Hyderabad by Walk - Chudi Bazar - Jumeraat Bazar

Tanya announced a walk in the Chudi Bazar - Jumeraat Bazar area and I signed up since its one part of the city I have not really explored. I started early because the walk was at 7 am which is a good time to walk, found a place to park and waited a few minutes before Tanya and a quorum showed up. Tanya explained by way of a map (she always has maps and pictures to show on her ipad to give us an idea of what to expect - and she hands over her trademark picture postcards with the maps and other details in the back to each participant) how we were at standing the top of a triangle and that we would walk along the two arms - Chudi Bazaar and Jumeraat Bazar. Now Chudi Bazar probably means bangle bazar and I know Jumeraat bazar is an old second hand household goods market - the physical Amazon of the olden days that operates on Thursdays. Being Sunday, the street was empty so we could walk easily. 

Rani Avantibai chowk

Chudi bazaar to the left-Jumeraat bazaar to the right

We started by walking on the Chudi Bazar road after passing the imposing Rani Avantibai statue on a horse back - I originally mistook her for Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi but when I looked at the map closely I found that it mentioned it as Rani Avantibai Chowk. The queen-regent of Ramgarh (currently Dindori) in Madhya Pradesh had a role to play akin to Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi in the 1857 uprising and died at the age of 26, choosing to kill herself in a battle against the British that she was losing. Famous of her act of bringing together small kingdoms together to fight the British by sending them bangles and urging them to fight against the British she managed to defeat the British in the first war. She is revered by the Lodhi community. There is a postal stamp issued in her name.

Sri Khemdas ji's samadhi

Cherub painted on the samadhi

Tanya led us into a small gate to the left that opened into a mutt - the Khemdas Mutt. I would never have imagined that so much land existed within that gate. The temple arches were being constructed anew but once we were inside the main area it was quite amazing too see what lay within these walls - a 200 year old mutt, a wooden dalan, a beautiful samadhi of Sri Khemdas, several shrines for various gods all amidst greenery and a peaceful environment one would not associate with this area of town. 

Samadhi

The wooden dalan

Portrait of Sri Khemdas ji

Towards the right side was a new structure made entirely of marble with idols of the saints. The pandits were very amicable, allowed us to take pictures, offered prasad and tea, explained the mutt's history, even showed documents and maps. The head priest really knew his history (he said he had studied history). Behind the structures was an old baoli which Tanya offered to help restore if the management was ready. One can spend a lot of time within these walls - it's very peaceful. 

Hanuman temple

Choose your vehicle

On the road outside, two barbers sat on the road. From there we went to another small temple, Ram temple. Again, there was an old world quiet and devotion in this temple as people sat and quietly prayed or meditated or chanted. We walked to the back of the temple where we saw a old tree and some shrines. 

Ram Candra temple

From there we walked to the Sanatana Dharma Sabha Building which was an impressive building built on a large area. It appears to be used for functions and such. Poor upkeep but very impressive. The area is full of akharas and vyayamshalas now I know why they always refer to the pahelwans of Begumpet Bazar. 

Kishan Das Mutt

Sanatan Dharam Sabha building

We crossed over to the Jumeraat Bazar and walked into the Nadi Nath Ganesh temple. It was a beautiful temple that led into a street leading us to the Musi. On the banks of the Musi was an interesting structure, a Nadi Hanuman temple which apparently gets submerged in the rains. The gentleman praying there told me that one should examine the stone within the temple to get an idea of how old it is. He mistook me for a Professor. On the way back some ladies asked me if I was part of a film shoot.

Jagannathdwara Mutt

There was an Arundhathi Seva Mandal with Ambedkar's photo, quite a big building. I also noticed other stones and banners referring to Mediga Bandhu Mitra Sangam. Interestingly in this small, compact area with so many temples and mutts one could see all sections of society coexist.

 

Nadi Hanuman temple by the river Musi

On the way back we saw an old police station, now in disuse, but Tanya pointed out the architecture of that era that was evident. A few steps more and we reached the place where I had parked the car.

Small temple in the river

Rani Avantibai

Quite a fascinating walk. I would have never imagined that so many temples were in that vicinity. Thanks Tanya.  

Hyderabad by Walk - Qilich Khan Walk

Deccan Archives announced it's Saturday walk - Qilich Khan - the grandfather of the first Nizam and a Mughal nobleman. Qilich Khan translates to 'Horse Man' said Wahaj who led the walk with his usual panache and elegance. Originally Khaja Abid, he was born in Aliabad near Samarkhand, and joined the Mughal army as it marched on to the Deccan.

The enclosure

Qilich Khan's tomb in the centre

I had read of Qilich Khan earlier but since the tomb was in a remote place, never went. So when the walk was announced I recruited Ramaraju for the walk - I realise it's a good way to catch up with old friends on the drive, the walk, maybe a chai and breakfast after. That's if they like these kind of outings that is. It took us close to an hour to reach the place near Kismetpur, right next to the ORR, not far from the Himayat Sagar bund that you can see if you walk on to the road. There was a small group of 6-7 and we were joined by Serish Nanisetty who is another expert on the history of Hyderabad, having written the wonderful Golconda/Bagnagar book.

The Qawahghar - or whatever it was called

An idea of the expanse of this area

Wahaj gave us a bit of history of Qilich Khan who was part of Aurangzeb's army that conquered Bijapur and then joined the forces as they tried to conquer Golconda. There were drought like conditions and it was a long 9 month siege before the Mughals conquered Golconda. In the war however, a cannon ball hits Qilich Khan blowing his right arm off a few miles away. Qilich Khan as the legend goes does not discount despite his severe wounds and rides back to camp to get treated. While getting treated he sips his coffee and expresses his confidence that he will join the fight in a few days. Unfortunately he dies three days after. This was the 1687 battle which the Mughals won.

Another view of the enclosure

Tombs of other nobles

He is buried in Kismetpur. His right arm is found and recognised as his thanks to the signet ring and it is buried separately. The accounts are confusing but there seems to be one tomb here at Kismetpur and the other at Attapur.

The tomb in in a huge area which is rectangular in shape and thankfully walled because there is immense pressure of buildings all around it. Nets for volleyball, badminton, some goal posts, kids playing cricket make it an ideal space for games. There is a Qutb Shahi era mosque, a madarassa. In its prime Wahaj says it was designed in the Char Bagh design. In the centre is a building which was the royal gawakhana or quawah khana, a place for the royals to sip coffee (before the British brought in tea). 

The Qutb Shahi era mosque

The tomb itself is a simple, open to sky structure, in line with the austere ways of Aurangzeb. Chadars are placed on it as is a turban. It's a dargah so people come and sit and pray. A few tombs around it belong to family members or those close to him. Behind the main tomb area there are a few more tombs. 

Pineapple motif

The minarets carry the pineapple and corn motifs - these two were brought to India by the Portuguese. To one corner is a Qutb Shahi mosque with all the makings of classic Qutb Shahi architecture. Wahaj pointed out that since the artisans were not Persian some local elements would creep into the architecture like a mandapa or so.

Osmanian mosque 1930s

Qilich Khan's son Feroz Jung married the daughter of the Prime Minister of Shah Jehan and it's their eldest son Mir Qamaruddin Khan who became the first Nizam. Qilich Khan's tomb prominently mentions the name Shaik Shahabuddin Suhrawadi and it says that his geneology reached the Sufi saint. 

Book on the Musi by the Deccan Archives

We walked from this area on the road across the bridge over river Esi which is now a mere trickle. One can see the Himayat Sagar bund from the road. The two rivers Musi and Esi (named after Musa and Esa - feminine versions being Musi and Esi) - merge at the sangam near Bapu ghat, Langar Houz. Musi originates at Anantagiri while Esi originates at Pargi. Unlike Musi, Esi flows through lesser populated areas and thus is less prone to mischief. Wahaj explained how the Himayat Sagar is an earthen dam unlike Osman Sagar which is built between two hillocks. He also threw some light on how the water system allowed the water to flow from one to another depending on need. I am always amazed at the amount of knowledge and information Sibgat and Wahaj have over the history, geography, architecture, culture, governance of Hyderabad and how succinctly they explain. 

We walked on to the Osmanian mosque built around the 1930s, some old houses of that era built there, walked back to see the Esi close up and then back to the tomb area. Had a nice time chatting with Serish about his book and movie theatres and so on. I also bought a book brought out by the Deccan Archives on the Musi. A group pic and me and Ram headed back homeward bound. 

Morning we'll spent. 

Miranda Days - INDIA Block Protest March

A post by Anish Gawande on the protest march by INDIA Block on October 12, 2026, which was attended by 'the coolest people' - A is part of the brigade.

Thought for the Day - Make the World Your Ally

While chatting with a couple of cricketers I was telling them not to fight the environment so much - unfriendly pitches, people, circumstances etc. The more we fight the environment the more difficult it gets for us. Everything it appears seems loaded against us. 

But its just our narrative. 

I was telling them how some bowlers kiss the ball before they bowl. It's an act that says, you're my friend, help me, I trust you. We can make the same narrative with the pitches, bats, umpires, teammates, opponents and what not. Such a narrative makes it easier for us to perform better when we try to gather more support from the environment.

We can do the same thing with everything in life. That all of life is our ally, is working for us, is for us. This shift in energy can certainly change things. Just trust and believe it.

The entire world is my ally. The entire universe supports me.

Thought for the Day - Ownership and Surrender

What's the relationship between ownership and surrender I wondered while chatting with a friend. In my subsequent ponderings I tried to put some thought to it. In my mind it seems to progress in three stages with factors like effort, attachment and love coming in.

The first stage - there's no ownership and we simply give up which is more giving up than surrender. Doesn't work. It's complete apathy, complete attachment to outcome (which is why there's no effort). No love for the work, ego based, fear based.

The second stage - we take ownership and give the job at hand (including our life as we live it) our everything and when things still hit a wall, we surrender to the higher power. Once we surrender to a higher power we are ok with whatever outcomes come out way. Full effort, complete responsibility and low attachment to outcome. Better chances of getting a good result. There's some attachment, some love and it tips towards the positive if we can let go of the ego.

The final state - when all ownership is given to the higher power and we simply work with complete dedication and love with no attachment to the outcome. All we are doing is being fully immersed in our work which we are doing for love. Nothing else matters. What comes is the taken with gratitude. The highest form. 

That then is my take on ownership and surrender.

Hyderabad by Walk - Abids by Tareekh-e-Dakshin

Mukthyar and Tareekh-e-Dakshin announced a walk in Abids on Sunday and I signed up for it with Vasu and his friend Srikanth from college. I have many childhood memories of these areas so it was a walk down memory lane for me. We met Mukthyar and the others at the Nizam College gates which was the starting point. 

Nizam College

Gun Foundry

Now Nizam College (started in 1887 under the reign of Mahboob Ali Khan the 6th Nizam) is a place where we played many cricket matches in our college days (and was also the summer palace built by the nobleman Fakhrul-ul-Mulk before being converted into a college). Mukthyar reeled off some famous names from the college - Azharuddin, Balakrishna, ML Jaisimha, Rakesh Sharma, Kiran Kumar Reddy, Shyam Benegal and so on (and I added a couple to it). Srikanth and I realised we had taken admission here before getting our final admission in Engineering Colleges back in 1984 (so in a way we are also alumni). The first Principal of the college was Aghorenath Chattopadhyay, father of Sarojini Naidu.

Art Deco, Gun Foundry

We walked into the lane next to Lepakshi building (the same one me and my brother Ram would take to go to school in the 1977-82 period - get off the bus at Nizam College and walk to All Saints High School past the Gun Foundry and get into the infamous tunnel that led to the St Joseph's Cathedral). But in all these years, despite knowing that the school area is called Gun Foundry I never had the curiosity to find out what this Gun Foundry was and where it was. It is a brick structure built in 1785 AD, that one passes right behind Lepakshi Handicrafts and this was where they would make the many cannons and cannonballs for the Nizams (also called Top ka Sancha). The French were actively helping the Nizams in that period and Mukthyar said there was one General de Bussy who was quite scary - something like Gabbar Singh of Sholay and his name was used to terrorise people, mainly stubborn children. More interestingly, it was Michel Raymond who set it up.

Wedding Cars

Mahboobia Girls School

Light House

We walked around and saw a couple of Art Deco buildings of the 1917 vintage and moved back to the main road. I could see one small shop with the name 'Light House' on the main road and was reminded of the infamous Lighthouse theatre of our school days, known for showing soft porn Malayalam films such as 'Wine and Women' all year long. Now Lighthouse is long gone and only this little shop reminds us of it and the many classics it screened. There was a quaint Irani cafe beneath it as well perhaps with the same name but now even that is no more.

State Bank of Hyderabad

Erstwhile Bombay Cafe

On the right, in front of Mahboobia Girls School (1907) were parked an array of wedding cars, brightly painted luxury cars that one can hire for weddings - this has been going on since our school days. Then there were those Impalas, Cheverolets and other such cars. Now a more modern fleet appears to have replaced them. One wonders how many weddings and couples and happy occasions these cars must have been part of - if only they could tell their stories.

St George's Church

William Palmer's tomb

We stopped for a moment at the majestic State Bank of Hyderabad building, (established in 1941 by the 7th Nizams as the state's own bank when under their rule). Then it was nationalised and became State Bank of Hyderabad. Now it is a SBI office and they have hung many flexis all over advertising many boring schemes completely spoiling the appearance of the building. 

Islamia Jamatkhana, Chirag Ali Lane

Next to it is the Blue Sea Restaurant which was once called Bombay Cafe in our school times circa 1980-82. I remember we used to visit both the canteen in the SBH where we would get tiffins for as low as 15 paisa (dirt cheap even then) and tandoor mutton on Sunday afternoons at Bombay Cafe when we had school league matches. And of course our walk through Chapel Road to Nampally to catch a bus home after school, past Sujatha School and Stanley School and the lovely chapel to the left.

Hindustani Church

Golden Threshold

Further down the Abids road we walked past John's Bakery where we ate many doughnuts during our school days and into St George's Church which is adjacent to St George's Grammar School. It's a 1834 structure and a beautiful one at that. Mukhthyar took us to a small cemetery by the side with the most fascinating pink flowers in the creepers or vines and told us the story of Mr William Palmer who is buried there along with some other important people. Palmer was a wealthy and smart banker who apparently lent money at high interest rates to the Nizams (who were not very rich at that times) to maintain the British battalions for their protection - part of the Subsidiary Alliance project of theirs. Interestingly, the inability to pay the interests and maintain the troops were what led to the Nizams having to cede much of their land to the British.

General Post Office

We stepped back on to the Abids road and drifted towards Chirag Ali lane, passing the Little Flower School (which also had the Junior college then but now it moved to Uppal). We passed by a couple of old structures now maintained by the government or have become offices. In Chirag Ali lane (named after Moulvi Chirag Ali (1844-95) a scholar and reformer). We passed the majestic Ismaili Jamathkhana building which is a Dawoodi Bohra centre i think - it is out of bounds and its entire demeanour says keep off. 

Palace Theatre Complex, where the Abids Departmental Store stood

Reddy Boys Hostel

Further down the road we stopped at an interesting church - St Luke's Hindustani Church where sermons are given in Urdu apparently. I did not pay much attention to this building though I passed it many times. We hit Nampally Road (reminded me of Meena Alexander and her book of the same name) and passed the iconic Golden Threshold which was the home of Sarojini Naidu . The building is named after a collection of her poems of the same name Mukthyar said. She donated it to the Central University which operated here for a while before shifting to Gachibowli and its sprawling campus. Some good friends of mine have studied here.

Bachelor's Quarters

Onwards to GPO and Grand Hotel which is apparently the oldest Irani hotel in Hyderabad, where we had a cup of chai and decided against the biscuits. Then a few steps to the Reddy's Boys Hostel which is an old and impressive building and is from the same Reddy's Women's College fame - both being promoted by Raja Bahadur Venkata Rama Reddy, a high ranking police official and the first Hindu Kotwal of Hyderabad. This hostel is for the poor Reddy boys apparently and looks to be in good condition, well maintained. 

Moazzam Jahi Market

We went back past the GPO, stopped at the Palace theatre complex where Mukthyar gave some idea on why it was called Abids - named after Mr Albert Abid - an Armenian valet of the 6th Nizam who had a departmental store at the same place where the Palace theatre complex stands (there's a picture of that store on Wikipedia, circa  1897). I remember there was once a Ajanta Cool Drinks shop in that complex and they had a rule that no one should comb their hair within the store! From there we walked past Ramakrishna theatre and stopped at the interesting 'Bachelors Quarters' building which apparently housed a lot of artists in those days. It is a quaint building and I never noticed it in my life. Mukthyar did bring in many unknown aspects to me on this walk.

Across the road was the Moazzam Jahi Market, named after the second son of the 7th Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, which is iconic as the first mall - the shops have numbers - groceries, eateries, a gun smith. On the outside there were the famous ice cream shops with their wrought iron chairs and tables. 

Abids Second Hand Book Market

We saw many reel makers and wedding shoot people here, took our group picture and parted ways.

We walked back to the Abids, past the second hand book market which was just opening up and towards Taj Mahal Hotel where we had some breakfast. From there all the way back to Mahboobia Girls school where we parked. Mukthyar came with us since he left some stuff in my car. And in a very thoughtful gesture he gifted me a lovely picture book of Hyderabad's iconic structures and monuments brought out by Express Publications along with a hand written note for me. 

Me and Mukthyar and his thoughtful gift

I was greatly touched by the gesture, thanked him, wished him well, took a picture with him and we left after that.