Date:19/08/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/19/stories/2006081920670300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

The `cracking' story of Bibi-ka-Alam

M. Sai Gopal

Report says alam has developed cracks A report by conservators says the alam and the wooden relic have developed cracks as it focuses on the need to preserve them

MENDING TIME: A view of the Bibi-ka-Alam at Dabeerpura . — File photo: Mohd. Yousuf

HYDERABAD: The famed Alam-e-Mubarak, popular as Bibi-ka-Alam, which is carried atop a caparisoned elephant on the last day of Muharram every year along with a relic of Prophet Mohammed's daughter Hazrat Bibi Fatima, is in need of repairs.

The relic, a piece of wood, is said to be around 1,400 years old and is believed to have reached Golconda all the way from the holy city of Karbala in Iraq during the reign of Golconda king Abdullah Qutb Shah.

The authorities in charge of the alam had invited conservators to check its condition and suggest ways for better upkeep of the historical artefact. A report prepared by city-based Institute of Management and Preservations of Arts and Cultural Treasures observed that the alam needed urgent repairs.

The report was prepared by conservators — Mohd. Samad and Syed Anwar Hussain — along with Salar Jung Museum Chief Conservator Ahmed Ali. According to Mr. Ali, the alam had developed cracks. "The alam must have developed cracks while being dismounted from the elephant after the procession. Several rivets have defaced it. Corners of the inscriptions are also cracking," he said. The relic, sandwiched between the two frames of the alam, had turned acidic and fragile.

Losing the sheen

"The relic has a hole and is fast developing cracks. It has lost its colour over the years and is prone to decay. It will disintegrate if proper care is not taken," the report said.

"The alam was repaired twice earlier, but conservation principles were not considered and sufficient strength was not provided to the structure for longer life," Mr. Samad said. Conservators were in the process of chalking out strategies to repair and preserve the alam, he added.