Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Time Erases Political Pretensions and Their Monumental Markers
This article is about a writer named Manu S Pillai.
He talks about how buildings made by kings and rulers do not last forever.
Rulers built big, beautiful buildings to show how powerful they were.
But over time, those buildings get old and are forgotten.
Mr. Pillai gives an example of a city in India called Ahmednagar.
Long ago, it was the home of a sultan, or a king.
The city had many lovely buildings.
Now many of those buildings are used as a jail, a warehouse, or even a place for garbage.
The city even got a new name, Ahilyanagar.
This shows how even important-looking things can change over time.
Essayist Manu S Pillai argues that time destroys rulers' claims to eternal glory and their monuments.
Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, founded in 1494, was the seat of a sultanate whose rulers attracted global talent.
Only a handful of the city's magnificent buildings are protected; most have been misused or destroyed.
A 16th century structure is now the civil jail, another is a pen for criminals, the Lakkad Mahal is a warehouse, and the badgir windcatcher is a garbage dump.
The city, once named for its Muslim sultan founder, now bears the Hindu name Ahilyanagar.
- Who
- Manu S Pillai, an essayist writing about the rulers of the former Ahmednagar sultanate and the fate of their monuments.
- What
- An essay on how time erases rulers' pretensions to permanence, shown through the neglect, misuse, and destruction of Ahmednagar's historic buildings and the renaming of the city.
- When
- The city was founded in 1494, its monuments date from the 16th century, and the essay reflects present-day conditions.
- Where
- Ahmednagar (now Ahilyanagar) in Maharashtra, India.
- Why
- To illustrate that markers of political glory, such as monuments and names, do not survive the passage of time.
- Author
- Manu S Pillai
- Subject
- Decay and misuse of historic monuments; renaming of the city
- Location
- Ahmednagar (now Ahilyanagar), Maharashtra
- Year founded
- 1494
- Historical status
- Seat of a sultanate
- Building fates
- Civil jail, criminals' pen, warehouse, garbage dump, district court
- Protected buildings
- Only a handful