Hyderabad by Walk - The Hussain Sagar 10 K Chakkar

 While walking around in bits and pieces around the Hussain Sagar lake we got ambitious and decided to walk the 10 kms around the lake (or pretty much 10 k). I remember it from the marathon runs they would organise and the 10 k was around the lake. So Sunnie, Kiri and I decided to catch up at 530 am at the Eat Street and walk around the lake at our own leisurely pace. 

The Tank Bund across the Hussain Sagar lake

The Secretariat

We started the walk towards Prasad's Multiplex and turned along the Hussain Sagar promenade at the Indira Gandhi junction where we also have statues of PV Narasimha Rao and not forgetting the most imposing statue of BR Ambedkar. There's a small temple to the left as well. 

Another view of the Secretariat - BR Ambedkar statue to the right

Kiri and Sunnie at the road ahead

The Park

Now Hussain Sagar, the world's largest heart shaped lake and a protected heritage site, was built by Sultan Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah in 1562. It's an artificial lake spread across 5.7 sq km and has a maximum depth of 32 feet. The lake is fed by the Musi river and its canals and was the source of drinking water for the twin cities until the Osman Sahar lake and Himayat Sagar lake came up on the outskirts  of the city. The lake however is named after Hussain Shah Wali a Sufi saint who came to Golconda and was quickly absorbed and given high positions - including that of the Master Architect of the Kingdom (he also was made the Sultan's son-in-law according to one account). The lake holds water perennially fed by the Musi's canals. 

The 18 metre high Buddha statue on the Gibraltar Rock

The stupa

We walked past the BR Ambedkar statue, along the pavement, tripping over some contraptions which are probably used to hold the cranes during Ganesh immersion. The sun was not yet out but the early colours of dawn were visible. To the right we passed the NTR Gardens (in the place where it stands now was the Hussain Sagar Thermal Power Station which was constructed in 1920 and was supposedly the first thermal power station in India. It supplied power to the twin cities from 1920-1983 and then it was demolished and made into the gardens.

Youngsters doing some reels under the Ramadasu statue

A poem by Sarojini Naidu nee Chattopadhyay

Further up we passed the majestic, spanking new Secretariat to the right. To the left were the remnants of the Lumbini Park which was very popular in its time but I do not even know if its exists anymore. And then the Telangana Amara Jyothi which is a Telangana martyr memorial constructed in 2023, a seamless stainless memorial which is also the largest stainless steel memorial apparently. 

An attempt at educating the public about the history of Hussain Sagar

Past the little garden to the left which I never noticed, the lane which leads to the Boats Club and we were on the Tank Bund. We walked on the side closer to the lake, reminiscing the many times we sat in the 1980s when the city was less crowded and we could easily park by the side and sit for hours on the benches. The bronze statues started on the right and I clicked pics of as many as I could in the dark. They are really beautiful.

In order from the Secretariat side
1) Gautamiputra Satakarni
2) Nannaya
3) Tikkanna
4) Yerrapragada
5) Annamacharya
6) Potana
7) Yogi Vemana
8) Siddhendra Yogi
9) Tana Shah
10) Molla

The Police Station on Tank Bund

Cute arches

How it looks from the front

11) Brahma Naidu
12) Potuluri Virabrahmendra Swamy
13) Kshetrayya
14) Sri Krishna Devaraya
15) Ramadasu
16) Thaygaraja
17) Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu
18) Sri Sri
19) Mutnuri Krishna Rao
20) Gurram Jashuva

A mosque

Saidani Ma tomb

21) Suravaram Pratap Reddy
22) Makhdoom Mohiuddin
23) Kandukuri Veeresalimgam
24) Pingali Venkayya
25) Tripuraneni Ramaswamy Chowdary
26) Sir Arthur Cotton
27) Alluri Sita Rama Raju
28) Ballari Raghava
29) Gurajada Appa Rao
30) CR Reddy
31) Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
32) Mahboob Ali Khan Asaf Jah VI
33) Rudrama Devi
34) Komaram Bheem

A lovely temple

Herbal and Spices garden

Beautiful walk

The place was littered with cake and such birthday party celebration left overs in several places so we figure this must be the new way to celebrate birthdays - get cake and cut and make a mess and leave. The poor sweepers were at it. A  statue of Swami Vivekananda at the end and one of Basava. The park which used to have the huge aquarium and the Patton Tank which was won at the Battle of Basantar in the 1971 war against Pakistan. The old police station, the dargah next to it and then we passed the Sailing Club to the left and got off the road to get on to the road along the lake.

Park - don't park

And beware of pickpockets

There's a place which served tiffins early called Nani's but we were more keen on completing the walk than in eating so we chugged along. the walk was pleasant and while I brought up the rear, Sunnie and Kiri were happily chatting away ahead. We passed the Sanjeevaiah park to the left, named after the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Damodaram Sanjeevaiah. Its a beautiful park. Passed a Herbs garden to the right, the MMTS station, the PV Narasimha Rao memorial, the Jaipal Reddy memorial, some theme park. Jal Vayu vihar, the Lake Front park and then slowly back to the Eat Street - in about to hours or so.

The long and winding road

Time well spent.

We headed off to Minerva and had a nice breakfast and coffee and split.



    

In 1992 an 18 meter high Buddha statue was installed on the Gibraltar Rock which is in the middle of Hussain Sagar. Carved out of a single granite rock weighing 450 tons, 200 sculptors working on it for two years, the statue sunk when it was first attempted to be installed in 1988- and the finally it was installed in 1992.

The Tank Bund which is a bund that connects Hyderabad and Secunderabad and also holds the lake water was widened in 1946 by the then Prime Minister Sir Mirza Ismail and then again in 1987 when it was widened and beautified with bronze statues of well known personalities from the land during the NTR reign.     

Operation Polo - Prachi Garg

This book caught my attention as I am reading a bit about Hyderabad and its history these days and I picked it up at the Trivandrum airport. Operation Polo was what the Police Action was called when the Indian armed forces took over the Hyderabad state which was not amenable to the idea of joining the India as most other princely states had.

The India Independence Act was promulgated in 1947 and agreements between the British and local princely states which included the Subsidiary Alliance (where the local states paid the British forces to protect them) were void. Interestingly Hyderabad was the first to agree to the Subsidiary Alliance! The British while leaving gave the princely states three choices - join India, join Pakistan or stay independent. Kashmir and Hyderabad did not join as per the book (but as I understand it was Bhopal, Travancore and Hyderabad who did not want to join either India or Pakistan). The Nizam was inclined to negotiate from what I gather but the MIM led by Kasim Razvi kept sabotaging any chance of negotiations with the Indian government and instead kept the fire burning of a dream of flying the Nizam's flag on the Red Fort. Kasim Razvi was deeply radical and also not very practical in thinking that the Nizam's Hyderabad army of 35000 and the Ittehad's razakars (volunteers), could stand up to the Indian army.

The Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan was a larger than life personality who had been featured on the cover of the Times Magazine in 1937 - perhaps the year he held his silver jubilee celebration. His was the largest and most prosperous princely state with an annual income of Rs 9 crores, and he was the richest man in the world. The Hyderabad state had its own Railways, army, airport, currency. With the pressure from Kasim Razvi and others any attempt at being moderate was put aside and the idea of Hyderabad becoming a sovereign state was persisted with. There was large scale conversion of Hindus, harassment of Hindus, to quell any ideas of rebellion. Attempts were made to join the British Commonwealth as an independent country, to negotiate with the Portuguese to sell Goa so the state had an access to a port etc which failed. 

When a proposal was given by the Indian Government for a standstill agreement - wherein the Indian government would do whatever the British forces did  in terms of protection etc i.e. defence and external affairs would be handled by India until an agreement was reached. The Nizam was agreeable. The original committee (comprising of Sir Walter Moncton, the Nawab of Chattari, Home Minister Ali Yavar Jung, one Muslim and one Hindu) which was to meet the Indian government was stalled with Kasim Razvi barging into the meeting and demanding a different course of action. Moncton resigned and in his place Kasim Razvi himself went to the meeting and took a hard line and offended the powers that be viz Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel and Nehru. Though some sort of an agreement was reached both parties violated it - Hyderabad negotiated with Pakistan and lent it 15 million pounds while Indian government put an economic blockade by delaying transfer to Hyderabad. With the increasing atrocities of the Razakars and the peasant rebellion in jagirs, things were heating up.

The Hyderabad state then hired one Sidney Cotton to supply arms. The operation cost around 20 million pounds which was financed by one Laik Ali. Sidney Cotton flew all around the world, escaped Indian air space and delivered 500 tonnes of machine guns, grenades, mortars, anti aircraft guns, Lancaster bombers and such. General El Edroos was named Commander of the Hyderabad army.

Meanwhile Operation Polo was being finalised under the leadership of Lt Gen Goddard, who was the Commander in Chief of Southern Command of the Indian Army (the Goddard plan). Lt Gen Rajendrasinh ji was in charge and Maj Gen Jayanto Chaudhuri led the charge from the west (Solapur) while Maj Gen Ajit Rudra led from the South (Vijayawada). The forces were aided by smash forces and other forces at different points around the Hyderabad state borders. At the last minute the plan had a hitch as the Commander in Chief of the Indian army General Bucher was not in favour of this action when there was trouble in Kashmir. But Patel and Nehru were convinced and Operation Polo commenced on September 13, 1948 - battles on the west side at Naldurg, Jalkot, Tuljapur, Umarga, Rajeshwar, Latur, Mominabad, Zaheerabad, Bidar and on the South side at Suryapet, Narketpalli, Chityal. Largely one sided as the Indian army reached Hyderabad by September 17, 1948. 490 Hyderabad soldiers, 2727 Razakars were killed while the Indian army lost 47 soldiers.

The Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan asked his Prime Minister and cabinet to resign. His famous words 'The vultures have fled. I do not know what to do' or something to that effect when he contacted the Indian agent Munshi. Gen Edroos was asked to keep peace in the city and a radio announcement was made by the Prime Minister that the Indian Government had taken over the Hyderabad state. Gen Chaudhari was appointed the Military Governor. The Razakars were banned and 18000 detained. Kasim Razvi was imprisoned. Overnight, the situation in Hyderabad, one where the Razakars were causing mayhem and everyone was living in fear or were running away from the state, settled down and people felt safe. But then, as with the aftermath of any such changeover and with such simmering tensions between the communities, large scale violence was reported across the Hyderabad state, mostly Marathwada region. 

Prachi used a few fictional characters to drive the story - Adish Reddy, son of  rich landlord and a jagirdar Darshan Reddy who was studying architecture in London, Dr Leila Sen who was brought from Calcutta to head a department in Osmania General Hospital, Mahendra who is a naxalite leader operating under a sanghatan for artisans, Krishna who suffered at the hands of landlords and is a hardcore naxalite. To me the story was better told as it is minus the fictionalised parts. Or if it had to be in the backdrop of the Operation Polo, the characters should have had their own fully fleshed out stories - like Titanic. But I am glad Prachi chose this topic and addressed it separately in her book.           

              

Hyderabad by Walk - 200 Years of Secunderabad

Secunderabad was established in 1806 by the third Nizam Sikandar Jah as a British cantonment. There is a memorial commemorating the 200th year of Secunderabad in 2006 near the Saidani Ma tomb. I never knew this memorial existed. As memorials sand, this was not very impressive.

Memorial Commemorating 200 Years of Secunderabad

We walked towards the clock tower, past the Gujrathi area, the Arya Samaj building, Bansilalpet, some Art Deco structures and the Mahboob College. Then we turned right past the Natraj theatre which was being demolished.

Arya Samaj Building

Mahboob College High School

Mahboob College High School was started in 1862 by Somasundaram Mudaliar as Anglo Vernacular School. It was renamed as Mahboob College since the 6th Nizam Mahboob Ali Khan made a generous contribution to it - on the occasion of his accession to the Asaf Jah throne. Famous alumni of the college include film director Shyam Benegal, cricketer ML Jaisimha, Admiral Ram Das Katari, bureaucrat Mohan Kanda. Interestingly Swami Vivekananda visited the school in 1893 before heading out to the US to address the Parliament of Religions and even delivered a lecture titled 'My Mission to the West'.

Natraj Theatre under demolition

Iconic Garden Restaurant

We reached the Clock Tower but there is no one angle from where you get a good pic of it nor is there any access to it. The Clock Tower is one of Secunderabad's most iconic landmarks which was established in a 10 acre land in 1860. The 120 foot high clock tower was donated by Seth Lakshmi Narayan Ramgopal.

Something interesting in the Clock Tower Park

The Secunderabad Clock Tower

Walk done we headed back to Paradise for some breakfast and chai.

Hyderabad by Walk - Patton Tank

 The park towards the Secunderabad side is famous for many things but mostly for the Patton tank that is displayed right up there. The Patton tank was captured in the 1971 war against Pakistan and was presented as a war trophy by the 54th Infantry Division after the war. It was one of the 66 tanks captured during the 14 day war.

Nice visual of the tank with the Hussain Sagar in the background

A closer look

The tank

Plaque commemorating the gifting of the tank to the citizens of the twin cities

The plaque says it all - the 54 Infantry Division was raised in Hyderabad- Secunderabad in 1966. The M47 tank was one of the 66 tanks knocked out by the division in the 1971 war. It was gifted in 1973 by the Major General Pinto. Wonderful gesture.

Hyderabad by Walk - Saidani Ma Tomb (Maqbara Saidani Ma Saheba)

 As one gets closer to the Hussain Sagar lake one cannot miss the beautiful structure to the left - the Sadanima Tomb (1883). Built in the memory of Nawab Aabdul Haq Diler Jung's mother Saidani Ma Begum, its a protected monument which reflects the fine craftsmanship of both Mughal and Qutb Shahi architecture with fine decorations and jaalis.

Saidani Ma Tomb

Another view

Stucco work

Jaalis

There is a dargah right next to it and they have built some modern structures right next to the tomb as if to highlight the degeneration in our sensibilities and architecture.

How much ever you gaze at this structure you are left wanting for more.   

Hyderabad by Walk - Seth Ramgopals' Ancestral Home

 We have heard of Ram Gopalpeth in Secunderabad on various occasions so it was good to hear that the person on who it is named, Dewan Bahadur Seth Laxmi Narayan Ram Gopal's residence is still a landmark. One can make out the building which stands out from the rest. Ram Gopalpet famous for its market, the Bonalu procession and the police station. Seth Ram Gopal constructed temples, contributed to the army relif fund, hospital wards, a pavilion at the Fatesh Maidan ground, dharamshalas at Vijayawada, the clock tower at Secunderabad.   

The Seth Ram Gopal residence 

A little further down we cross the James Street Police Station which looks every bit part of the British times. Secunderabad was British area because this is where the British troops were stationed so much of the British influence remains. The most notable thing about the Police Sation apart from the building is the clock which was donated in 1900 by Dewan Bahadur Seth Ram Gopal.

The James Street

James Street Police Station

Further down the road we walk under the railway bridge which has the James Street Railway station which was built in 1874. This was the second station after Secunderabad Railway station and was a self-financed railway line constructed during the time of the 6th Nizam Mahboob Ali Khan. 

Hyderabad by Walk - Parsi Fire Temple

 This would technically be Secunderabad but let's stick to the Hyderabad by Walk motto. Sunnie and I were unsure where to head out when he suggested that perhaps we check out Secunderabad. The idea was to park near Paradise where we would ultimately return to for a breakfast and chai. Being an early hour it was still dark and we got along at a brisk pace - the idea was to walk straight down towards Tank Bund and check out anything of interest on the way.

Parsi temple

Just a little distance into the MG Road, where the popular Universal Bakery with its famous burgers existed, we came upon the Parsi Fire Temple. Obviously it was out of bounds and we could only peek at it through the gates. I looked it up on my favorite source and found that it was believed to be consecrated in 1847. Two brothers Pestonji Meherji and Viccaji Meherji who had settled down in Secunderabad built it. The Parsi population in Hyderabad they say is second largest in India after Mumbai.

The Parsi fire temple in Secunderabad was the first fire temple built in the Nizam's dominion. (A fire temple is a place of worship for the followers of Zoroastrianism.) There is a washing area, a dome called the Quibla where the sacred fire is enthroned in a steel container 'Afargan', made from bark free dried wood. The fire lit in 1847 is uninterrupted till date. The Parsi act of worship is also called the namaz.

Of the 177 fire temples in the world, 150 are in India they say. About 450 Parsi families live in Hyderabad, with a history that's over 175 years old. They seem to have come to Hyderabad from Konkan as cotton traders, and grew to be financially so sound that they would give loans to the Nizam. 

More on this when i get some more info.