23 May 2009
It should have been a lazy-stay-at-home day, especially since I barely got a shuteye and woke up without tea. Instead I headed off at 11 am with a friend to see couple of places in the Old City - things that don't get the attention from the locals and the tourists alike. Having a car with a driver took away the angst of driving through the crowded streets and worrying about parking or leaving the car unattended.
Nizam's Museum
First stop was at the Nizam's Museum in Purani Haveli (Old Mansion) a block or so behind the more popular Salar Jung Museum. A nice compound greets you with old trees and cool breeze despite the not so friendly sun. Right now the Mukarram Jha Trust owns this mansion, which is in pretty bad state, and runs a college and school inside. Along the long walk to the museum entrance which is at the far end of the left side building, you can take a peek inside the Chemistry lab (yeah! it is a sight), some classrooms and the Prinicipal's office.
The ticket prices are somewhat atypical - Rs. 70 entry fees for adults and Rs.150 for the still camera. There is not much traffic at this place, so I figured I will not grumble and contribute to the maintenance of this historic site. The staff is quite well trained on making sure you have paid the camera fees; they ask you nicely a lot of times :).
You enter the museum through the Nizam's wardrobe (walk-in closet the size of a big building :)), complete with trial rooms, tons of compartments for clothes, shoes, hats, walking sticks and unused silk. Yeah, they make clothes using a sheet of silk, and just dump the rest. It seems the Nizam wore a dress only once. DIfferent life. I guess I could get used to it with a bit of persuasion. Exquisite clothes are stashed in these compartments with little care - although the staff itself is quite protective and nice. They just don't know how to care for these priceless things.
The final room is a sheer delight for those who like models (!), especially, models made in silver. I wonder why they did not gift or create more gold models (smile). May be it would have made the Nizam the richest guy in the whole universe, not just this world. Unbelievable models of some of the structures that still exist in the city like the Mozam Jahi market, the High court and the Charminar model. I wish the lighting in the room was a bit more carefully controlled; it is hard enough to take pictures of things inside glass cases. Oh well.
At this point of time, given the sad state of this room, and the miserable lighting and dust cover, I started to make plans to argue with the old wizard at the front desk to get my camera fees back. Eventually, after admiring the silks and such, we made our way into the next room with paintings and artwork, with better lighting and cleaner surroundings. Amazing stuff - mostly acquired by the Nizam as gifts from the King of Saud to some resident in Koti. Beautiful calligraphies, paintings, rugs, miniature Korans, marble dining and bed set that travels with the Nizam on hunting trip - the list goes on. I did not do justice to this room despite the urging from the lingering caretaker; should have clicked more. See, for example, this painting.
We walked out into the yard, enjoyed the shade for a bit under one of the big trees and bid farewell to the Old Mansion, which I wish will be cleaned and restored someday soon; just like the Charminar which requires some heavy duty cleaning in my opinion.
Afzalganj Ashurkhana
At the end of the Salar Jung Museum road, there is a non-descript building with high fences and a board claiming it is the Ashurkhana (an Imambara for those who know what it means). I found a note in the Outlook traveler guide book about Badshahi Ashurkhana in Afzhalganj that was supposed to have some intricate tile-work and a must see. Not sure if the place we visited is the same one as in the book, but definitely an interesting building. Very big and a place where they make the silver stuff (don't know the name) for Muharram and a place of public mourning. No tile-work here though. But if you are the curious kind to see an important part of the old city life, don't hesitate to push the large steel door and walk in.
Chowmahalla Palace
Our next stop was at one of the royal palaces of the Nizam, a place where he entertained all the visiting royalty and dignitaries. Today, if you have the right kind of money, you can host dinners and parties there as well.
This place is tucked away behind Mecca Masjid. An easy walk through the Laad Bazaar to the right of the Charminar or you can choose to drive around the block behind the Charminar bus stand. Along the way you can see the Pista House and the place where they make the famous Haleem during Ramadan. I had been to Chowmahalla about this time last year without the camera in tow; also, the last time some sections were closed for restoration. I was looking forward to seeing the newly opened areas. We stepped in to the compound to check out this magnificient spacious palace right in the middle of one of the most densely populated places in the world.
Chow is simple - a large compound with a set of isolated but impressive buildings, some fountains, large grounds and interesting decorations. You first visit the Nizam's durbar, Khilwat Mubarak; a simple affair but lends credence to the fact that the head of the state sat there and held court. Interesting decor on the roof; straighforward marble floor; large, really large, chandeliers complete the effect.
Then we headed into the room where they host the pictures of the royal family. The ones from the the recent times knew how to keep in touch with the Parisian fashion industry and hobnob with the likes of Nehru. Of course, no photography allowed in this room that has some fantastic ceiling work. Go figure!
After a visit to two impressive high-ceiling rooms with a wide array of swords and their big and small brethren, we headed into the palaces of the queen. Opulence in high gear in these buildings with some nice work by the caretakers to showcase the history with well-decorated mannequins. One of them looks quite good too; check it out yourself :).
There is a large area in the back of the palace grounds that holds about ten vintage cars from the early 1900s to the middle of the century. Unfortunately behind glass; and there is no way to capture them in camera. Quite hard to see with naked eye as well because of the reflections. Anyway, worth a check.
The last place we stopped took our breath away. Not because we had not eaten lunch yet and were starting to feel tired. But because of the impressive tiled floor in the raised platform that leads into the an unbelievably well-decorated room with wooden flooring. See the picture to get an idea; if the picture quality were right, it could have come straight out of a modern interior decoration magazine.
Finishing up
We needed food; so we deferred Paigah Tombs and Falaknuma Palace for another day. A bit of driving lead us to Ohri's Jiva on Raj Bhavan Road. Do you know that Thalis served at 4pm are delicious when you are really hungry :).
Related Links
Purani Haveli
Chowmahalla Palace
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment