Indo-Islamic Monuments in Haryana
  • Indo-Islamic Monuments in Haryana
  • Indo-Islamic Monuments in Haryana
  • Indo-Islamic Monuments in Haryana
Indo-Islamic Monuments in Haryana

Indo-Islamic Monuments in Haryana

 
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Saint Thomas church, Hisar

The Christians of Hisar had their own church called St. Thomas’s Church located on Delhi-Hisar Highway. It has been declared as a historical monument by Indian National Trust of Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH) recently. The foundation was dug on 3rd December 1860, and it was ready by May 1864. However, it was consecrated by the Bishop of Calcutta, G.E.L. Cotton on the auspicious day of 31st December 1865. The church is built in Victorian style of architecture. The bell of the church which chimes on Sunday and on special occasions was made at Roorkee in 1874.

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Sarai Pukhta, Palwal

Sarai Pukhta, Palwal

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Sarai, Taravadi

Taraori is a small town situated north of Delhi, on the Grand Trunk Road, in Karnal district of Haryana. At present only the sarai and a masonry tank on the southern side of the sarai survive. The gateways of the sarai are placed in its northern and southern walls. The gateways were three storeyed structure. While the southern gateway is still in a better condition, upper storeys of the northern gateway has crumbled. There are painted decorations still seen on the soffit of the larger entrance arch of the southern gateway. The main motif is a flower plant in a pot. The mosque of the sarai is in the south-western side and now accommodates a Gurudwara. At present the sarai is heavily inhabited by the families who migrated to these parts during the partition of India in 1947. Many tanks were built along the Agra-Lahore highway; some survive at Sikandra, Faridabad, Taraori, Sarai Banjara, and Raja Tala etc. Traditionally construction of the tank along with the sarai Taraori is attributed to Aurangzeb. It is a tank of large compass, rectangular in shape, enclosed with brick wall. This tank was filled with rainwater or maybe some water channel from a nearby stream or river.

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Shah Nimatullah complex, Hansi

Shah Nimatullah complex, Hansi

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Shahjahani Baoli, Meham

This step well (baoli) is well known as 'choron ki baoli' (thiefs' step well). It is located approximately half a kilometer from Meham on the Bhiwani-Meham road in Mohalla Kishangarh. It is one of the finest and the best preserved step-wells in Haryana. According to an inscription on the well, it was built by Saidu Kala, a chobdar to Emperor Shah Jahan in 1658-59 AD. The baoli, an elaborate structure of brick and kankar block, has one hundred one steps in three stages, separated by landings, leading to water level. At the end of flights of steps, is the circular well. The subsidiary staircases built within the thickness of the walls provide access to the landings. The step-well is currently surrounded by local dwellings.

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Sheikh Chilli Tomb complex, Thanesa...

The Tomb of Sheikh Chilli is built inside his madrasa complex at Thanesar in Haryana an ancient city adjacent to Kurkshetra, another ancient locality, 160 kms north of Delhi on National Highway one. From various accounts it could be estimated that Sheikh Chilli was a learned scholar who hailed from Thanesar and was also a spiritual advisor to Dara Shikoh. The tomb is placed at the highest level in the madrasa complex, in the middle of a terrace. Another rectangular tomb believed to be that of his wife is also located on the northwest side of the terrace. The terrace is approached by stairways in the northeast and northwest corners of madrasa. These tombs stand on a terrace/platform and the walls of the platform have twelve octagonal chatris built into them. Each dome was ornamented with glazed tiles which has disappeared now but retains the traces of blue, purple, and green tiles. The tomb was turned into a gurudwara (Sikh temple) by some Sikhs who are believed to have plundered the beautiful marbles of the tomb. The tombstones were later reinstated by the British rulers. It was restored by ASI later on. The Madrasa of Sheikh Chilli is situated on a high mound inside a walled compound, similar to a fortified structure. The tomb of Shaikh Chilli also forms part of the madrasa. The madrasa is composed of a central courtyard surrounded by an arcade with nine arches to each side. This architectural plan is modeled on Iranian prototypes. The middle hall in the northern side was used for teaching rooms. The three mihrabs in the western hall indicate its use as a small mosque. The mosque room is now used as a site museum maintained by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The rooms on the northern side which are interconnected to each other and attached to small courtyards were used to house teachers and students. A hammam is located on the southeast corner which is now used as a rest house by ASI. The madrasa was approached through two gateways earlier but currently it can be only accessed through the eastern gate.

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