Hyderabad

Hyderabad
Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Falaknuma Palace of Hyderabad, Purana Haveli, Hyderabad Zenana Quarters...

Although Hyderabad is now the capital of Andhra Pradesh and one of India's largest cities, its days as the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, as a center of the Mughal empire and as the seat of the wealthy Nizams have left an indelible mark. Regardless of Hyderabad's increasing importance in modern India, the city most people are drawn to is the Hyderabad of history. It is the only large South Indian city whose architecture, history and culture all are predominantly Muslim and it is this image which endures. Although the older generation will tell you that nothing is left of the grace and culture of the past but ruins and memories, it is they who preserve the dying echoes of bygone magnificence.

The first dynasty to make an impact here was that of the Qutb Shahi king who rose to power in the 16th century. Until they moved to Hyderabad in 1590 they ruled from the nearby fortress at Golconda. Upon arrival in Hyderabad they promptly built the city's most famous landmark, the Charminar, commemorating the end of a plague epidemic I 1591. The Charminar, with a mosque on its upper floor, looms over the heart of the city. During the day it wears a tired and weary look as all forms of Indian transport hurtle around it; only at night, when the four delicate minarets are illuminated, does it take on a youthful and more romantic appearance.

The Mecca Masjid, near the Charminar, is one of the world's largest and most impressive mosques, accommodating 10,000 of the faithful at one time. The entrance arches and colonnades were made from huge slabs of granite which required more than 1,400 bullocks to haul from the quarry 11 kilometers (seven miles) away. The Mecca Masjid has been both a witness to and a silent participants In Hyderabad's history. During its construction the Qutb Shahi kingdom was annexed by the Mughals and, although building began under Abdullah Qutb Shahi in 1614, it was not completed until 1687 under the reign of Aurangzeb.

Seven Qutb Shahi kings were followed by seven Mughals and then by seven Nizams, whose personalities and legendary wealth have contributed to the Hyderabad mystique. The last Nizam, Sir Osman Ali Khan, was officially addressed as His Exalted Highness (and was the only Indian prince the British allowed to use such an elevated title) but was universally referred to as 'the richest man in the world'. He was an eccentric miser who dressed shabbily and smoked cigarette ends but kept a diamond the size of an ostrich egg on his desk - wrapped in newspaper. He also founded the local Osmania University which specializes in Persian, Arabic and Urdu studies.

Although a Hyderabadi nobleman built the Falaknuma Palace for himself, he had little choice but to give it to the Nizam after he had admired it, particularly its lavish European-style interior. The Nizam added this beautiful palace to his list of residences but hardly ever visited it. The sumptuousness of the Pura Haveli, another of the Nizam's palaces, can be gauged by a single wardrobe; the silks, brocades, damasks and fine muslins it once bulged with have gone but it still stretches for 800 meters (half a mile). The royal women lived in strict purdah, secluded from prying eyes in the adjoining Zenana quarters.

The 3,500 objects in the Salar Jung Museum were all acquired by one of the Nizam's prime ministers, Mir Yusuf Ali Salar Jung III. Fabulously wealthy in his own right, he was an acquisitive and insatiable collector, whose agents haunted the world's salerooms. Although much of what was brought back to Hyderabad was of inferior quality, recent reorganization of the museum has resulted in the discovery of several outstanding works. Many European artists are represented, but by their better work. Although there is a fine Canaletto, it is the jewels, ornaments, ivories and manuscripts of the North Indian court that are so outstanding. Of particular interest are the jeweled swords and daggers of the Mughal emperors and the thrones and turbans of Tippu Sultan.