Hyderabad by Walk - Golconda Fort

When Deccan Archives announced a visit to Khazana Museum at Golconda I mentally signed up for it for two reasons - one, that I like what Deccan Archives does, their walks are interesting, and two, I wanted to get a feel of Golconda Fort beyond what we normally do, which is climb up and down the main fort area without a clue as to what its history is about. So I headed to Golconda a little earlier than the scheduled walk at 930 and landed there by about 830 or so. 

Fateh Darwaza - Golconda Fort

Double gates - the inside gate has some interesting sculptures

Curved and narrow road

I entered the fort area from the Qutb Shah tombs area, through the Banjara Darwaza, a formidable gate with its usual zig zag manner to make life difficult for invaders. I narrowly missed hitting a bike which was rushing out at lightning speed which was not ideal for a road like that. But the young man, skidded, slipped and gained control just in time and all was well. 

Inside gate

Outer gate - check out the spikes on top to deter elephants from breaking it down

Past the Katora Hauz, a huge square pond which was empty, and past the main fort area, I found the Khazana Museum on maps and parked close to it. Being a Sunday, roads were relatively free so parking was easy. I decided to walk to the Fateh Darwaza which was quite close as the map showed.

This was the gate from which Aurangzeb's army entered in 1687 and conquered the Golconda Fort after a 8 month siege led by Aurangzeb himself. The gate was opened not because of any ingenuity from the Mughal side which was clueless as to how to breakthrough into the fort, but thanks to a traitor on the Golconda side, Abdullah Khan Panni (in another source it is mentioned as Sarandaz Khan), who gave access through a backdoor entrance to the Mughals. A section of Mughal soldiers entered the fort and opened the Fateh Darwaza from the inside for Aurangzeb's son Prince Azam and his troops to exploit the breach and thereafter conquer the fort in a battle that it is mentioned somewhere, lasted 105 hours. Fateh is victory and that is also the reason why Fateh Maidan was named so (that is where the Mughal army was stationed and after the victory it became Fateh Maidan).

A bastion

The 1687 war was the second attempt to annex Golconda by the Mughals. In 1656 Aurangzeb, then a Prince under the command of Shah Jahan, laid siege to Golconda. However the siege was called off after Shah Jahan and the Qutb Shahi Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah reached a peace treaty. Post that siege, the Qutb Shah Sultan extended the fort and built the portion which is now called Naya Qila envisaging future attacks.

A cricket ground - with two cannons safeguarding it for good measure

But back in 1687, Aurangzeb was the emperor and his plan had always been to annex the Deccan Sultanates. He had conquered Bijapur by laying siege (1685-86) and was set on annexing Golconda, a kingdom which was ruled by Shia Muslims (Mughals were Sunni Muslims), who patronised Hindus in their court and who had offered support to the Marathas in their war against the Mughals. More importantly Golconda was rich with important agricultural tracts, diamond mines and trade routes. 

The Mughal forces led by Price Shah Alam overcame the Qutb Shahi resistance easily and had a free run of Hyderabad's palaces unopposed. Sultan Abul Hasan Tana Shah fled to the Golconda Fort and shut himself inside its secure gates. Instead of pursuing and annexing the kingdom, Prince Shah Alam sought a peace treaty and the Mughals left with a few disputed territories, a large lumpsum and a promise of removal of Hindu Ministers Akkanna and Madanna. The Mughal armies withdrew to the borders of the kingdom. But the Sultan did not remove his Hindu Ministers as per the treaty, and a section of the nobles in the court (or was it the Mughals I am unsure) beheaded the brothers Akkanna and Madanna and some others from the Hindu quarter.  

Sculptures on the inner gate

Aurangzeb laid siege from January 28 to September 21, 1687 with 50,000 infantry, 50,000 cavalry and 100 siege guns. The siege was long drawn over 8 months and the Mughals had to encounter drought, famine and epidemic during this period which lowered the morale of their forces and caused infighting. Their incapability of penetrating the fort despite many measures also affected their morale. The fort on was well guarded, well stocked with food and arms and ammunition and had fields inside for crops which meant the people inside were well prepared to wait it out. 

In July, fresh reinforcements came from Delhi in the form of Prince Azam. In September, the traitor within the fort opened the Fateh Darwaza and Golconda fell. Among those who were honored after the victory were Prince Azam, King Anup Singh a Rajput king who fought for Aurangzeb, and a few Qutb Shahi nobles who defected to the Mughal side (including one Ibrahim who was titled Mahabat Khan and made governor of Golconda). It is estimated that the Mughals carried away 60 million worth of treasure on camel backs to Delhi.

 

Steps to the victory gate 

Cannon and the moat

While walking towards the historical Fateh Darwaza I noticed many structures which probably were of the earlier era, only they have been built over with new structures. One gate here, a wall there, giving away signs of the olden days. And finally the Fateh Darwaza. Due to the narrow and curved approach, traffic is one way, with traffic lights controlling it by switching from one side to another. 

The Fateh Darwaza is of course what the Mughals called it after they defeated the Qutb Shah king. It was earlier called the Bagh Nagar Darwaza and was the gate of the Qutb Shahi capital city Qila Mohammadnagar (the city inside the Golconda fort). This was the gate that led to Hyderabad city, leading straight to Purana Pul and further on towards the port of Masulipatnam. In the Qutb Shahi times the Kingdom of Golconda was a major centre of world trade in the 16th century. After the Mughals took over, they reduced it to a military garrison, an outpost of their empire.

View for the gunners or archers - invaders would be sitting ducks

A cannon on Fateh Darwaza with the Golconda fort looming behind

Thankfully I was on foot so I just walked through the gate, watching its solid doors in awe, one with spikes intact to handle any elephant charges. The walls were solid granite and thick and multi layered and I could understand how difficult it must have been to penetrate even with cannons - we are talking of the outer walls here. Past the wall, I stepped out to the outside of the fort where there is a HMDA park now and beyond it the Langar Hauz lake with a walkway all around it. A little further down is an old Qutb Shahi time tomb.

More fortifications - they must have seen and experienced a lot

View from the top between the two gates

The gunners view - check out the holes to place the guns or whatever and shoot

I walked back into the fort from the outside and saw a few kids playing cricket in a small ground right next to the Fateh Darwaza on the inside. Two cannons were lying casually just as some ornate holders for plants or water I know not. The cannons served as a place to keep the cricket bat for the kids for now - potent ammo for sure. I asked them if one could climb up the Darwaza and they said there were steps by the side.

The Fateh Darwaza XI

The cannon on the cricket ground

I took the steps and climbed up and there were cannons, bastions, places for guns to be placed and fired while protecting the soldier. Apparently four massive cannons of the Mughals - Azhdaha Paikar, Fateh Rabbar, Atish Bar and Qila Kusha are still on the fort premises. The Darwaza was even more awesome from up here and it offered great views of the main fort and of the rest of our city which has grown all around it. The Fateh Darwaza is also known for its amazing acoustics which had been a feature of the Qutb Shahi structures - a clap here could be heard in the highest point of the tower. Can't imagine anything of that sort being engineered these days.  

After taking many pictures up on the Darwaza I noticed that the cricketers had tired of playing and were now on the Darwaza themselves - surely a fantastic getaway on a summer Sunday morning. After telling me about their cricketing prowess and who cheats and who does not, they consented to a picture. The Fateh Darwaza bastions had enough signs of revelry by locals - broken beer bottles were all around.

Makki Darwaza

Fort's highest point

Ashoorkhana-e-Paltan

Inner walls - equally strong

Elephant stables?

I walked back to the Khazana Museum and found that a sizeable crowd had gathered for the Deccan Archives event. Only hitch was that the person with the keys was missing so it had to be only on the outside. I decided to come back later for a full tour whenever next and headed out. 

Jamali Darwaza

I had spotted a few more gates of the fort on the maps and decided to check them out. Being a little sunny, I hitched a ride on an auto and got dropped off at the Makki or Makkai Darwaza which falls in the defence area. There is an old structure there which was a library. Walked past an Ashurkhana, along the massive granite walls of Golconda and came back to the gate that led to Fateh Darwaza.

Moti Darwaza

Sarvar showing me an inscription on the cannon

From here I got another rickshaw and the enthusiastic Mohammed Sarvar who know s a lot about Golconda having been born and brought up here, took me to Naya Qila where I hoped to see the Hathiyon ki Jhaad (Baobab tree), the Naya Qila bagh (which was built as an extension by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah). But sadly the road past the Naya Qila darwaza was under repair and we could not go there. We did go some distance and saw the place though - the bagh seemed to have been consumed by the Hyderabad Golf Club.

The Golconda Fort - thankfully no construction has taken place on this hillock

The Qutb Shahi tombs lost in the concrete jungle behind

Anyway Sarvar took me to Jamali darwaza - from Banjara Darwaza to Makkai Darwaza the order falls something like Banjara Darwaza, Jamali Darwaza, Naya Qila Darwaza, Moti Darwaza, Fatesh Darwaza and Makki Darwaza - each as solid as the next one I would love to do a walk between these and down to the Hathiyon ki Jhaad. (There are eight gates in total - Bala Hissar, Patancheru and Yali darwazas are what I seem to have missed - anyway until I get more clarity on these, this is how they will remain) Anyway the Jamali Darwaza was not very impressive but the next one, the Moti Darwaza was very impressive.

The old and new coexisting - that mosque is surely 400 plus years old

Sarvar took me down under (there was a loose cannon lying there - or rather a cannon lying loose) and we climbed up the steps to get a good view of Golconda Fort, of the Naya Qila area, of the place where we shot a song sequence in Golconda where the steps are. It was an awesome sight and many locals are enjoying the scenery every evening by the looks of it - many beer bottles were found which must have offered much peace and enjoyment to the locals there.

We shot a song in GHS on those steps behind

The fisherwoman selling fish near the darwaza looked at me and asked why I was roaming around in the sun and I told her I have no other work. She backtracked and said I should come back in the evening when it is nice and pleasant. I said I would. I can imagine how beautiful it must be to sit up on any of these Darwaza in the evening time. She told me she got fish from Mahbub Nagar and now she has to wait till evening to sell the rest of the fish.

Sarvar took me through some winding roads and dropped me near my car. I thanked him and gave him his fare and a tip. He was quite happy and told me he would be happy to show me around the next time I was in these parts. Hopefully soon!