For the discerning eye, the influences of various dynasties on Hyderabad look like a string of pearls, each globule gleaming with stories of yore.
However, for a stranger, this string of magnificent pasts remains hidden in the modern hustle and bustle of a busy Hyderabad. One day is too little to have even a glimpse of the traces the Kakatiyas, Qutb Shahs, Nizams, and the British have left behind.
To showcase the city’s rich past, the Telangana Tourism Development Corporation has come up with an idea to take curious visitors to the relics that dot the City of Pearls.
The Corporation has launched a modest vehicle, which could seat 16. It meanders through the narrow streets of the city, with an itinerary that soaks the visitor into Hyderabad’s history. As the vehicle travels to six iconic destinations, it becomes a trip to the past.
Starting with the serene Birla Mandir, it travels to the grand Golconda Fort, the intriguing Salar Jung and Nizam’s Museum, and the rustic Charminar and Chowmahalla palace.
South First spent a day aboard this bus along with four other passengers.
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Temple on a hill, fort on a hill
The day started on Basheerbagh Road at about 8 am. The vehicle left for Birla Mandir after a quick breakfast.
Stopping at the foot of the Naibat hill, and a short trek through the narrow streets unveiled a magnificent white marble temple dedicated to the Lord Venkateshwara.
This made for a perfect beginning for the trip. After climbing about 150 steps to the sanctum sanctorum, what lay ahead was a panoramic view of a foggy Hyderabad getting to work along the Necklace Road. With views of the martyr’s memorial, Secretariat, and Hussain Sagar, the urban hum became an afterthought to the chirping birds.
While no phones were allowed on the premises, the view etched itself in the memory.
Birla Mandir
From one hill to another, following the calm visit to Birla Mandir, the bus travelled 14 kilometres to another hilltop attraction. Enter the Golconda Fort, a structure built in the 1100s that has more functionality than most large complexes today.
Surrounded by rock and bricks, its intentional design presents itself subtly. Owing to lower levels of noise pollution in days of yore, the fort was designed for communication across two kilometres with a single clap.
Similarly, a testament to the warring times, the fort has a three-story armoury and a gate built to withstand attacks.
The vehicles took the travellers to the breathtaking views of Hyderabad to the seat of power of a city that is long gone. The magnanimity and scale of things settle in, providing a new perspective to the City of Nawabs.
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Golconda Fort
Of golden spit bowls and Japanese sculptures
Following the awe of the monuments of Hyderabad, the tour plunged into the deep end of history, starting with the Salar Jung Museum.
Perhaps a representation of Hyderabad’s aspirations to be a global city, the Salar Jung Museum provides a window to the world. Like a personal portal that teleports across time and space, one can see everything from Egyptian tapestries to English clocks.
Scattered across the three-storey building are images of Hyderabad across the years, showing how the now rotting structures stood proud once. Following a quick lunch at the food court, the tour proceeded to a place which displayed a different kind of wealth.
If Salar Jung Museum was rich with history and information, His Exalted Highness Nizam’s Museum was rich with gold, silver, and jewels.
Sculpture at Salar Jung Museum
In a building that looks abandoned on the outside, a gallery of the Nizam’s riches is hidden by a spiral staircase. With displays of golden spitting bowls and 100-kilogram silver models of Hyderabad’s various landmarks, the crowning jewel has to be a diamond-encrusted tiffin box.
The exquisite display of wealth begged the question as to why the Nizam-era structures of Hyderabad are so ill-maintained today. With both museums, Hyderabad now looked like a centre of power — one that has lost its shine over the years.
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Where rustic charm meets poor maintenance
Keeping in theme with the Nizam’s Museum, the tour’s next stops were also Nizam-era monuments. The symbol of Hyderabad, Charminar, was much awaited amongst the tourists.
Going through the narrow streets of the old city, the travellers were told to keep their belongings safe because of the pickpockets in the area. Walking through the narrow streets, the visitors first entered the Mecca Masjid near Charminar.
Then came the Charminar, being renovated, standing tall in the centre of the area. Surrounded by a colourful array of bangles and jewellery, the sounds of a busy market immersed one into the lives of the old city.
A short walk later, the Chowmahalla Palace, another testament of the Nizam’s wealth, stood in its glory. With its airy rooms and luxurious courts, it too took the visitors deeper into the lives of the regal class of pre-independence Hyderabad.
Chowmahalla Palace
With these two, it came time for the trip to end. Customary visits to some souvenir shops later, the visitors called it a day near Lumbini Park.
A day full of awe, historic immersion, and cultural exchange later, the Hyderabad City Tour drew to an end.
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Needs maintenance
“For a growing city like Hyderabad, this tour is a great means to explore its past. However, the state of all the monuments is appalling,” Hardik, a Muscat-returned Mumbai resident, opined. Stating that the bus could have also been better, he added that there was much room for improvement.
The tour was indeed informative intentionally and unintentionally. While it intended to inform the traveller about the city’s history and culture, it also presented the poor maintenance of these landmarks.
Ultimately, it did provide a fresh perspective on the city whether you’re a local or a tourist.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
