This is my second visit to the Paigah tombs - the first one was an unguided one where we just wandered around and admired the beautiful structures. This time Tanya organised a heritage walk and I asked Vasu if he was interested and both of us joined the walk at 9 am.
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| The Paigah insignia |
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| The mosque |
A group of some 7-8 joined us. Tanya as always is meticulous in her preparation and gave us some architectural insights - she being an architect herself. For example she told us how the female tombs had a depression on top while male tombs had a keystone on top.
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| Pineapple motif |
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| Tombs |
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| Intricate work |
The Paigahs were nobility and fierce loyalists of the Nizam who served as generals, statesmen and philanthropists, maintained their own arms and were richer than most Maharajas.
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| Entrance |
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| Lattice work |
The title Shams-Ul-Umra was given to the first of the line Abdul Fateh Khan Jung who came from Delhi with the first Nizam to handle the kingdom of Golconda after the fall of Qutb Shah empire. His tomb was the first and the place gradually became the burial ground for the Paigah family.
The Amir-E-Kabir HE Sir Khursheed Jah Bahadur is the one who seems to have developed the area and the tombs of his family has been given preferential treatment in terms of size and ornateness.
Apart from their social status the Paigahs were great builders and built palaces such as Falaknuma Palace, Asmangarh Palace and Khurshid Jah Devdi among others.
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| Open to sky |
The tombs of Shams-Ul-Umra I to V, Asman Jah, Khurshid Jah, Sir Vicar Ul Umra, Moin Ud Dowla and others are well preserved. All tombs are exposed to the sky in deference to the Emperor Aurangazeb whose tomb is also open to sky.
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