Puran Mal Samadhi

File / Documentation

Name

111193_sv.jpg

Size

3.21 MB

Format

JPEG

Checksum (MD5)

244a3589a53d076f3779d7caa07d6cbd

Creator(s)

Hindu, Indian (South Asian)

Time period

creation date: first half 19th century

Location

Site: Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh, India)

Cultural context

Hindu

Indian (South Asian)

Description

Samadhi is a Sanskrit/Hindi word for cenotaph, a structure commemorating the dead akin to a tomb, but without remains. Given the profusion of Muslim tombs in Hyderabad, the Marwari moneylender Seth Puranmal Ganeriwal, who flourished in the first half of the 19th century built a domed pavilion approached by an open stairway, resembling an Islamic tomb, though cremation, not burial is the norm among upper caste Hindus.

exterior, view of stairs and domed tomb, 2005

Work type

Cenotaph

Medium

masonry

stone

Keywords

Islamic cities and towns