This blog is a view and experience of an urban conservationist looking at the city of Bhopal through historicity and its relevance in today’s era. Bhopal is seen as a perfect mix of various cultures and periods in its history. Visitors are mesmerized by its splendid lakes, greenery, Mahals and palaces, etc. To capture some of these features we have today’s blog written by urban conservationist and Architect Shivangi Thakur. Shivangi Thakur is an urban conservationist who graduated from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture (2020). She is currently working as Assistant Professor at Jhulelal Institute of Architecture, Nagpur. Her interest lies in the Historical regeneration in urban areas and loves reading on spirituality, history, mythology, fiction or whatever gauges her interest. Her work has addressed planning/socio-cultural concerns challenging them as insufficiently tackled in the current planning paradigms in the city of Bhopal.
I was born in the city of Bhopal and my maternal grandparents settled in this city. Every summer vacation was spent there, without actually knowing the city or its historic layer. The interest developed when I was asked to take up the city for my study on cultural landscapes. The Personal Interest peaked when I got curious about the city, having been born there and almost having spent my summer vacation there how little I knew about the city until one day my father mentioned that Bhopal happens to be reigned by the Begums. The little knowledge I had about history is that it is an Islamic city or for that matter, a city ruled by begums. Bhopal is a city that is built around a large water reservoir which was built in the year 1010 AD. The foundation of the current city was laid by Sardar Dost Mohammad Khan. But the real development occurred during the reign of four begums. Nawab Qudsia Begum was the first begum to start the reign who not only populated the city of Bhopal but also brought certain traditional livelihood to the city which is even practiced even today in every household of the city of Bhopal. Bhopal Batuas is one of them. Later on, Nawab Sikandar Jahan Begum, Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum and Nawab Shah Jahan Begum took the legacy forward and introduced various reforms and developed the city of Bhopal.
Image 1: Qudsia Begum (source: The Grassroots Journal). 2:Bhopali Batua that became prominent in the times of Qudsia Begum, legend has it that she herself used the Batua (source: Bhopale.com)
Under the reign of Shahjahan Begum came one of a kind suburb that was unique in a way. The suburb was designed around the three cascading lakes and was a unique example of the historic landscape.in current times. A lot of Development in terms of built heritage was undertaken during the reign of Shahjahan begum. The historic precinct of Khirni Maidan also got completed during her reign before she shifted her official residence to Shahjahanabad.
Archival images of Shahjahan Begum and Sikandar Jehan Begum.
In today’s time, where the locals know the value of their Intangible and tangible heritage, but they don’t know how to maintain it. This seems rather contrasting in a statement but when you look at the state of built heritage in the core city of Bhopal, you will realize it yourself. The facades of the palaces are gone. Most of the buildings have been encroached upon or are under dispute. Coming to ecological factors the population explosion and migration of people since the time of independence the water bodies see the degradation and also the density increased due to migration. And various other typical urban issues which are faced by any other historical city in the country.
The city of Bhopal has a lot of scope in order to improve its standing in terms of the historical landscape. The city was built keeping in mind the natural factors i.e., topography, water sources and natural vegetation and the city shaped all on its own due to these natural factors. When it comes to administration, they are negligent towards what they have in terms of the heritage. Most of the beautiful structures are under dispute. I believe that when the citizens are aware of the heritage they have they should be more vigilant towards the whole saving their heritage and building up the core city to the level it deserves.
This is really interesting to see how one lives in a city, observes it and develops a keen interest in its historicity. Further, indulges in its developmental concerns and suggests measures to preserve them. I hope this blog has interested you to surely visit the city of Bhopal and unravel its lived historicity in everyday life. Stay tuned for the next blog as we explore some more urban systems, narratives and theories...
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