Heritage run in Bidar

GoUNESCO, a Hyderabad-based group of travel enthusiasts who run a global travel challenge to encourage young people to visit world heritage sites, is coming to Bidar.

They will organise a monument exploration event and heritage run on November 1 and 2, to create awareness about the significance of monuments and heritage sites here.

“It will be distinct from a marathon in many ways,” Ajay Reddy, GoUNESCO founder, told The Hindu .

“The run will be centred around monuments and heritage structures. It will be a fun event. We will invite families and not just race runners to be part of the run,” he said.

The organisation has organised heritage runs in well-known sites like Hampi. “But now our focus is on lesser known sites. Sites that are off the popular tourist map, need the publicity as they need to be conserved. The villages and cities in which they are situated need to develop,” he said.

The most interesting part of the event will be a “cave hunt” in which a team of explorers will walk through the Karez system, a network of underground aqueducts, built by the Bahmani kings in the 15th century. Those interested in joining the run can register with the GoUNESCO site or its various social media handles.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/heritage-run-in-bidar/article6472395.ece

Hyderabad runs for Bidar heritage

Participants, mostly from Hyderabad and Bengaluru, took part in GoUnesco’s Heritage Run at Bidar on Sunday

Bidar: The past weekend, many Hyderabadis drove 145 km to the fort-town of Bidar in Karnataka to take part in two initiatives of GoUnesco. GoUnesco, a Unesco-supported initiative, works towards making heritage sites fun.

On Sunday morning, the participants from Hyderabad jogged in and around the Bidar fort as part of the Heritage Run and learnt about the historical significance of the area, which was a part of the Hyderabad state till 1956.

Jogging made way for trekking and even crawling in a matter of hours. Participants were taken inside a cave-like structure in Naubad, by an expert to explore and understand the wisdom of medieval engineering.

The cave was dark, damp, cold and smelt strongly of something sulphuric, which the expert later casually explained as “bats’ urine.” Twenty meters ahead, the den started narrowing. What seemed like a cave, was basically an entrance, to an underground water harvesting system that fed the area for centuries, before it was abandoned. And, it could be Bidar’s ticket to becoming one of the World Heritage sites in 2016.

Bidar is one of the many favourite getaways for Hyderabadis. It takes three hours by a car to get to this fort town. If you happen to spot several vents while wandering around Bidar, don’t pass them just for wells. They are very important pieces of history, at least of 600 years old. And, in a couple of years, they could also be listed by Unesco as a world heritage site.

These structures are part of the unique Karez water system of Bidar, which are fast disappearing. They were dug out between 1347 and 1518 during the Bahmani rule, to divert water to a new settlement.

A tour of the Karez wells in Naubad was organised by V. Govindankutty, a geographer from Kerala, who specialises in cultural heritage resource management.

What is Karez system?
Karez is a method of collection, transportation, storage and distribution of groundwater, practised in the arid or semi-arid regions. The concept originated in the Persian countries by the name of Qanat. In India, Karez systems were developed during the reign of Muslim dynasties and are found in Bidar, Gulbarga, and Bijapur in Karnataka, Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh.

How does it work?
Karez systems are architectural marvels. In India, they can be an underground water canal system with air vents every 50 metre, or a series of wells linked by a water tunnel, 40 to 60 feet deep. The Karez air vents acts as wells for the settlement above. Also, the water that flows through the underground tunnel can be drawn out for irrigation from the water tanks it fills up.

Why is Bidar’s Karez system unique?
The Karez system found in Bidar is of the infiltration type. Mr V. Govindankutty explains, “Due to the presence of laterite and basaltic rocks in the Deccan region, making the Karez wells became easier. Since laterite is very porous, water could easily seep into the ground. Laterite also filtered the water making it fit for consumption.”

He adds, “The Karez system in Bidar has been ingeniously built along a geological lineament (fault). And, like most lineaments, on the surface there are a lot of natural streams. These streams allow good amount of infiltration and should have helped keep the water-table high and the Karez perennial.”

Is the system functional?
Though the records suggest that the Naubad Karez has 21 vents, a survey done by Mr Govindankutty revealed 17 of them. Most of the existing vents are still active and being used to draw water for drinking and irrigation.

FUN RUN AT BIDAR
It was an early Sunday for the people of Bidar as many Hyderabadis and a few from Bengaluru took part in GoUnesco’s Heritage Run.

The “fun run” took the participants around Bidar, spotting 12 structures of historical importance including the iconic Bidar Fort, Gurudwara Nanak Jhira, Shah Gunj Darwaza etc.

Bharathi Vadali from Hyderabad said, “Since Bidar is close to Hyderabad, we thought it was a great way to spend our weekend.”

source:http://www.deccanchronicle.com/141105/nation-current-affairs/article/city-runs-bidar-heritage

Runners race past beautiful Bidar monuments, historical structures

A scene from the Gumbaz Darwaza, Bidar fort, during the Heritage Marathon in Bidar on Sunday.


Around 200 enthusiasts gathered on Sunday morning at the fort here to participate in the first-ever Heritage Marathon in the historic city of Bidar.

Men and women aged above 60 ran alongside a group of children aged between 10 and 15. A large number of the runners were young IT engineers, doctors, other professionals and students from Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Latur, and also from Kerala.

Some had even come from beyond the borders.

Jose and Anna, tourists from Spain, heard of the Go Heritage Run Marathon through the Internet and decided to take a detour, between Mumbai and Goa.

Anna was all praise for the city and the weather saying it reminded her of countries with temperate climate.

Runners passed through beautiful monuments and heritage structures such as the Gurudwara Guru Nanak Jhira, Madiwal Chowk, Mahamud Gawan Madrassa, Choubarah, Vanavasi Ram Mandir, Darji Galli, Fateh Darwaza, Mangalpet Darwaza, and Tusker Road.

Koguru Ravikumar from Gulbarga was the first to finish the 21-km run, in 102 minutes. Dilip Kumar Narasappa, a college student from Budera village, came first in the 10-km run and Mirza Baig from Humnabad won the five-kilometre run.

Muthukrishnan Rajaraman, an employee of Infosys, ran barefoot. C.H. Sudheer Kumar Reddy, Superintendent of Police, completed the 21-kilometre in a little more than two hours.

Suresh Kunhi Mohammad, Inspector-General of Police, ran 10 km. P.C. Jaffer, Deputy Commissioner, Hephsiba Rani Korlapati, Assistant Commissioner, and Rajendra Kumar K.V., probationary officer, completed the 10-km run, walking.

Ajay Mohan Reddy, founder of GoUNESCO that organised the run, said that social media marketing had helped attract runners from across the country and outside. There is a plan to make it an annual event, he added.



GoUNESCO-organised attracts runners from across the country  and outside

source:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/runners-race-past-beautiful-bidar-monuments-historical-structures/article6559378.ece

Go Heritage Run – Bidar

Go Heritage Run – Bidar 

Register now!

Date - 2 November 2014
Distances – 5km, 10km, 21km
Registration fee – Rs. 900 (10km and 21km), Rs. 700 (5km)
Please note that this is a fun run, timing will not be noted and no prize money will be awarded.
Families, friends, beginner runners and walkers are invited too!

What does the Registration fee include?
An information tour of the Karez water system on the day prior to the run conducted by experts (tentative – subject to the availability of the experts). This will be an experience you cannot buy!
Souvenir tshirt
Run support including electrolytes, water, etc
A unique finisher cum souvenir medal
Post run breakfast
A run through a beautiful, scenic route and a tryst with history
Surprise goodies!
Start times

21k run – 6 am

10k run – 7 am

5km run – 7.30 am
Why Bidar?

Bidar is on the tentative list of World Heritage Sites in India and in World Monuments Fund’s 2014 Watch list. We are glad to bring attention to this underrated heritage site!

The Bahmani and Barid Shahi monuments at Bidar dating from late 15th to the early 16th centuries, comprise of the Bidar Fort, the Madrasa Mahmud Gawan, the Bahamani tombs at Ashtur and the Barid Shahi tombs.

The royal palaces and two large mosques, the Jami Masjid and the Solha Khumba Masjid are located within the irregular, circular fort of Bidar. The six-mile long fort wall, built with huge stone blocks of reddish laterite stone is strengthened with 37 bastions, and has several gates with barbicans.

The significant achievement in Bidar is the sophisticated system of gates and sluices that could be used when required to flood segments of the moat and thus preserve water.

The historic town of Bidar is famous for more than its grand ruins. The ancient art of Bidri was born here, during the rule of the Bahmani sultans. It is said that Abdullah bin Kaiser, a craftsman who came from Iran on the Sultan’s invitation to decorate Bidar’s royal buildings, developed this art along with the local artisans. Bidriware is made with a blackened alloy of zinc, inlaid with thin wires of pure silver.

Photolog of a roadtrip to Bidar – http://madhugopalan.blogspot.in/2010/11/road-trip-to-bidar.html
Bidri craft – http://madhugopalan.blogspot.in/2010/12/bidriware.html
Getting to Bidar

Bidar is about 147km from Hyderabad and an overnight journey (690km) from Bangalore by road.
Nearest Railhead -

Bidar, Karnataka.

Trains from Hyderabad – link

Trains from Bangalore – link
You could also choose to book a train till Gulbarga and take one of the numerous buses from there.
Nearest Airport -

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (GHIAL) in Hyderabad is the nearest airport.
Bus -

Bangalore – There are several buses run by private operators and the government (KSRTC) to Bidar daily. Most KSRTC buses depart from KBS (Majestic).

Hyderabad – KSRTC Volvo buses from Bangalore travel via Hyderabad and are a good option. Numerous buses starting from Hyderabad ply at regular intervals too.
Car/self drive –

If you are traveling with your family or a bunch of friends, you can consider driving down to Bidar directly. The roads are great, but drive safe! Bidar is about 150km from Hyderabad. Directions – link.
Carpool -

If you would like to carpool, please use this tool – link.

Add your details (have a car or need a ride, contact details) and you will be notified whenever there are updates.

We are only trying to facilitate carpooling, but you are responsible for your safety and travel. Please exercise caution and keep alternate travel options as backup.
Payment details

Registration and payment – link.


Accommodation options
Here are a few options in decreasing order of cost and probably facilities (this is FYI only and we request you to please verify before booking).
http://www.hotelsapnacontinental.com/
http://www.theshivainternational.com/
https://plus.google.com/117729844076139465071/about?gl=ie&hl=en
https://plus.google.com/109582669064609740170/about?gl=ie&hl=en
http://www.blackbuckresort.com/

Discounts –

Please mention ‘Go Heritage Run – Bidar’ to avail the following discounts (will be updated as we have more info) –
Hotel Sapna – 25%

We are trying to speak to the Gurudwara and request permission to use their rooms/dormitory too.

Header photo courtesy – http://bidarcity.com/bidar-fort/


Register now!




Source : http://www.gounesco.com/go-heritage-run-bidar/