Hyderabad by Walk - Badshahi Ashoor Khana

A few years ago I went on a heritage walk organised by the Telangana Tourism people. One landed up at 7 am at Charminar and a small crowd gathers. A guide showed up, one Mr Suryavanshi, and he took us all on a guided tour - there were three separate ones - 1) Charminar to Ashurkhana 2) Charminar to Purana Haveli and 3) Charminar to Chowmohalla Palace. All three walks ended with a idli/vada breakfast and the entire thing with breakfast cost some ridiculously low price like 50 bucks per person or something. I am sure those walks are still going on. Mr Suryavanshi did a good job too - patiently.

Badshahi Ashoor Khana (1594)

Notice inside the Ashoor Khana

So when Mukhtiar, a young software engineer who I met on the Paigah walk told me that there was another walk by Yunus bhai in the old city I thought I would check it out. The old city is like a layered fruit - each time I learn something new. The walk was from the Badshahi Ashoor Khan (The Royal Relic) to Charminar and promised some monuments on the way. 

The Sarai or Resting Place

The Naquar Khana (Drum beating)

The gate from the inside - Hotel Medina looming behind

I showed up at 710 sharp, parked in front of a No Parking sign, worried despite assurances from the tour guide that I will be fined the 1000 bucks that the boards were threatening to, and walked into the Ashoor Khana with which I was vaguely familiar from the last walk. 

The crowd was younger, Instagram seems to be the choice of communication for this lot. Perhaps I was the only facebooker here. (And even facebook I don't do anything but gawk, so I am pre-Facebook).

Anyway, since Yunus was late I walked around and took a few pictures. 

Painted tiles

The Badshahi Ashoor Khana, apparently the second building built after the Charminar (1591), by Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of Hyderabad and the fifth Sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. According to a notice inside it was built at a cost of 66000 Hun (sovereign gold coins). The Ashoor Khana's construction began in 1594 and it was completed under Abdullah Qutb Shah, the seventh Sultan in 1611, who added the colorful tiles. Today it is the only surviving Irani architecture in prime condition in India as per the notice. 

An Ashoor Khana is a place designed for Shia Muslims to gather for spiritual practices, for religious education and for commemoration ceremonies especially during the mourning of Moharram (its also called Hussainiya - from Husayn ibn Ali). Moharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar and the mourning of Moharram is done during 10 Moharram or tenth day of Moharram to commemorate the death of Husayn (Prophet Mohammed's grandson - son of his daughter Fatima and his cousin Hazrat Ali). Husayn and his small retinue were killed in the Battle of Karbala on tenth Moharram (680 CE) against an army of Umayyad Caliph Yazdi. The battle took place because Husayn refused to pledge his allegiance to Yazdi - a battle for good vs evil and one where Husayn sacrificed his life for the good. 

The essential difference between Shias and Sunnis is about succession - Shias believe that the succession should be through the Prophet Muhammad's family viz his cousin and son-in-law Imam Ali (who married his daughter Fatima) and his descendants while Sunnis believe that the Caliphate (leader of Muslims) should be chosen by consensus. The Qutb Shahi dynasty were Shia Muslims while the Mughals were Sunnis - which was one of the points on which Aurangzeb's  Mughals decided to attack the rich Golconda kingdom.

When Aurangzeb conquered Golconda in 1687 he converted the Badshahi Ashoor Khana into horse stables for his cavalry and in the process destroyed parts of the building. However during the time of the Asaf Jah II, Nizam Ali Khan, it was restored (in the mid 1700s) - a new gate, wooden colonnades were added. Nawab Mir Nawazish Ali Khan Bahadur Rasheed installed the 'Alam' and the rituals of Majlis and Matam were held. The building has a Niyaz Khana (offering place), Naquar Khana (drums place for making announcements), Sarai (for travellers to rest), Abdar Khana (for drinking water), Langar Khana (for food), a Chabutra and so on.

The Badshahi Ashoor Khana has colourful painted tiles which are four centuries old. Apparently some of them got spoiled in the 1908 flood of Musi which rose to some 17 feet high and caused widespread death and destruction, but most of it survived. There is the image of the hand, which I saw in Moula Ali as well, which is perhaps the impression of the Panjetan, the five holy figures - Prophet Muhammad, his daughter Bibi Fatima, his cousin and son-in-law Imam Ali, and Ali's two sons, Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain. 

There are many pictures of Ashoor Khanas, of olden times at the Badhshahi Ashurkhana. We clicked pictures and walked out. 

...

I could see some traffic cops walking around and taking pictures of cars and realised that my guide was not to be relied upon and I would mostly get a challan for 1000 bucks. I quickly took a picture of the gate of Diwan Devdi, the magnificent home of the Salar Jungs which no longer exists, and hurried back to take my car out and park it in a proper place (which I found for a price of 100 bucks an hour). 

Diwan Deodi gate

I walked back found the group, heard Yunus tell us about the Hauz, which was known as Char-su-ka-Hauz (cistern of four cardinal points). It was the central point from where, on the four sides we could see the four kamans (if one is standing at Gulzar Houz facing the Charminar, the kaman that one sees as we approach Charminar from Gulzar Houz is Charminar Kaman, the one that goes away from Charminar is Machli Kaman, the one to the right is Sher-e-Batil ki Kaman and the one to the left is Kali Kaman). The Sher-e-Batil Kaman led to the royal palaces, each one like a fairy tale palace they say, called Dad Mahal, Sajan Mahal, Kudadad Mahal, Sajan Mahal, Nadi Mahal and Jinan Mahal. Over time the hauz slowly got converted into a smaller fountain and is called Gulzar Hauz. 

Sher-e-Batil ki Kaman from the inside

The Sher-e-Batil Kaman which led to the royal palaces

From here we walked to Charminar, had tea at Nimrah where Yunus told us about Irani chai and stuff while we drank tea and ate (I ordered a tie biscuit and shared my info about it and a few bites with young Mukhtiar and Sriram).

Can never resist clicking Charminar

Intricate work, grand design

Tourists on the first floor

From there we entered Charminar, got some dope on it, and left. Sriram, a young techie and investor who grew up in Ameerpet, and now on a sabbatical before he takes up a writing assignment, said he would join me on the ride back home and we walked back to the car, took off and stopped for breakfast at Minerva and returned. 

Lattice work, pineapple motifs

Rather underwhelming experience but I will not be quick to judge.