderabadi Urdu dialect.

Wali Dakhni also known as Wali Aurangabadi (1667–1731 or 1743) was a classical poet of Urdu from Aurangabad. He was the first established poet to have composed in Urdu language. Prominent poets like Shah Hatem, Shah Abro, Mir Taqi Mir, Zauq and Sauda were among his admirers. Other prominent poets from Aurangabad include Siraj Aurangabadi, Azad Bilgrami and Sikandar Ali Wajd.

Abul Ala Maududi one of the Muslim scholar ( 1903–1979 ) was born in Aurangabad, India. Syed Abul A'ala Maududi was born to Maulana Ahmad Hasan, a lawyer by profession. His father was "descended from the Chishti line of saints. He was also the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamic revivalist party.

CUISINE

Aurangabadi food is much like Mughlai or Hyderabadi cuisine with its fragrant pulao and Biryani. Meat cooked in fresh spices and herbs is a speciality, as are the delectable sweets. The local cuisine is a blend of Mughlai and Hyderabadi cuisine, with an influence of the spices and herbs of the Marathwada region. Naan Qalia is a dish that is associated with Aurangabad in India. It is a concoction of mutton and a variety of spices. Naan is the bread made in tandoor (Hot furnace) while Qalia is a mixture of mutton and various spices.

The dish originated in the army camp of Muhammad bin Tughlaq when he shifted his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad in the year 1327. Later the dish was used in the army camps of the Mughals who had their base in and around Daulatabad and Aurangabad in the deccan. Soldiers and camp followers settled in Aurangabad patronised the dish and the tradition continues to this day.

Tahri or Tahari is similar to pulao–Biryani and is very popular in Aurangabad and Marathwada. Tahri is prepared by adding the meat to the rice, as opposed to traditional Biryani where the rice is added to the meat.

Aurangabad / Marathwada / Dakhni cuisine is a blend of the Puneri and the Hyderabadi cuisine (which beautifully blends the use of typical South Indian ingredients such as curry leaves, tamarind and coconut into their celebrated culinary practices).

SPORTS

Cricket is very popular in grounds and streets of the city. International-standard cricket stadium at Aurangabad District Cricket Association Stadium is under counstruct. Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College Sports Complex is a sports complex with in Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College mainly used by college sports event.

LOCAL ARTS

Paithani Textiles: The Paithani sarees from Paithan are considered to be priced possession by one and all. One can get an opportunity to witness this age old art of weaving Paithani sarees. The yarn used is of pure silk and the zari or gold threads drawn from pure gold.

MASHRU AND HIMROO

Aurangabad is famous for Mashru and Himroo fabrics made of cotton and silk with the lustre of satin. Himru is an age-old weaving craft, and was originally known as kum khuab.

- Himroo: The fabric is said to have originated in Persia, though not conclusively proved, Himroo is associated with the times of Mohammad Tughlaq who ruled in the 14th century. When Mohammad Tughlaq shifted his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad many weavers came and settled here. During the exodus the weavers instead of returning to Delhi stayed back here. During the reign of Malik Ambar, the city's fame attracted many people from far and wide. During the Mughal rule under Aurangzeb's governorship, Auarangabad the capital and the weavers became more prosperous. The only industry in Aurangabad allured hundreds of craftsman. Members of the royal family and an elite few used the famous Aurangabad Himroo. Himroo weaving is very characteristic and distinctive. Fabrics and shawls from Aurangabad are much in demand for their unique style and design.

- Bidriware : A unique form of gold and silver inlays on copper is preserved here from ancient Persian traditions that have been sustained in the Deccan. This ancient art still finds expression in the modern items like cufflinks, nameplates and more. Typical bidri items include plates, bowls, vases, ashtrays, trinket boxes, huqqa bases and jewellery.

- Kaghzipura: A place situated near Daulatabad made first handmade paper in India after the technology was brought here by Mongol invaders. Interestingly this paper has been used to print the Quran.

HOSPITALS

Government Medical College (Aurangabad), GHATI Hospital

Hedgewar Hospital

Kamalnayan Bajaj Hospital

Seth Nandalal Dhoot Hospital

United Siigma Hospital

Government Cancer Hospital

MIT Super Speciality Hospital

MGM Hospital

Apex Hospital

Manik Hospital

Government Ghati Hospital

WIKIPEDIA

India - Maharashtra - Aurangabad - Makai Gate - 1dd by Manfred Sommer