Ibrahim Rauza Tomb, Bijapur, Karnataka India

“Ibrahim Rauza, the garden tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, was the inspiration for the construction of the great Taj Mahal by Shah Jehan,” our guide very proudly declared. Shah Jehan was fascinated by two structures during his search for an architectural plan to construct a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaj, one was the Tomb of Mandu at Madhya Pradesh and the other was this Ibrahim Rauza.

We were at Bijapur, 525kms from Bangalore. A district in north Karnataka, it is dotted with several sight seeing spots, over 50 major mosques and some 20 palaces, mostly ruined, and a host of tombs and other structures.

Mausoleum of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, the structure in the right houses the tomb and the one in the left, the mosque. Ibrahim Adil Shah II was a visionary king who sought to bring Hindus and Muslims together. He spoke the local languages, had a Hindu temple built in his palace and composed verses dedicated to Saraswati and Ganpati.