Bidar (/ biːd̪ər/) is a city in the north-eastern part of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

state in India. It is the headquarters of Bidar district, which borders Maharashtra and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

. It is a rapidly urbanising city in the wider ''Bidar Metropolitan area''. The city is well known for its many sites of architectural, historical and religious importance. Being located at the farthest of around from the state capital

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

, it has been neglected by the state government for a long time. However, owing to its rich heritage, the city has a prominent place on the Archaeological Map of India. Picturesquely perched on the

Deccan plateau The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by th ...

, the Bidar fort is more than 500 years old and still standing strong. According to the book "Bidar Heritage" published by the state ''Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage'', of the 61 monuments listed by the department, about 30 are

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

s located in and around Bidar city., explaining its nickname, "City of Whispering Monuments". The heritage sites in and around Bidar have become the major attraction for film shooting in recent years, with

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

making visits apart from

Kannada film industry Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film '' Sati Sulochana'' directe ...

Bidar is home for the second biggest Indian Air Force training centre in the country. The IAF Station Bidar is used for advanced jet training of prospective fighter pilots on

BAe Hawk The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. It was first flown at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produced by its successor companies, British Aerospace and B ...

aircraft. Bidar city is known for its

Bidri Bidriware is a metal handicraft from the city of Bidar in southern India. It was developed in the 14th century C.E. during the rule of the Bahmani Sultans. The term "bidriware" originates from the township of Bidar, which is still the chief cent ...

handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

products, and its rich history. Bidar is also considered one of the holiest place for Sikh pilgrimage. Unlike other places in the region, Bidar is the coldest and wettest place in north Karnataka. For the year 2009–10, Bidar was ranked 22nd among the cleanest cities in India, and 5th cleanest in Karnataka. SH4 passes through Bidar and the whole city is integrated with 4 lane road.

Etymology

The name of Bidar appears to be derived from ‘bidiru’, which means bamboo. Legend has associated Bidar with the ancient kingdom of

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a proposed state of central India, comprising the state's Amravati and Nagpur divisions. Amravati Division's former name is Ber ...

, to which references are found in early Hindu literature like '' Malavikagnimitra,

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

, the Harivamsa, Bhagavata'', and a few other '' Puranas''. Its association can be seen apparently on account of the similarity in names ''Bidar'' and ''Vidarbha''. This has been mentioned in Firishta's writings. The traditional tales reveal that

Vidura Vidura (Sanskrit: विदुर, lit. ''skilled'', ''intelligent'' or ''wise''), also known as Kshatri, plays a key role in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is described as the prime minister of the Kuru kingdom and is the paternal uncle ...

lived here; hence the place was earlier called Viduranagara and also as the place where Nala and

Damayanti ''Damayanti'' (Sanskrit: दमयंती) is a character in a love story found in the Vana Parva book of the Mahabharata. She was the daughter of Bhima (not the Pandava one) and a princess of the Vidarbha Kingdom, who married King Nala of ...

(Daughter of ''Raja Bhima'', the King of Vidharba) were meeting. Bidar under the rule of the Bahmani Sultanate was known as Muhammadabad.

History

The recorded History of the city goes back to the third century B.C. when it was a part of the Mauryan Empire. After the Mauryas,

Satavahana The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the la ...

s, Kadambasand

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty ...

s of Badami and later the Rashtrakutas reigned over Bidar territory. The Chalukyas of Kalyana and

Kalachuris of Kalyani The Kalachuris of Kalyani, also Southern Kalachuris, were a 12th-century Indian dynasty, who ruled over parts of present-day northern Karnataka and Maharashtra. This dynasty rose to power in the Deccan region between 1156 and 1181 CE (25 yea ...

s also regained the area. For a short period after Kalyani Chalukyas the area of Bidar was under the

Seuna The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a Medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a kingdom stretching from the Narmada River, Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the west ...

s of

Devagiri Daulatabad Fort, also known as Devagiri Fort or Deogiri Fort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadava dynasty (9th century–14th century CE), for a br ...

and

Kakatiya The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. Th ...

s of

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 704,570 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal ser ...

. The Delhi Sultanate invaded the area first by

Allauddin Khilji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative ...

, and later, Muhammed-bin-Tughluq took control of entire

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

including Bidar. In the middle of the 14th century, the Sultan of Delhi's officers that were stationed in Deccan rebelled and this resulted in the establishment of Bahmanid Dynasty in 1347 A.D. at Gulbarga/Hasanabad (present

Kalaburagi Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kalaburagi district and is the largest city in the region of North Karnataka (Kalyana-Karnataka). Kalaburagi is 6 ...

). There was frequent warfare between the Bahmanids and the Vijaynagar Kingdom. The history of the present fort at Bidar is attributed to the sultan Ahmed Shah Wali Bahmani, the sultan of the Bahmani dynasty till 1427, when he shifted his capital from Gulbarga to Bidar since it had better climatic conditions and was also a fertile and fruit-bearing land. The earliest recorded history of its existence as a small and strong fort is also traced to prince Ulugh Khan in 1322, whereafter it came under the reign of the

Tughlaq dynasty The Tughlaq dynasty ( fa, ), also referred to as Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty, was a Muslim dynasty of Indo- Turkic origin which ruled over the Delhi sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the ...

. With the establishment of the Bahmanid dynasty (1347), Bidar was occupied by Sultan Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah Bahmani. During the rule of Ahmad Shah I (1422–1486), Bidar was made the capital city of

Bahmani Kingdom The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan,

. The old fort was rebuilt and

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

s, mosques, palaces, and gardens were raised.

Mahmud Gawan Mahmud Gawan (1411 – 1481) was a Persian prime minister in the Bahmani Sultanate of Deccan. ''Khwaja Mahmud Gilani'', from the village of ''Gawan'' in Persia, was well-versed in Islamic theology, Persian language and Mathematics and was a poet ...

, who became the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

in 1466, was a notable figure in the history of Bidar. Bidar remained under the Barid Shahi dynasty until conquest by the

Bijapur Sultanate The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim Firishta's T ...

in 1619. Aurangzeb came to Bidar after his father,

Padshah Padishah ( fa, پادشاه; ; from Persian: r Old Persian: *">Old_Persian.html" ;"title="r Old Persian">r Old Persian: * 'master', and ''shāh'', 'king'), sometimes Romanization of Persian, romanised as padeshah or padshah ( fa, پادشاه ...

(emperor) Shah Jahan, appointed him the Prince of Deccan. He wrested the Bidar Fort from the Adil Shahis after a 21-day war in 1656. With this, Bidar became a part of the Mughal dynasty for the second time. Bidar was made a subah (imperial top-level province) in 1656, which Telangana Subah was merged into the next year. In 1724, Bidar became a part of the Asaf Jahi Kingdom of the Nizams. Third son of Asaf jah l ( Nizam l ) Mir Sa'id Muhammad Khan, Salabat Jang ruled from Bidar fort from 1751 to 1762, till his brother Mir Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah III imprisoned him in this fort, and was killed in Bidar fort on 16 September 1763. ''Mohammedabad'' old name of Bidar is also on his name. It was connected to Hyderabad by rail in the early 20th century. After India's independence, in 1956 all Kannada speaking areas were merged to form the Mysore State and Bidar became part of the new Mysore (now Karnataka) state. Ancient Karez System in the city have been recently discovered. The Karez (

Qanat A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...

) is an underground network of aqueducts for water supply. The Bidar Karez, built in the 15th century, is more than long with 21 air vents. Underground canals, built to connect underground water streams, were meant to provide drinking water to civilian settlements and the garrison inside the Bidar fort. This was necessary in a city where the soil was rocky and drilling wells was difficult.

Geography

Bidar is located at , lies at a central position in Deccan, a plateau at an elevation of 2300 ft from the sea level. It has common boundaries with Maharashtra and

which is, with the districts of Nizamabad and

Medak Medak is a town in Medak district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Medak mandal in Medak revenue division. And There is a river named srujan which is big in length. Etymology and History Medak wa ...

on the East and the districts of

Latur Latur(लातूर) is a city in Indian state of Maharashtra, and is one of the largest cities of the Marathwada region. It is the administrative headquarters of Latur district and Latur Taluka. The city is a tourist hub surrounded by ma ...

, Nanded and

Osmanabad Osmanabad (; pronounced as ''Usmānābād''),is a city and a municipal council in Osmanabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Osmanabad derives its name from the last ruler of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan. Osmanabad city is the adm ...

in Maharashtra on the west. On the south lies the district Gulbarga of

Geology

The upper crust of the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

is of laterite, a soft porous rock with limonitic surface. This crust varies in depth from to and rests on a bed of trap, which is of much harder texture and less pervious to water. The volume of water filtered during the

monsoons A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

through the laterite stratum is arrested by the trappean bed, and a nursery of springs is formed whose natural level of effluence is the line of contact of the two strata along the base of the

cliffs In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

of the plateau. The water in course of time frets out for itself an orifice and macerates and loosens portions of its rocky channel till a

rift In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-grabe ...

is produced. The rift gradually dilates into a

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.vale. The Karez System is built along a geological fracture. Such fractures are formed at the intersection of laterite and basalt rocks and form lineaments or springs that yield water.

Soil

Bidar soils are deep (>100 cm), well-drained gravelly red clayey soils developed on plateaus of laterites. They are ''slightly'' acid to neutral ( pH 6.6) in reaction with low

cation exchange capacity Cation-exchange capacity (CEC) is a measure of how many cations can be retained on soil particle surfaces. Negative charges on the surfaces of soil particles bind positively-charged atoms or molecules (cations), but allow these to exchange with ot ...

. They are highly gravelly soils with gravel content (60 to 10%) that decrease with depth.

Climate

The winter season is from November to middle of February. Bidar is one of the coldest cities (by southern standards) in Karnataka as the minimum temperature during winter nights regularly hovers around 11-12 during December, which is the coldest month with mean daily maximum temperature of 27.3 C and mean daily minimum of 13.4 C. From the middle of the February, both day and night temperatures begin to rise rapidly. May is the hottest month with mean daily maximum temperature of 38.8 C and mean daily minimum of 25.9 C. With the withdrawal of southwest monsoon in the first week of October, there is slight increase in day temperature but night temperature decreases steadily. After October, both day and night temperatures decreases progressively. The highest maximum temperature recorded at Bidar was on 8-5-1931(43.3-degree C) and the lowest minimum was on 5-1-1901(2.9-degree C, the lowest temperature ever recorded in Karnataka). Present day Bidar covers an expanse of 5448 square kilometres of land and lies between 17°35' and 18°25' North latitudes and 76°42' and 77°39' east longitudes.

Demographics

At the time of the 2011 census, Bidar had a population of 216,020. Bidar city has a sex ratio of 938 females to males and a literacy rate of 85.90%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 14.11% and 4.73% of the population respectively. At the time of the 2011 census, 52.23% of the population spoke

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, 33.32%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Marathi, 3.67%

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

and 3.33% Telugu as their first language.

Economy

Once a home to many cottage industries, such as cotton and oil-ginning mills, there are now few industries that draw on local raw materials or skills. Even the well known form of local articrafts, bidri ware, is in a state of decline. Increasing prices of materials, especially silver, and declining sales have meant that many of the hereditary artisans are no longer employed in the production of such ware. Bidar city has a large industrial area known as Kolhar industrial area.

Tourism

Bidar is symbolically described as ''City of Whispering Monuments''. The mountaintop city that served as the capital of medieval Deccan, has 98 monuments of which four national monuments are protected by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

and 14 by the State Archaeology Department, Karnataka. Bidar earned a place on the World Monument Watchlist 2014. Of the 741 proposals received from 166 countries, 67 sites from 41 countries were finally selected which were announced by WMF president Bonnie Burnham in New York on 8 October 2013. Along with "the historic city of Bidar", two other sites in India to figure in the list were the house of Sheikh Salim Chisti in

Fatehpur Sikri Fatehpur Sikri () is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated 35.7 kilometres from the district headquarters of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri itself was founded as the capital of Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar, serving this ...

and Juna Mahal in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

. The WMF in its ''current watch site'' for "the historic city of Bidar" says ″challenges to the site include a lack of integrated conservation and maintenance, environmental pollution, and the construction of new developments and roadways that encroach on the historic fabric. Current land use regulations also threaten the economic livelihood of many of the city's residents, and it is hoped that revised, context-specific planning policies would both protect Bidar's historic assets while also supporting the future of its local population. It is hoped that Watch-listing will spur documentation and analysis of the city's conditions, followed by policy development and applied conservation interventions that will reveal and maintain Bidar's rich heritage, as well as support a robust and sustainable tourist industry.″

Mahmud Gawan Madrasa

This grandiose

was built by the prime-minister of the Bahmani empire,

in the late 15th century. Its only the most imposing building of the

Bahmani The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan,

period, but in its plan and in the general style of its architecture it is a unique monument of its kind in India. The Madrasa, a ''multi-disciplinary university'' he set up, which had a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

of around 3,000 valuable manuscripts, was severely damaged when

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

stored inside the rooms went off during a 27-day siege of the city by Mughal king Aurangazeb in 1656. The

Mahmud Gawan Madrasa The Madrasa of Mahmud Gawan is an ancient madrasa or Islamic college in Bidar, Karnataka, India. It was built in the 1460s and is an example of the regional style of Indo-Islamic architecture under the Bahmani Sultanate. This heritage structur ...

is protected by the

Bidar Fort

Bidar Fort is considered one of the most formidable forts of the country. Bidar city was distinctly planned and built. The main citadel complex housed the royal places. Mahals and Mosque. Adjoining to this on the southern side, the city was built for the people. Both the citadel complex and city had separate forts for protection the plan of the Bidar city fortification is pentagonal. There are five gateways for entry into the city fort. It is main citadel complex fort which is stronger. It is built on the brink of the plateau. Engineers and architecture of various countries were employed on its design and construction. A Museum is preset there having old armor, old sculptures. including many of the ancient stones, Bidar fort pictures 05

* Rangeen Mahal, situated in the fort, near Gumbad Darwaza, is unique because of its decoration with coloured tiles and other art work. Wood carving done there is not only precious but also unique. The walls of Mahal are adorned with mother-of-pearl of the finest quality in laid in jet-black stone. Floral patterns and calligraphic text are also depicted here. Stone carving, stucco art are other attractions of this monument. It was rebuilt during Barid Shahi period. The design of this monument represents a blend of both Hindu and Muslim architecture. There are rooms in the basement of the Rangin Mahal. * Tarkash Mahal is said to have been built for Turkish wife of the sultan. From the remains of the decorative work found in the ornamentation of the walls, it can be said that the Mahal was built or extended by the Barid Shahi Sultans who had kept large harem with ladies from different nationalities.The rooms were decorated with stucco work. * Gagan Mahal was originally built by the Bahamani kings and some alterations and additions were made by the Barid Shahi rulers. It has two courts. The outer court was used by the male staff and guards. The inner court also, there are rooms on either side of the covered passage for the accommodation of the guards. The main building of the palace was for the use of the sultan and his harem. * Takht Mahal, The Royal Palace, was built by Ahemd shah. It was the royal residence. The place was fully decorated with coloured titles and stone carvings part of which can be seen even today. It had two side royal pavilions with lofty arches and a spacious hall at the back of which was the sultan's room. The building had stately dimensions and exquisite surface decoration. The coronations of several Bahamanis and Barid Shahi sultans were held there. From the royal pavilion which is situated behind throne palace one can view the valley and low land below. *Solah Khamba Mosque (Solah Sutoon Ki Masjid) was built by Qubil Sultani between 1423 and 1424. The mosque derives its name from the 16 pillars that are lined in the front of the structure. Popularly known as the Zanana Masjid, this mosque is about 90 metres long and 24 metres wide. Behind the southern wall of this mosque, there is a large well. Characterised by columns, arches and domes, this mosque is one of the largest in India.

Other monuments

*Chaubara is a tall tower, facing in four directions. This is an old cylindrical tower of 22 meters, height is situated in the centre of Bidar city. It was used as a watchtower, commanding a fine view of the entire plateau from the top. A winding staircase of eight steps leads to the top of the tower, a clock is being placed on top of the tower, can be viewed from all the four directions . *Jama Masjid, a large mosque with no minarets, located near Chaubara. *Bahmani Tombs called as "Ashtur", located near "Chaukhandi of Hazrat Khalil Ullah" around a distance of 1 km *Barid Shahi Tombs *Chaukhandi of Hazrat Khalil Ullah

Religious places

Gurudwara Nanak Jhira Sahib

Gurudwara Nanak Jhira Saheb is known to be one of Holiest Place For Sikh Devotees in India and is believed that first sikh Guru Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji visited the place during famine in this region.

Art

Bidri wares

Bidriware, one of the rarest and most intricate art forms is now unique to the city. This native art form has obtained

Geographical Indications A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...

(GI) registry. The various art forms created by artists from Bidar city centuries ago are now major attractions in museums such as

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, London, the National Museum in New Delhi and

Indian Museum The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...

in Kolkata. The Karnataka tableau at the 2011 Republic Day Parade at Rajpath in New Delhi featured Bidriware and Bidri artisans from Bidar. Rehaman Patel did an extensive research in Bidri Art from Gulbarga University. His book in Kannada version (2012) and English version (2017) also published on Bidri Art. All the dignitaries & guests of XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 were presented with mementos hand crafted in Bidri art. This art form is the Union government's choice for souvenirs at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

in Davos. The Kingfisher company owner

Vijay Mallya Vijay Vittal Mallya (born 18 December 1955) is an Indian businessman, former politician and fugitive. He is the subject of an extradition effort by the Indian Government to return him from the UK to face charges of financial crimes in India. T ...

has a bidri dining table with floral designs made of nearly 3.5 kg silver.

Transport

Distance from major cities to North Karnataka

Rail

Bidar has connectivity with

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, Sainagar

Shirdi Shirdi (; also known as Sainagar) is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Rahata taluka of Ahmednagar District. It is accessible via the Ahmednagar–Malegaon State Highway No.10, approximately from Ahmednagar and ...

Parbhani Parbhani (, IPA ) is a city in Maharashtra state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Parbhani District. Parbhani is one of the largest cities in Marathwada region. Parbhani is around away from regional headquarters of Aurangaba ...

Jn,

Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is the ...

, Nanded,

Manmad Manmad ( ənmaːɖ is one of the towns in Nashik district in the state of Maharashtra in India. It is the third largest city in Nashik district, with a population of approximately 80,000. Geographically it lies within Nandgaon Tehsil in Na ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the mandal headquarte ...

Vijayawada Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises N ...

and Renigunta (according to railway budget 2014-15) Construction of the Gulbarga-Bidar link is completed which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Bidar-Hyderabad inter-city train service became operative in September 2012. A Bidar-Yeshwantpur (Daily) express train and Bidar-LTT Mumbai express train service has been started recently. Another train starting from Bidar through Latur to Mumbai started, which runs on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

Air

Bidar Airport Bidar Airport ಬೀದರ್ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ is an airport in Bidar, India. It operates as a civil enclave on the Indian Air Force's Bidar Air Force Station.

, also known as Bidar Air Force Station, is a military airbase cum Domestic Airport in Bidar,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The city is home to an air force station. Star Air operates 3 days a week flight between Bidar (IXX) and

(BLR).

Road

Frequent KSRTC buses to Kalaburgi (Gulbarga), Hyderabad, Latur, Udgir, Nanded, Solapur. Also Volvo services to Bengaluru, Hubli, Belgavi, Davangere, Mumbai, Mangalore and Pune.

Education institutions

Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences, better and abbreviated as, BRIMS is a district Government Hospital and medical college in Bidar, Karnataka with a status of autonomous institute under Government of Karnataka. College is recognised by medi ...

(BRIMS) *

Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University abbreviated as KVAFSU is a public university, established by an Act of Karnataka Legislative Assembly which was passed on 10 February 2004. This university has its headquarters in ...

* Shaheen Group of Institutions, Bidar *

Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Bidar Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College and abbreviated as the GNDEC is a centre of technical education, in Bidar, Karnataka. It was established in the academic year 1980-81 by the Prabandhak Committee Gurudwara, Sri Nanak Jhira Saheb, Bidar. The c ...

Gallery

File:Fort Garden bidar.jpg, '' Fort Garden Bidar'' File:BIADR FORT (inside view garden).jpg, '' Bidar Fort (inside view garden)'' File:BIADR FORT (inside view).jpg, '' Bidar Fort (inside view)'' File:Gurdwara Nanak Jhira Sahib.jpg, ''

Guru Nanak Jhira Sahib Guru Nanak Jhira Sahib is a Sikh historical shrine situated in Bidar, Karnataka. Gurdwara Nanak Jhira Sahib was built in 1948 and is dedicated to the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak. Bidar has a very long association with Sikhism as this is the home ...

'' File:Madrasa Bidar Bidar.jpg, '' Madrasa Bidar Bidar'' File:Chaukhandi bidar.jpg, '' Ashtur Tombs'' File:Papnash temple , bidar.jpg, '' Papnash Temple''

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

*
Official Website of the District

Bidar Tourism website

Bidar Information
{{Authority control Former capital cities in India Cultural Heritage Cities in Karnataka