My hometown, Aurangabad, is a place full of history. It was founded in 1610 by Malik Amber, the prime ,inister of the then Nizam of Ahmednagar, on the site of a village called Kharki (now pronounced as Khadki). Malik Ambar was succeeded by his son Fateh Khan, who changed the name of the city to Fatehnagar. In 1633, Fatehnagar came under the possession of the Mughals. When the Mughal prince Aurangzeb was appointed the viceroy of the Deccan in 1653, he made Fatehnagar his capital and renamed it as Aurangabad (source: Wikipedia).
Also known as the ‘City of Gates’, Aurangabad used to have 52 gates around the perimeter of the city, not a very long time ago. These gates served as points of revenue collection and were also used for surveillance purposes. Out of the 52, only about 19 or 20 survive today, a few of them in a very dilapidated condition.
In one of my college vacations, I located and photographed 19 of these gates. The hunt for them did not prove as difficult as I had expected. Wikipedia, Wikimapia and an old map preserved by my mother (she too is a history buff) were all that was needed. I took my best friend Nehali along, and together, we rode in the old part of the city to go about our task. It was a lot of fun exploring the parts of city I have rarely had reason to visit. It was not exactly beautiful or eye catching, but the whole experience was satisfying.
Here are the photographs from my excursion around the city.
- Makai gate
2. Bhadkal Gate: This is the biggest gate in the city. It was built by MalikAmbar in memory of the victory against the Mughals in 1612. As a result, it is also known as the Victory Gate.
3. Paithan Gate: The way to Paithan goes though this gate.
4. Barapulla Gate
5. Mahmood Gate:
6. Naubat Darwaza
7. Kaala Darwaza at Qila-e-Ark
8. Rangeen Darwaza
9. Subsidiary of Rangeen Darwaza:
10. Delhi Gate: Beyond this gate lies the way to Delhi.
11. Roshan Gate
12. Jaffar Gate
13. Khaas Gate: Most dilapidated among all. I didn’t fancy much clicking this picture – just a minute ago, a man had relieved himself at the gate. It has now become a garbage dumping place.
14. Katkat Gate/Islam Darwaza
15. Khusro Gate
16. Dargah Gate: I am not sure if it is one of the 52 medieval gates, although it is listed on the maps.
17. ID?
18. ID?
19. ID? People call it Noor gate. Its real name might be Buland Darwaza, but I am not sure.
To Wonder & Wander 
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