Hyderabad: The 20th century was significant for Hyderabad for many reasons. One of them was the development of the Musi ‘riverfront’. Three prominent institutes came to adorn the riverfront in the first few decades of the century and became centres of knowledge-generation.
On a heritage walk organised by Deccan Archive and Intach (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), some 20 enthusiasts, young and old, explored the art and architecture of State Central Library, also known as Asafiya library, Osmania General Hospital and Government City College on Saturday.
The Asafiya library, named after the Asaf Jahi dynasty, to which the seven Nizams of Hyderabad belonged, was built in 1937, coinciding with the silver jubilee celebrations of the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. While the library was functioning at a different location (old General Post Office at Abids), it was moved to its present location in an ornate and grand structure as part of the riverfront redevelopment proposal put forth by architect and engineer Sir M. Visvesvaraya.
The story goes back to 1908 when Hyderabad had to face the wrath of nature in the form of floods. The enraged Musi washed away tens of thousands of homes, people and animals. As a measure to prevent further calamities, the Nizam VI Mahbub Ali Khan ordered a plan to move the population away from the river and make embankments, plantations and pavilions to hold the water in the river. Later, two main reservoirs were built upstream by Nizam VII, now know as the Osmansagar and Himayatsagar.
The architectural design for Asafiya library was given by British architect Vincent Esch, which had various features taken from Indian architecture. Largely Indo-Saracenic, the monument also has brackets that look like an elephant’s trunks, found in Kakatiyan temples; had long doors, ornate archs and majestic domes as one finds in Persian architecture and Mughal screens or jaalis with elaborate rosettes.
The building stands out as an example of combination of artistic features prevalent at the time, one unique feature being ‘port hole’ windows, an idea possibly borrowed from cruise ships, reminiscent of World War 1.
The library now is under restoration process and is a haven for students coming in to prepare for various government exams. Most of them have to sit outside as they are not allowed to carry their own books inside the library.
Heritage buffs then visited the Osmania General Hospital, once surrounded by parks, overlooking the river. “It was a nice change for the sick to be housed in a structure ample with natural light coming in through huge windows and with the view of the river outside,” said Sibghat Khan, architect and founder of Deccan Archive.
The hospital too, had earlier been functioning in the form of ‘Afzalgunj Hospital’, washed away in 1908. A tamarind tree that managed to save 150 lives, including that of the famous poet Amjad Hyderabadi, still stands strong on the campus.
After the floods, ‘High Flood Level’ markers were etched at several locations in the city, demonstrating the height at which the water had reached. One such marker etched on the wall of a temple behind the Osmania Hospital is about 20 feet high.
Finally, crossing the Nayapul, the group reached the Government City College, which started as a high school in the early 1920s, was upgraded to a junior college and now a degree college. It is one of the very few locations with the entire structure still intact, without major new-age additions: Jack-arch roof, Kakatiyan brackets, Nizam-esque domes and octagonal columns. The professors of the college came to greet the group and revelled in the shared pride in history and heritage of Hyderabad.
