Baridi Gardens (Bidar, Karnataka)

The tombs of the Baridis, the successors to the Bahmani rulers in Bidar in the first decade of the sixteenth century, occupy a large space within the modern city of Bidar and are a distance of 2 kilometres from the Fort of Bidar.

The focus of this feasibility study undertaken by DHF London with the help of DHF India, was the garden landscape that surrounds the historic sepulchres of the most famous Baridi ruler, Ali Baridi (1542–1580) and his son, Ibrahim Shah (1580 –1587).

Around the tombs, traces of two historic gardens are evident along with their accompanying waterworks systems. The first and smallest garden located within the mosque/pilgrim’s hostel compound belonging to the majestic mausoleum of Ali Baridi is entirely symmetrical, the first of its type in the Deccan and probably India. This symmetrical garden precedes the Chahar Bagh architectural landscapes of the Mughals in Hindustan by approximately 20 years. The second is a meadow garden distinguished by a mango orchard.