The walk would begin at Aza Khana -E- Zehra, an Ashurkhana of great beauty with high ceilings and beautiful interiors (built by the VIIth Nizam in 1930 in memory of his beloved mother Zehra to whom he was very attached), onwards to Darul Shifa, the Ashurkhana in Darul Shifa, to the Jillukhana darwaza of Purani Haveli, to Munshi Naan, to Inayat Jung deodi, to this chai joint, to Mir Alam Mandi.
 |
| Darul Shifa entrance - us entering |
 |
| Abbas Union FC |
Ok, let me begin at the beginning. The walk was scheduled early at 730 which suited me fine because it is easy to drive at that time with no traffic, easy to park in that part of town, and its not too hot and we wind up in time for breakfast. Anyway we met at Aza Khana e Zehra - Sushil, Sahil, Razzak were waiting. I parked in the gully next to the Ashurkhana and sent up a prayer that no traffic cops would be on the prowl at the early hour. Tanya joined us with her genial friend from Haldwani and soon we got everyone in, some 10 of us, and got going. As always Tanya shared well designed post cards with pictures and a lot of information packed into them about the places we were visiting (with maps of that era).
 |
| Symbols on the walls of Darul Shifa |
 |
| The Thinking Man Made of Scrap - Creativity is possible anyplace, anywhere |
The Aza Khana-e-Zehra was shut due to the early hour but that did not stop us from admiring it from the outside - its right next to Salar Jung Museum. In the inside are high ceilings, a huge prayer hall with lovely windows, jaalis, carpets and other beautiful stuff which I saw in another walk. Across the road was the Municipal Office which was spread over 6000 sq mtrs now on the way to oblivion as it gives up its life for the Metro Line. its a very interesting structure - rather European and quite quaint. I always used to wonder what this building was and thanks to Tanya, the mystery is unravelled. She also said it used to sell railway tickets at one corner. The MCH moved out in 1986 to its new office near Tank Bund.
 |
An old building now a PHC
|
 |
| Munshi Naans basking in the sunlight |
A little further on the right was the Darul Shifa, or House of Healing, a Qutb Shahi era hospital or rather, house of healing built in 1595 CE during the reign of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (the founder of Hyderabad), which no longer serves the purpose. In its heyday it apparently was the place where medicine men from all over the world would come to treat patients who were treated free of charge. However its premises hosts a few lovely Ashurkhanas which I saw before so didn't venture into. One of the Ashurkhanas has the Sartauq Alam, a steel standard on which is fixed a piece of the fetters of the fourth Imam of Shia Musalims, Hazat Zainul Abideen. As Ashurkhanas are places of mourning and worship for Shias, one could see posters condemning the death of Iranian leader Ayotollah Khameini. Inside we checked some of the old signs and designs on the Qutb Shahi buildings. Quite interesting.
 |
| The Jillukhana Entrance of the Purani Haveli |
The ground in front of Darul Shifa is the home ground of the oldest football club in Hyderabad, Abbas Union FC, which is coached by former player and Dhyan Chand awardee Mr Shabbir Ali. I heard that the ground will soon turn into a Metro Station making play grounds even rarer and distant for young kids. How many prospective footballers' destinies would change with that one decision is food for thought.
 |
| Nawab Inayat Jung Deodi |
Onwards towards the chowk where Munshi Naan used to be but has since shifted since it was bang in the Metro Line. We stopped at an old office of some sort which has now been converted into a PHC or the Ayush variety. A short walk and we found Munshi Naan - they were busy making fresh naans and we all got a few and ate some pieces of that delicious bread Tanya ordered for us. A customer who had just picked up some naan told us some nice things about Munshi Naan and went on his way. Nothing better than a customer referral.
 |
| Approach to the Mir Alam Mandi |
 |
| Mahankaleshwara temple |
Our next stop was at the yellow gate of the Jillukhana of the Purani Haveli which is where the decked up elephant comes on Muharram days and gets garlanded by the Kotwal of the city to this day. It is an impressive gate which we missed during several walks. The road opposite the gate leads directly to Chatta Kaman which is an over bridge that the Salar Jungs used to cross over to the gardens and guest house area closer to the Musi river. And if you go further, Hotel Nayaab, Madina, Shadab and Pathergatti. Now to give us a perspective of how large the Diwan Deodi was - the main gate of the Diwan Deodi starts from near Hotel Madina and spreads across to the entire area that includes the Salar Jung Museum which was where the famous Lakkad Kot of the Salar Jungs was located. Tanya said there was a stepwell and a mosque of that era still in the Salar Jung Museum premises - should check that out. Gardens, an opulent Deodi that stretched right till the Mir Alam Mandi.
 |
| Mir Alam Mandi Kaman |
 |
| The Gate - Impressive |
We walked a bit more, turned left and stopped at this place for chai and moved on, past the Inayat Jung Deodi which is quite prominent on the main road. Further down and we turned right into the Mir Alam Mandi road, walked past a huge temple, right up to the gate of the Mandi which was again, high enough for elephants to pass. Inside the gate is a busy 200 year old Mandi, one of the oldest and largest markets in Hyderabad, spread over 5 acres and hosting about 300 vendors, brought into existence by Mir Alam in 1804. The kaman itself is of great historical value and the pictures of the old kaman look very different from what it is now - the entire place is under restoration.
 |
| Mir Alam Mandi |
 |
| The Kaman |
Now, Mir Alam was the Prime Minister to the third Nizam Skiandar Jah (1804-1808) and it was he who began construction of the Salar Jung Deodi on the bank of the Musi. He was the great grandfather of Salar Jung I who served as Diwan when the sixth Nizam, Mahboob Ali Khan took the throne when he was a mere 6 year old and guided him through teh years of growing British dominance. The Salar Jung family gave five Prime Ministers or Diwans to the Nizams and naturally the Diwan Deodi was a seat of power.
Mir Alam lived in tumultous times with interesting contemporaries such as the mercurial Raja Chandu Lal, James Kirkpatrick (the white Mughal), Mah Laqa Bai Chanda etc. Mostly famous for leading Hyderabad's charge with the British East India Company against Tipu Sultan, a mission that ended successfully, he appears to have been instrumental in the construction of the mandi adjacent to his deodi. The Mir Alam tank which is seen as an architectural wonder of those years is named after him.
 |
| Entrance to an old Deodi - stories everywhere |
 |
| Old man with his oranges |
The walk ended there so I had to walk back to the car. Zubair was heading to Abids so I offered him a ride since I was going to Paradise. We walked back, took a detour to see the old Kotwal building, bought a couple of oranges from a really old seller who went through the practice of sorting oranges, picked the worst, and gave them to me, which I promptly gave off to another really old beggar at Paradise. Me, I am just the medium.
 |
| A group pic by Sushil |
Good walk, full of good humour, energy and information and food and chai, well led by Tanya who is always full of good cheer, good information and enthusiasm. Interestingly this was an all men group, which was a first, and Tanya led the group with her customary ease and grace and thoughtfulness. Thanks Tanya.
