Mir Anees & Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar

Mir Baber Ali Anees was an Urdu poet, born in 1802 in Faizabad, Oudh now in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and died in 1874 in Lucknow, North-Western Provinces. Anis used  Persian, Hindi, Arabic, and Sanskrit words fluently in his poetry, and such quality distinguished him from his fellows. Anis wrote prolonged Marsias, which was a custom of his times, but nowadays only selected sections were narrated even in the religious ceremonies.

As a poet Mir Anis was doubtlessly great and prolific, His fame was not confined to Lucknow or Awadh alone, it spread in the length and breathe of India (undivided), wherever the poet went, he drew large crowds and his audience included men of all castes, creeds and religions. He was a poet of Ghazal too. Had he continued composing Ghazals, he would have perhaps earned a lasting fame in that field too. But there is a narrative that His father advised him to devote his talents to Marsia and Marsia lone. As an obedient son, he acted upon the advice of his father. His productive age was fairly long and he spent about 54 years in composing Marsias, Salams and Rubais. The Last few years of the life of Mir Anis were disturbed by the turbulent political events. It was the same period when the poet was faced with formidable economic difficulties. His health was fast deteriorating and he fell ill, and his illness took a serious turn. The great Poet breathed his last in the year 1291 Hijra, corresponding with 1874 A.D.

Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar (31 May 1725 – 13 August 1795), was the Holkar Queen of the Maratha ruled Malwa kingdom, India. Rajmata Ahilyabai was born in the village of Chondi in Jamkhed, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. She moved the capital to Maheshwar south of Indore on the Narmada River.

Ahilyabai's husband Khanderao Holkar was killed in the battle of Kumbher in 1754. Twelve years later, her father-in-law, Malhar Rao Holkar, died. A year after that she was crowned as the queen of the Malwa kingdom. She tried to protect her kingdom from Thugs, the plunderers. She personally led armies into battle. She appointed Tukojirao Holkar as the Chief of Army.

Rani Ahilyabai was a great builder and patron of many Hindu temples which embellished Maheshwar and Indore. She also built temples and Dharmshala (free lodging) at sacred sites outside her kingdom, at prominent religious places like Dwarka in Gujarat east to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi on the Ganges, Ujjain, Nasik, Vishnupad Mandir, Gaya and Parali Baijnath in Maharashtra. Seeing the destroyed and desecrated temple in Somanath, Rani Ahilyabai built a temple where Lord Shiva is still worshipped by Hindus.

Chhatris are elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indian architecture. Chhatris are commonly used to depict the elements of pride and honor in the Maratha and Rajput architecture. They are widely used, in palaces, in forts, or to demarcate funerary sites. Originating in Rajasthani architecture where they were memorials for kings and royalty, they were later adapted as a standard feature in all buildings in Maratha ruled states,

Maheshwar is a City in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh state, in central India. It is located 13 km east of National Highway 3 (Agra-Mumbai highway) and 91 km from Indore, the commercial capital of the state. The City lies on the north bank of the Narmada River. It was the capital of the Malwa during the Maratha Holkar reign till 6 January 1818, when the capital was shifted to Indore by Malhar Rao Holkar III.