Hyderabad: Controversy was the 54th birthday of the famous Indian singer and Padma Bhushan-awarded Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan here on Friday (April 2), when relatives of the artist realized that the state government was starting to restore its maqbara (tomb) without notify them.
While Khan’s relatives were grateful that the state government had shown interest in restoring the tomb, they were upset that the original structure, built with limestone mortar (locally called gachhi), had been tampered with. Samina Khan, granddaughter of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali, said the state government should know of the works.
“The structure was of heritage value,” she told media people on Friday after paying tribute to the artist during his birthday. Samina said that the structure should be preserved and restored to its original form, and that the structure that now stands, after repairs by the state government, ‘looks different’ from the original.
The decision to restore the singer’s grave was announced by General Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Arvind Kumar, who shared photos of the restoration work on his Twitter account. “On the occasion of his death anniversary (April 25), the restoration of the tomb of Padma Bhushan Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Saaheb, the greatest classical exponent of Patiala Gharana at the Dairah-e-Mir Momin, Sultan Shahi, Hari Bowli Road,” He wrote on Twitter a few days ago.
On Friday, heritage lovers and family members of Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan paid tribute to the artist in the Daira Mir Momin in the Old City of Hyderabad, where he was laid to rest. The place where his tomb is located is in fact one of the oldest landmarks of the city dating from the Qutb Shahi or Golconda period (1518-1687). The cemetery is named after Mir Momin Astrabadi, the founding premier and architect of Hyderabad.
Astrabadi works with the founder of Hyderabad, Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah (1580-1611), the fourth king of the Golconda dynasty, who built the new city in 1591 after deciding to leave the fort of Golconda. Astrabadi was buried in the Daira Mir Momin, where the tomb of Sufi saint Shah Chirag already existed, which made the area older than Hyderabad itself.
Source: The Siasat Daily