It is a perfect introduction to Hyderabad, told in a very easy to understand, entertaining yet full of small details that give you the entire picture. To start with the book deals separately with the two dynasties that ruled Hyderabad - the Qutb Shah dynasty (1518-1687) and the Asaf Jah dynasty (1724-1947). The anecdotes and tales around these two dynasties that were instrumental in making Hyderabad what it is now, make for a delightful read and give the perfect context in understanding the history and culture of the twin cities. From the Purana Pul to the Hussain Sagar lake, the deodis to the largest wardrobe in the world, Salar Jung Museum to the way the Secunderabad Club was begun, there are many interesting stories.
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Let's start with a brief introduction to the two dynasties - the Qutb Shah dynasty first. The Golconda area and fort were under the Kakatiya kingdom (12-14th century). Allauddin Khilji defeated the Kakatiyas in 1323 CE and the Golconda was under his reign for a while. But local centurions (Ismail Mukh) rebelled against the Khilji rule in 1347 CE and broke away and established the Bahmani Kingdom with Bijapur at its capital, reaching as far as Golconda, Rajamundry, the western coast etc at its prime. The Bahmani Sultanate then broke up into five Sultanates - Bidar (Barid Shah dynasty), Ahmed Nagar (Nizam Shah), Berar (Imad-ul-Mulk), Bijapur (Adil Shah dynasty) and Golconda (Qutb Shah dynasty). The ruler of Golconda which split away from the Bahmani kingdom was Sultan Quli Qutb Shah and he was the last to break out. The dynasty ruled for 175 years.
Qutb Shah Legendotes
Sultan Quli Qutb Shah (1518-43) was assassinated by his son Jamsheed who succeeded him as the second ruler of the Qutb Shah dynasty - but then died of cancer after seven years (1543-50). His son Subhan Quli Qutb Shah who was a seven year old ruled for less than a year as the third Sultan (1550-50). The fourth Sultan Ibrahim (1550-80) was Jamsheed's brother who went into exile to escape his brother's wrath after he had assassinated their father, and stayed as a guest of the Vijayanagara empire. He returned when he was asked to take over as the Sultan. While in Vijayanagara he married a Hindu woman Bhagirathi and their son Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah (1580-1612), the fifth Sultan, was the founder of modern day Hyderabad. He was succeeded by Mohammed Qutb Shah (1612-26), the sixth Sultan, who had this strange prediction that if he sees his new born son, he would die and this dangerous prediction kept him away from seeing his son Abdullah for fourteen years (almost). Unfortunately for him, just before that period was over he set his eyes on his son by mistake and he died shortly thereafter. The seventh Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah (1626-72) ruled for 46 years and the Qutb Shah dynasty pretty much ended as he had three daughters. The last of the Qutb Shah rulers was his son-in-law Tana Shah (1672-87).
Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk (1518-43)
Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah (1543-50)
Subhan Quli Qutb Shah (1550-1550)
Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah (1550-80)
Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah (1580-1612)
Mohammed Qutb Shah (1612-26)
Abdullah Qutb Shah (1626-72)
Abul Hasan Tana Shah (1672-87)
Abul Hasan who was the son-in-law of Abdullah Qutb Shah was captured by Aurangzeb after his reign of fourteen years and was incarcerated at Aurangabad where he died. After the Mughal conquest of Golconda, the general Mir Qamaruddin Khan defeated Mubariz Khan's uprising in 1724 and was conferred the title Asaf Jah. He was known as the Nizam-ul-Mulk and ruled from Aurangabad but always as a subordinate of the Mughal empire.
The Asaf Jahi dynasty
Mir Qamaruddin Khan Siddiqui Asaf Jah1 ((1720-48)
Ahmed Ali Khan Nasir Jung (1748-50)
Hidayat Mohiuddin Khan Muzaffar Jung (1750-51)
Mohammed Khan Salabat Jung (1751-62)
Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah II (1762-1803)
Akbar Ali Khan Sikandar Jah Asaf Jah III (1803-29)
Farkhonda Ali Khan Nasir-ud-Dowla Asaf Jah IV (1529-57)
Tahniat Ali Khan Nasir Ud Dowla Asah Jah V - (1857-69)
Mehboob Ali Khan Asaf Jah VI (1869-1911)
Mir Osman Ali Khan (1911-1948)
...
Now to the legendotes. If one goes by the order of the legendotes in the book, perhaps the first one to appear would be Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah under whose reign the Hussain Sagar lake was constructed by Hussain Shah Wali the Chief Architect of his time. He is also the one who had the Purana Pul built so that his son Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah could cross the Musi safely - the young prince met a girl Bhagmati in the city of Hyderabad and would cross the Musi every day to meet her. The tombs of all these personalities are in Qutb Shah tombs area while Hussain Shah Wali seems to have his tomb and dargah near Shaikpet. Ibrahim Qutb Shah was a great lover of Telugu and he had Telugu names for himself.
We move on to the 5th Sultan and perhaps the most famous of the dynasty, Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah who is the founder of Hyderabad and it is he who issued an order to make a city 'a replica of heaven, unparalleled in the world' across the Musi, 8 kms from Golconda, which was getting overcrowded. The city was built and the book places on record how someone tried to compare the city's layout (in the form of a giant double cross) and architecture to how paradise is described in the Quran. The plan for the new city had 14 palaces, 14000 houses, mosques, inns, hospital. Palaces had names such as Sajan Mahal, Nadi Mahal, Dad Mahal and the city was called Bhagnagar as confirmed by various reports. To the west of the city were the royal palaces (where the mitti ka sher is, and the Kali Kaman is). With extensive green cover, large spacious buildings, fountains, parks it was considered much better than any Mughal architecture. Apparently the Sultan also wrote a couplet seeking the blessings of the almighty to fill up the city with as many people as there are fish in the ocean. His wish has certainly come true now.
The sixth Sultan Mohammed Qutb Shah was the nephew and son in law of the 5th Sultan and it was he who had the prediction of not seeing his son Abdullah for 14 years. To appease the Almighty he started building the Makka Masjid in 1617 with a few foundation bricks made from soil brought from Mecca and placed the first bricks himself under the main arch's foundation. Legend goes that he asked anyone who has not missed a single prayer in his life to lay the first brick and no one raised their hand so he took it upon himself saying he never missed a single prayer in his entire life. That's the reason why the mosque is called the Mecca Masjid. It took 77 years to complete though and was completed only during Aurangazeb's time in 1694. The mosque can accommodate 5000 worshippers at once and five of the seven Nizam's are buried there (the first is in Aurangabad and the seventh Nizam is buried in Judi Mosque in King Kothi).
Interestingly, the sixth Sultan Abdullah was a young lad when a tusker he was riding went on a rampage and threw off its mahout and went off into the forests with the young prince on its back. His mother Hayat Bakshi Begum who also served as the regent because the father of the prince died while the boy was not yet fourteen, prayed and vowed to feed the poor and have the prince walk barefoot from their palace to Hussaini Alam. The prince returned after a week and the food was served to the poor, the prince walked to Hussaini Alam barefoot and a chain of gold (called langar) was presented on the 5th day of Muharram and then made into pieces and distributed among the poor. The practice of langar went on since until it was stopped in 1918 by the seventh Nizam.
The Kohinoor they say was mined from the Kallur mines of the Krishna river and was 765 carats uncut (now 106 carats). The diamond was apparently used as the left eye of the Goddess Bhadrakali by the Kakatiya kings and during the conquest by the Khiljis of Kakatiya kingdom it somehow seems to have made its way to Mir Mohammed Sayyed aka Mir Jumla who came to Golconda during Abdullah Qutb Shah's reign and stayed on to become Prime Minister. But Mir Jumla got too arrogant and defied Abdullah who got his property confiscated and arrested his son. A miffed Mir Jumla went to the Mughal court and it is believed that he presented it to Shah Jahan from where it went into the peacock throne perhaps. Why the diamond was with Mir Jumla and not the Sultan I know not. The Kohinoor surfaced again in the turban of Mughal king Mohammed Shah Rangila who lost it to Nader Shah of Persia (who famously named it Kohinoor or the 'Mountain of Light') when he attacked Delhi in 1739. In 1809 the Kohinoor was with King Shujah of Afghanistan and in 1814 it came into the possession of Ranjit Singh the Sikh ruler. From there, the British took it away by making a ten year old Daleep Singh who succeeded Ranjit Singh gift it away to Queen Victoria of England and is now kept in the Tower of London's jewel section.
The story of the eighth and the last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty Abul Hasan is even more interesting. He was related to the Sultan and lived in the palace for fourteen years. then for some misdemeanour he was sent off into exile and he went and stayed with a Sufi saint Shah Raju Qattal (Syed Shah Raziuddin). The saint liked the young boy and called him Tana Shah - which translates to 'Child Saint' in another version I heard that it translates to one who appreciates beauty). Now the Sultan was a disciple of Shah Raju Qattal. Since the Sultan had no boys and only three daughters he married the first one to Aurangazeb's son and the idea was that he would become the next Sultan. Unfortunately the young man got entangled in an uprising against the Emperor and was kept in jail where he died. The second daughter married someone in Mecca and the third was engaged to Syed Sultan of Najaf. There was some confusion on who she should marry when the Sultan went to his Saint Raju Qattal who told him to get her married to Abul Hasan. And so, after 14 years in exile, Abul Hasan ruled Golconda for 14 years until Aurangazeb conquered Golconda and captured him and took him away to Aurangabad where he died.
Abul Hasan (1672-86) was an interesting character - his life being split into three parts of 14 years each - first 14 in the palace, second 14 in exile and the third 14 as king, before he was captured. Interestingly during the time of the siege of Aurangzeb's forces around the Golconda fort one Mughal general named Feroze Jung tried to breach the defence by climbing the walls at night. A dog barked however and alerted the soldiers in the fort to defend themselves. Tana Shah was so pleased that he made the dog sit on the throne next to him and also named it Feroze Jung!
Even at the time of his capture, Abul Hasan Tana Shah was quite cool. He made the Mughal officials wait until he finished his prayers and then asked them to join him at breakfast. When they asked how he could be so cool about his capture, he said something like its the will of God and we must follow whatever comes our way. Height of acceptance! Shah Raju Qattal would have been proud of him. Tana Shah was known to have two Telugu Ministers, Akkanna and Madanna in charge of the Treasury and Exchequer, and encouraged Telugu and Hindus in the administration as an inclusive ruler. Some jealous courtiers went to the Mughals and complained. In their first attack on Golconda the Mughals won and beheaded both Akkanna and Madanna and looted the Sultanate.
Mahabat Khan who was the commander of the Qutb Shah kings switched sides and joined the Mughals and was made the Governor.
Asaf Jahi Legendotes
The Asaf Jahi story begins with the first Mir Nizam Qamaruddin Khan Siddiqui who was born to a general in the Mughal army and his wife who was the daughter of the grand vizier of Shah Jahan during the time the Taj Mahal was constructed. Named by Aurangzeb, Qamaruddin distinguished himself as a warrior and an expert swordsman quite early. He fought in wars alongside his father and earned himself a reputation as a leader. He soon became a General in Aurangzeb's army and used his diplomatic skills to wait out the war of succession between the successors. Bahadur Shah won the war and became the emperor and named Qamaruddin Viceroy of Deccan controlling 6 Mughal provinces in the South. He was recalled to handle the meddlesome Sayyid brothers who had become kingmakers and were appointing and getting rid of Mughal emperors to suit their agendas. Muhammad Shah called upon Qamaruddin to help contain the Sayyids and he eliminated both and was made grand Vizier of Deccan in 1921-24 period. He later rebelled against the emperor due to political issues and was made permanent Viceroy of Deccan with the title Asaf Jah. He broke away and proclaimed himself as Nizam and began the Asaf Jah dynasty.
Of the many interesting stories, one which is told often is that of the naan. Nizam Ul Mulk lost his way after a battle and on the brink of hunger and thirst found a Sufi saint Shah Inayat who asked him to eat his fill of kulchas. Nizam ul Mulk ate seven and a half and the saint told him that the dynasty would last for seven generations. They say that is the reason why there is a kulcha like figure on the Asaf Jahi flag whereas the Nizam I himself had said that it represents the moon and not a kulcha. Another interesting titbit is that when the Nizam Ul Mulk went to Delhi to help the Mughals fight Nader Shah, his son Nasir Jung rebelled and tried to take over the throne. He was defeated in the ensuing battle and captured and thrown in jail. One of the courtiers apparently presented a nazar to the Nizam ul Mulk first congratulating him on his victory, then on the good fight put up by his son and then to spare the young son which the Nizam did.
The second Nizam, Nizam Ali Khan was the one who signed the Subsidiary Alliance with the British and was the first Indian princely state to do so. 6 battalions led by one Col Lang set up camp in Secunderabad. The first British Resident came in 1779. Interestingly since the British soldiers were required to be single they were provided designated areas for sexual gratification - Lal Bazar in the cantonment area being the designated area (lal because the British soldiers dressed in a red coat). Women were carefully selected by the cantonment authorities and screened medically every month, given tickets in a prescribed form. These women followed the army on its march. For this service the army men paid a monthly charge. The city of Hyderabad was out of bounds for the soldiers.
The second Nizam's time was also the time of Mah Laqa Chanda, a courtesan of great beauty and grace and wit. She published an anthology of her poems and died a rich woman. She was the favorite of two dewans or Prime Ministers Arastu Jah and Mir Alam and she wielded enough power to influence the appointment of Chandu Lal in 1932. Her poetry collection comprised of 125 ghazals and she commissioned a book on Hyderabad titled Mah Nama. Known for her charity, she set up a coaching centre for girls in music and dance. She constructed her own tomb which is near Moula Ali - a really pretty one too. The tomb is still there.
The 6th and the most famous Resident was James Kirkpatrick who asked if he could build a residence close to the walled city. He was given permission and was asked to submit plans - the big plans threw the Nizam off as he could not understand the scale and the Prime Minister advised James to come with a scale that would be easier to understand. This time, he came with the plans on a visiting card and received permission. The Residency is the grand building he built which is what we see as the Women's College in Kothi today (furniture and maintenance were paid by the Nizam). Kirkpatrick also fell in love with a local girl Khairunnisa who was related to the noble Mir Alam and married her. He built a separate building for her in keeping with the customs of those days and it was called Rang Mahal (according to the book it has since been converted into a Physics lab in the Women's College). Kirkpatrick had two children, had a title called Hashmath Jung and even has a gate in Badi Chawdi called Hashmath Jung gate. He died in Calcutta in 1805. In 1857, the Residency was attacked by those who supported the Sepoy Mutiny but it was contained.
It was also in the 2nd Nizam's reign that the Secunderabad Club was initially formed. A large area of land in Secunderabad belonging to Salar Jung who was the Prime Misniter (1853-83) was given to the British officers. Initially called the Secunderabad Public Rooms and then the Secunderabad Garrison Club and then the Secunderabad Gymkhana club and then the United Services Club and finally Secunderabad Club. It had a Sailing Club, a Golf club, In 1898 there were 221 members. Interestingly Margaret Kaye, author of Far Pavilions, painted the murals in the Mixed Lounge.
The cantonment area was named Secunderabad after the third Nizam Sikandar Jah. In those days one of the Kayasths who were trusted servants of the Nizam, Bhavani Pershad, became rich and was given the title of Raja. To celebrate he constructed a temple to Rama near Attapur and asked the Nizam to perform the opening ceremony which the third Nizam did. He also granted a salary to the priest and some money for the maintenance of the temple. The temple is still there in Attapur.
The British forced the 5h Nizam to discard the allegiance to the Mughal throne and had him mint his own coins and had the Mughal emperor's name replaced in the qutba in Friday prayers. After the untimely death of the 5th Nizam, the 6th Nizam, a mere 3 years old was made the Nizam under the care of the Prime Minister Salar Jung and co-regent Paigah Rafiuddin. The British Resident who would come barefoot and sit on the floor till then insisted that they would not take off their shoes and would sit on a chair. Salar Jung dealt with it tactfully.
For the education of the 6th Nizam Mahbub Ali khan (1866-1911) a Captain Clerk was appointed along with some maulvis. For company he had Prime Ministers Salar Jung's sons Laik Ali and Saadat Ali and Kishen Pershad. The young Nizam was fond of wine and women and would find ways of sneaking the women in the zenana over the wall. Mahbub Ali Khan spoke English, wore western clothes and was a fine shot. He had the world's biggest wardrobe which is 240 feet long and still there in the Purani Haveli's museum. With 124 almirahs, 64 in the ground row and 60 in the second row, it had clothes and shoes which he never wore twice.
Mahbub Ali Khan believed he had the power to cure snake bites and anyone in the kingdom was allowed to meet him to curre a snakebite. Many believed it and treated their snake bites with a 'Mahbub ki duhai' prayer. Mahbub Ali Khan also commissioned a study on the safety of the use of chloroform in medical procedures and after the first one, commissioned a second. The delegation to London was led by Lawrie and included Dr MG Naidu (husband of Sarojini Naidu), Dr Md Abdul Ghani and Dr S Maulana.
Somewhere in the 6th Nizam's reign Ronald Ross worked in a small dinghy laboratory in Begumpet on identifying the anopheles mosquitoes as carriers of the malaria parasite for which he got the Nobel Prize in 1902. There was a road named after him which was later changed to Minister's Road. The Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria visited the Nizam and engaged in some games with him and wrote in his diary about it The Nizam also appointed the noted poet Nawab Mirza Khan Dagh Dehlvi (buried in Yousufain dargah graveyard) after a series of unlikely tests - but paid him well enough to ignore the ten years of hardships he had to endure.
Other famous personalities of the time included Minister of Police Shadab Jung who would be up all night working and who quit after the Nizam scolded him. Then there was the famous photographer Raja Deen Dayal who hailed from a Jain family in Sardhana, near Meerut, and toured the country to photograph monuments. In 1885 he came to Hyderabad recommended by the viceroy (whose wife Raja somehow made to look younger in his pics) and was appointed as the state photographer. He would dab the Nizam's photos with his ittar adding a sensory value to viewing the pic s which the Nizam liked. In his studio at Secunderabad Raja Deen Dayal employed 50 people including British women who would photograph ladies from the zenana. The ASI apparently took 250 of his pictures for their restoration works purpose.
The 6th Nizam's friend and classmate and Prime Minister Maharaja Kishen Pershad was related to Raja Todar Mall who was Akabar's revenue minister. Maharaja Kishen Pershad was first appointed as the Minister for Military Affairs in 1895 and then Prime Minister in 1900. A multi faceted man he played the sitar and harmonium, wrote (60 books and pamplets), painted, was fond of cooking. His pen name as a poet was Shad (happy one) and Shad Nagar is named after him. He was known to conduct mushairas at his place. He was best known for his charity and would throw coins out of his carriage whenever he went out. And he would always call himself a fakir! Kishen Pershad had seven wives - three Hindu and four Muslim and had 30 children from them - the Hindu children had Hindu names and the Muslim children had Muslim names. There was his Shad Mansion deodi which was pulled down after Independence. Maharaja Kishen Pershad died in 1947 (and I am glad to say I played a HCA tournament (one day) which was named after him!)
The 6th Nizam Mahboob Ali Khan passed away in 1911 and his son Mir Osman Ali Khan (1886-1947) became the next Nizam (and the last one) at a young age of 24. He shifted his residence from the Purani Haveli palace to the King Kothi palace. Now this palace has a history where the owner of the palace Kamal Khan had his initials inscribed everywhere - including the furniture. The Nizam liked it and wanted to buy it but how does one get over this initials issue? Then one noble came with the idea that they could name the palace King Kothi (KK) and the matter was solved. The Nizam stayed in the Nazri bagh palace which had a gate with a purdah which signalled whether the Nizam was at home or not - if it was up he was in and people had to walk past quietly and reverently, if it was down he was out. Every evening he would set out to meet his mother who lived in the old city's Purani Haveli. Currently one part of the palace has been converted into a hospital.
There was a system of paying the Nizam a tribute every time one met him - specially on Eid days and his birthday. All those who mattered were required to pay a nazar to the Nizam and the minimum was set at one gold coin and 4 silver pices. One had to pay nazar to see the Nizam. Interestingly the Nizam was known to send one mango as a gift to someone and they had to respond with a proper nazar in return. The British asked him to stop this practice.
The 7th Nizam had many wives but his main wife was Dulhan Pasha who bore him two sons Azam Jah and Moazzam Jah (both were born in the same calendar year). Azam jah was made the Prince of Berar while Moazaam Jah was made the Chairman of the City Improvement Board. The two brothers were married to the daughter of the Caliph of the Ottoman Empire Abdul Majid (deposed in 1924) Durru Shewar and her cousin Niloufer. The marriage was conducted in Nice, France and none of the Nizam's family attended it - though they had a grand reception when they arrived in Hyderabad. After the marriage Azam Jah and Durru Shewar set up residence in Bella Vista and Moazzam Jah and Niloufer lived in Hill Fort palace. Both Turkish princesses were progressive. Azam Jah tried to use black magic to bring death upon his father and also wrote to the British Government to make him the Nizam when the Nizam was ill. This peeved the Nizam who overlooked him and his brother and made the grandson - Azam Jah''s eldest son - Mukarram Jah the eighth Nizam. Mukarram Jah had a younger brother Muffakam Jah. Moazzam Jah and Niloufer did not have any children. Both Durru Shevar and Niloufer left their husbands who were used to a rather heady lifestyle. Both women engaged in charitable work - setting up hospitals named after them. Niloufer made a hefty donation in 1955 to set up a children's hospital in her name. I was born in Niloufer hospital!
On one hand there were people like Ghulam Akbar Khan, a Pathan from Uttar Pradesh who came to Hyderabad as a lawyer and who asserted at a Young Men's Union that Lord Krishna was a Prophet like others. This controversial remark did raise some hackles but he lived through it and also became a judge later.
Then there was Bahadur Yar Jung, a powerful orator, who spoke passionately at a public meeting at Victoria Play Ground in 1930 which moved the Nizam to tears. Bahadur Yar Jung founded the Society for Propagation of Islam and was close to Jinnah. In 1938 he founded the Majlis-E-IttehadUl-Muslimeen and became its founder President. He brought forth the idea that sovereignty vested with the Muslim community and the NIzam was only a symbol. He insisted that the state be declared an Islamic state. To this end he actively converted 24000 Hindus and when he was told that he could not participate in politics as a jagirdar, gave up his jagir. He died suddenly in 1944 under suspicious circumstances.
Soon after, entered Kasim Razvi, a lawyer from UP, who became President of the MIM in 1946 and fanned communalism. He called himself a Field Marshal and raised a private army of razakars (volunteers). He spun ideas of having the Nizam's flag fly on Red Fort. He hounded the moderate Prime Ministers Mirza Ismail and Nawab of Chattari and brought in Laik Ali as Prime Minister. For the longest time he became the single cause for Hyderabad to resist joining India after independence. He unleashed terror on the common public, especially Hindus through his razakar army. Many Hindus fled the state during that time. It was largely thanks to his intransigent attitude that the Indian army moved in and took over the Hyderabad state. Kasim Razvi and co were thrown in jail and after release he gave the Presidentship of MIM to Abdul Wahid Owaisi and left to Pakistan.
Yusuf Ali Khan, grandson of Salar Jung I (who was the Prime Minister when the 6th Nizam Mahbub Ali Khan was crowned the Nizam), lost his father Laki Ali Khan who served briefly as Prime Minister very early in his life, In 1912 Yusuf Ali Khan who was Salar Jung III was made Prime Minister - but he lost his job in two years. He never married, was perhaps depressed, and went on an antique collection spree which kept him busy for the rest of his life - 47000 art pieces, 47000 books, 8000 manuscripts. Yusuf Ali Khan passed away in 1949 and in his house Dewan Deodi these priceless antiques lay. In 1951 the Government of India and 114 parties of his estate set up a museum - first in Dewan Deodi a 250 year old, 100 room palace and later in 1968, in a new building called the Salar Jung museum.
And on and on goes the book with many interesting anecdotes and snippets of times gone by. It includes tidbits of Chief Ministers, characters like Jalaluddin, snippets like the female battalion called the 'Zafar Paltan', heroes like Ravi Narayan Reddy, Abid Hasan Safrani, the father of Banjara Hills Syed Mohammed Mehdi and so on.
Fantastic book. Many thanks are owed for the recommendation.
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