Lotus Pond

Hyderabad's soul is in the old city, but the newer parts are pretty rocking too - I hardly ever talk about them on my blog, so let me take you to the Lotus Pond in Banjara Hills. 

This eco-preservation initiative by the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad is a water body in the heart of Banjara Hills, surrounded by lush greenery and Hyderabad's trademark rocks, and inhabited by dozens of species of birds. There weren't any lotuses when I went, I'll have to go back to take some more pictures when they are in full bloom. The park is open from 6 to 10 in the morning and 4 to 8 in the evening. The perfect place to go for a relaxed walk, or sit and watch the water or lie on the grass reading a book.


Edited to add: The park is open from 4 to 6 in the evening, not 4 to 8. Thank you Rohini, for the correction.

This bird is apparently a Little Cormorant:

The tiled walkway around the pond is beautifully maintained. I love this spot where a tree blocks the path almost horizontally, and you need to bend under it to get past. Very aptly, a sign on the tree reads " Let's bow down to nature" :) Cute touch!

Prayer of the Forest :)

Some more pics...

And this, was my favourite picture of the day...

Unadulterated Splendor!

I have had hardly any time to post anything here in the last couple of months - I miss my blog and hope to resume posting later this week. In the meanwhile, Arif shared this gorgeous gorgeous video on Facebook that I HAD to share with you! Hyderabad really takes royalty to a whole new level!

Hum Mein Hai Hero

Have you seen the recent Hero MotoCorp ad? Hum mein hai hero? When I saw it, I was delighted to see a bit of Hyderabad in it!

This is the commercial:

At 1:40, of course, is the one and only Charminar. And at 1:46, do you see something like this:

This somewhat European looking palace is the Sardar Mahal. The sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan built it for his wife Sardar Begum in 1900. But she didn't particularly like the palace, so it remained unoccupied for a very long time. At present, GHMC has its office in Sardar Mahal, but there are plans to set up a museum in the palace: More here.


I shot these pictures more than a year ago, but I never got around to posting them, because I sort of agree with Sardar Begum that  it isn't a very pretty palace :P But this ad gave me the perfect reason to post them :)

Nawab Fakhr ul Mulk Bahadur

Nawab Fakhr-ul-Mulk II was one of the Umra-e-Uzzam, the Great Nobles of Hyderabad, whose  place in the aristrocratic  hierarchy was right after the Nizams and the Paigahs. He inherited his fondness for the Western way of life from his father Fakhr-ul-Mulk I, who had been responsible for the security of the Englishmen in Hyderabad, during the first war of independence in 1857. The Nawab was known for his flamboyant lifestyle and his love for entertaining. He threw the most lavish dinner parties, ate mostly European food, had his European clothing sent to Paris for washing, etc. He was also known for his kindness, and charity to the poor - he'd regularly distribute money, goods and food cooked in his own home to the poor.

He initially lived in the Asad Bagh Palace (now the Nizam College). Later, in 1870, he built the spectacular Erum Manzil palace. It is said that Nawab Fakhr-ul-Mulk and Sir Vicar-ul-Umra (the Paigah Nawab) had a competition to see who could build the higher palace. Since both built their palaces on hilltops, it ended in a tie. Fakhr-ul-Mulk built Erum Manzil, while Vicar-ur-Umla built the Vikhar Manzil.

Erum Manzil is unbelievably huge, with around 600 rooms, and my wide angle lens at its widest could not capture even half of the palace's length. It is said that the in the good old days, the palace had plenty of gardens, a pond for boating, tennis courts, polo grounds, tons of animals, and an army of servants to perform various jobs. Today, it is used as the Chief Engineer's Office, but the area around the palace is very quiet and peaceful on holidays and weekends, and is DEFINITELY worth a visit.

The Nawab also built the Erumnuma palace, which is now part of the government Tuberculosis Hospital in Erragadda. We did go to take pictures, but on realizing that we were the only ones not wearing masks, I got paranoid about catching an infection and decided to go home and come back later. I spent the next two days getting suspicious whenever one of us even coughed randomly :P

A few buildings away from the TB hospital is this beautiful granite structure: 

This is where the Nawab, his wife and relatives lie buried. It is said that the construction of the tomb complex was supervised by the Nawab and his wife before their death.

Colours of the streets

Aadab Hyderabad is FIVE!

On Friday, Aadab Hyderabad turned 5! F.I.V.E!!!!! 

Thank you all soooo much for your unconditional support,  kind comments, sweet emails and constructive feedback. I want to specially thank all you Hyderabadis living outside Hyderabad, who wrote to me saying that my blog transported you home for a few brief moments - your mails mean SO MUCH to me. And those of you who shared intriguing trivia and tips about so many less-known places in Hyderabad with me - thank you for your generosity:) And of course thank you soooo much dear family and friends who've had the misfortune of being dragged along for photowalks with me :)

This post is dedicated to the people of Hyderabad. Because, like  Shakespeare said, what is the city but the people? 

  

H.E.H. The Nizam's Museum

Every time I passed this beautiful yellow door, I'd wonder what lies  behind it, in the galleries of H.E.H. The Nizam's Museum, but never managed to make a visit, until yesterday.

The Purani Haveli palace was built in 1777 by the second Nizam of Hyderabad for his son, Sikandar Jah. The Haveli grounds contain several structures, including Princess Esin women's educational center, the Durrushehwar hospital, Mukarram Jah Junior college and the main palace.

A portion above the junior college now houses H.E.H. The Nizam's Museum, a museum of artefacts from the good old days in the Haveli. The highlight of the museum, is without a doubt, the spectacular 240 feet long wooden wardrobe built by Mahboob Ali Khan, Hyderabad's sixth Nizam.:

It is said that when he went shopping, he'd buy entire bundles of fabric, so that nobody else had the same kind of outfit :) The unused fabric was stored in the wooden shelves above the main wardrobe, along with his caps/hats, perfumes and other accessories. Considering that he never repeated an outfit, it is no wonder that he needed such a huge wardrobe. Come to think of it, this might have been as cramped as our own tiny cupboards :) 

He was very fond of hunting and spent months at a stretch in the forests. Some of his hunting boots:

Another highlight of the museum (that I didn't take pictures of) is a 150-year old manually operated lift, that took the Nizam to his wardrobe on the first floor of the building!

Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, sat on this throne made of pure gold and wood, during his silver jubilee celebrations, that were held in the Jubilee Hall in the Public Gardens. (A wonderful read if you're interested)

Perfume bottles:

A dagger with a handle studded with precious stones: 

Playthings for children of the royal family:

Gold cup and saucer studded with precious stones:

 Diamond studded cups to hold qahwa or coffee decoction:

The most beaaaauuutiful mirror ever :)

 Gold tiffin box studded with diamonds and the qahwa cups again:

These swords with verses from the Quran inscribed on them, were meant only for self-defence and never to be used to attack.  

 Gold books!!

The Nizam's walking sticks, with handles profusely decorated with precious stones and pearls. The huge pearl on the handle on the right  is said to be the world's biggest pearl. It's natural shape resembles that of a woman.

A painted photograph of the last Nizam:

The museum is quite small, and it took us less than an hour to see everything. It isn't like Salar Jung museum or Chowmahalla Palace in the vastness of its collection, but it offers a tantalizing glimpse into the opulence and elegance of the past. All the gold, silver, diamonds, pearls and ivory make you come out feeling like you just took a tour of Bellatrix Lastrange's vault :)