Cultural Contribution Of Deccan States
The Deccan states had a number of cultural contributions to their credit. Ali Adil Shah (d. 1580) loved to hold discussions with Hindu and Muslim saints and was called a Sufi. He invited Catholic missionaries to his court, even before Akbar had done so. He had an excellent Library to which he appointed the well-known Sanskrit scholar, Waman Pandit.
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The successor of Ali Adil Shah, Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1580-1627) was deeply interested in music, and composed a book called Kitabi- Nauras in which songs were set to various musical modes or ragas. He built a new capital, Nauraspur, in which a large number of musicians were invited to settle.
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Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah, a contemporary of Akbar, was very fond of literature and architecture. He wrote in Dakhani Urdu, Persian and Telugu and has left an extensive diwan or collection. He was the first to introduce a secular note in poetry. Apart from the praise of God and the Prophet, he wrote about nature, love, and the social life of his day.
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In the field of architecture, Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah constructed many buildings, the most famous of which is the Char Minar. Completed in 1591- 92, it stood at the centre of the new city of Hyderabad founded by Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah. It has four lofty arches, facing the four directions. Its chief beauty is the four minarets which are four storied and are 48 metre high. The double screen of arches has fine carvings.
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The rulers of Bijapur consistently maintained a high standard and an impeccable taste in architecture. The most famous Bijapur buildings of the period are the Ibrahim Rauza and the Gol Gumbaz.
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The former was a mausoleum for Ibrahim Adil Shah and shows the style at its best. The Gol Gumbaz which was built in 1660 has the largest single dome ever constructed. All its proportions are harmonious, the large dome being balanced by tall, tapering minarets at the corner. It is said that a whisper at one side of the huge main room can be heard clearly at the other end.