Hyderabad - Heritage Walk

Charminar, the iconic monument of Hyderabad

The Heritage walks in Hyderabad all start from the historical and beautiful Charminar; one to Chowmohalla Palace, one to Badshahi Asurkhana and a third to the Purani Haveli. I was happy to see that we had caught walk 3 which goes from Charminar to Purani Haveli, as I hadn’t been to Purani Haveli before. And the biggest surprise was to find that Purani Haveli is still occupied by the Nizams descendants and we’re allowed to view it only from a good distance.

Purani Haveli from as close as we're allowed to get

This kind of brought out how history since the Nizams is so recent that the VIII Nizam, Mukarram Jha, is still alive, and though he doesn’t have an official title, the community still regards him as the VIII Nizam. Our guide Raziya, herself felt so and you could almost hear the awe in her voice.

I know a lot of Hyderabadis are kind of confused between the Qutub Shahis, Asaf Jahs and the Nizams, so let’s do a little clearing out on that. 

The Qutub Shahi dynasty, a Persian dynasty with Turkish origins, conquered Golconda in the early 1500s by defeating the Bahamanis, and ruled the Golconda Sultanete for close to 180 years, through eight rulers of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty. It was only in 1687 that the Mughals took control over Golconda, when Aurangazeb captured the fort ( through deceit, as it was reputed to be an impregnable fort) and it came under Mughal rule.

Aurangzeb then had the Asaf Jahs from Delhi administer the Golconda region and appointed them as Nizams, Nizam–ul-Mulk which is 'Administrator of the Realm'. And that's how the Asaf Jhas came to be known as the Nizams. The first Nizam was totally loyal to Aurangzeb, and is even buried next to Aurangzeb near Delhi. ( A correction; Aurangzeb is buried at Aurangabad, not Delhi ). But after the death of Aurangzeb, the second Nizam declared the region as an independent princely state, and thus came into existence Hyderabad. It was ruled by the Nizams for two hundred years through seven Nizams, right upto independence.

This explains why a lot of our historical monuments are interspersed between the Qutub Shahis and the Nizams 

The Chowmohalla Palace and the Faluknama Palace which were the later residences of the Nizams have since been restored, and what's more, under the personal guidance of Princess Esra, wife (though divorced and adding the controversial element) of Mukarram Jha, grand son of the Mir Osman Ali Khan the VII and last Official Nizam of Hyderabad. It is said that it is thanks to her that Hyderabad is again in a position to showcase the history of the Nizams. Personally grateful too Princess Esra, love the historical aura of Hyderabad !

Now for the walk itself; it started at the Charminar, where our guide Raziya, told us about the history of the Nizams, as I've tried recounting here, and some bit on how the Charminar includes Persian and Mughal architecture.

First stop was at the Unani Hospital, opposite the imposing Mecca Masjid

Jarokha at the entrance to the Unani Hospital

Mecca Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India

Next stop was at Sardar Mahal, the palace of the second wife of the sixth Nizam. It's named after her, Sardar Begum, but apparently it was built based on British architecture, and she didn't like it, so she never stayed there. It's now converted into a municipal corporation office, but you can't miss the once granduer and beauty of the place, with the walled purdah, fountains, balustrades et al

                                                         Sardar Mahal

On the way was this quaint, pretty and totally neglected tomb. Apparently the tomb of one of the Qutub Shahi chieftains, though why it would be so far from Golconda beats me.

An old and neglected tomb

Next stop was Mir Alam Mandi. It was fascinating as it was abuzz with early morning market activity, and stepping into that imposing gate felt like stepping back into history.

Mir Alam Mandi Kamaan and Gate

A couple of shots inside the mandi, for which I almost lost my group

                                       

                                          

 Next was Naan straight out of the Tandoor, yumm...I ate it plain. The rest of our group still did Naan and Nihaari (paaya, which is a broth of goat hooves) at the original Shadaab, where I was happy with Irani Chai, and that was a suitable and apt ending to a lovely Hyderabadi morning. 

                                   

I strongly recommend the walks to anybody visiting in Hyd, and I'll be happy to accompany :)