It’s been quite a busy day today, a day in which I have covered a
number of places of interest. What I can say of Hyderabad is that it is a
wonderful mix of the old and the new. Of the old, Charminar is a unique
monument from the 16th century. Of the new, the Birla Mandir dedicated to Lord
Venkateshwara is truly a modern marvel which takes its inspiration from
centuries of temple art and architecture.
Charminar
The Char Minar on a wonderful morning
The main arches are like an English Tudor arch, coincidentally from
the same period. They open up the view of the monument. The arches in the
North-South direction are continued with arched gateways along the line of the
main throughfare. At least two such gateways are visible to the North. Perhaps
by North is the right way to approach the Charminar. The gateways lead the
visitor to the monument, framing it beautifully at times and in a way
integrating it with the city landscape. These gateways are places of messy
traffic where each one thinks the way is his alone.
What really makes Charminar stand out are the little arches that frame
the main arches. Arches encircle balconies that project out of the towers.
Arches in horizontal tiers top each main arch. Even on the inside, there are
many ways of looking at the arches, one framed by others. Each of the four
arches are in their turn decorated with smaller arches as they rise to their
pinnacles. They are blind, open or simply contain a perforated screen. As I
climb the monument to the viewing gallery it occurs to me that the reason for
its creation is somewhat obscure and generally believed to celebrate the end of
plague.
Atop the Char Minar
There is no dome on top on the outside but a clear circle closes the
monument on the inside. Thus, the Charminar starts from the ground as a square
in man-made fashion, changes to an octagon, then a 16-sided structure and
finally a natural circle at the top. Sixteen arches surround the balcony on the
inside. Of these, only one is a perforated screen. Corner arches have a further
inset of a smaller arch. The walls at the higher levels are spoiled with lots
of graffiti.
There is a small temple at the base. Finding a temple in a medieval
Islamic monument is as much a surprise as it is eccentric. The temple does not
belong here. It completely spoils the overall mood of the monument. Everywhere
there is evidence of Muslim domination, Hindus are clever enough to impose
their beliefs.
Birla Mandir
This is a beautiful temple situated on a hill. The views from here
reach out across the Hussain Sagar Lake. The lights of Hyderabad flicker under
the bluish skies of twilight. I am informed that the temple is relatively new.
Construction started in 1964 and completed in 1984. The esteemed skills of our
ancient artisans are not altogether lost. They are many even today who are able
to create such beautiful work in stone.
It is completely in white marble from stairways and balustrades to
walls and shikara. As it stands under bright white lights, it is pure poetry
and full of beauty. It is perhaps Hyderabad’s equivalent of Bangalore’s ISKCON
temple. The temple has elements of South Indian, North Indian and Jain temple
architecture. Wall are covered with narrative marble reliefs set into panels.
Arches are serpentine with exquisite decorative work. The shikara in rekha
nagara style is as elegant as it is simple. A long flight of stairs passes
under a gateway that resembles a mini gopuram in the South Indian style. The
interior of the sanctum is packed with wonderful sculptures. Had not this been
an active temple, tourists and art lovers would flock in numbers. As such,
people have darshan and swiftly move out with the crowds, many without as much
as a glance at art enshrined here.
A notice at the footwear counter clearly says that this service is
free, attendants are not to be given tips. But attendants will still ask for
tips and people will still dish them out; except me.
High Court
I am sitting absent-mindedly in the bus and simply taking in the
passing scenes. I miss my stop. A little later the conductor shouts at me. He
suspects I am trying to go farther than my ticket would allow. I get off and
walk to the High Court building.
‘This is not open for the public,’ says an officious guard at the
entrance gate. A sweeper is cleaning the walkways around the buildings inside.
Morning light is slanting through at a steep angle. A fire engine is parked
within the grounds.
‘I will just take a look at the building,’ I tell him.
‘Come back at ten o’clock. The offices will open then.’
‘I have come from Bangalore for a short visit. I will look at the
buildings from outside.’
He relents and allows me to enter.
The High Court
This is a wonderful old building with domes, turrets, arches and
arcaded galleries. Perspectives are numerous. In one of the main entrances, a
giant arch is set within a rectangular frame which at its ends rises in
octogonal towers to domed kiosks. This sort of an imposing facade is formally
called pishtaq. The arch frames three smaller arches at ground level,
equivalent jharokas at a higher level and a wider jharoka at the top. Behind
the top line of crenellation, the main dome rises above an octogonal base. The
dome is surrounded by turrets topped with domed kiosks.
I hardly know how old it is or who built it. For all its architectural
glory, these buildings are not well maintained. A similar building stands
across the river. It houses today the Osmania General Hospital. As I leave the
High Court I ask the guard about Purana Haveli Palace. I point him to the map
in my hands. He is clueless. He has never heard of it.
Salar Jung Museum
Said to be the largest one-man collection of objects, this museum has
many wonderful exhibits. The building itself is beautiful and access to all the
galleries is easy. Crowds will stroll in, ignore the majestic entrance hall, be
blind to navigation maps and before anything else, head straight for the
Musical Clock, the most famous object in the museum.
The facade of the Salar Jung Museum
My mother told me of a half man and half woman statue that I should
not miss at the museum. I assumed this must be a statue of Ardhanarisvara, with
Shiva making up the right side of the body and Parvati the left. I have seen
such sculptures in some of the temples, particularly at Pattadakal. So I am not
exactly searching for this sculpture when by chance I come across it in a
gallery dedicated to Western art. It is nothing close to what I had imagined.
Unlike Ardhanarisvara, this lacquered and polished wooden statue is fully male
one side and female on the other. The statue is ingeniously conceived and
executed beautifully. The figures are full length. The male figure wears a
clock that covers the head and drops the length of the body. It is this cloak
that effectively frames and separately the two figures, hides one from the
other.
The other notable exhibit in the museum is yet another Western
masterpiece. This is Veiled Rebecca, a full length marble statue. Rebecca is a
Biblical figure who stands here with a veil that covers her face. Through this
veil her delicate face, demure smile and shy downward glance are visible. This
may seem common but we must remember that the veil itself is in marble. Each
thread of the veil is delicately carved. In the solidity of marble, the
sculptor has created the transparency of cloth.
Mecca Masjid
This is right next to Charminar and lies somewhat in the neglected
shadow of its popular neighbour. Bags and cameras are not allowed even in the
open forecourt. Visitors have to pass through a metal detector which doesn’t
seem to work. The security guard is chatting with a stall owner at the entrance.
They are busy fiddling a mobile phone. I enter the forecourt. Security is too
busy to stop me. This is the place that was bombed some years ago.
Arches, domes and wrapped chandeliers
The main building has five bays in the East-West direction and three
in the North-South direction. Square piers rise to wide arches through plain
capitals. Spandrels have simple arch netting. Little domes crown each space but
none of these domes can be seen on the outside from ground level. A pillared
corridor containing tombs at the southern end leads to the mosque. A pool is
next to it for ritual cleaning before entering the mosque. Visitors are feeding
pigeons who flock in great numbers at this mosque.
The bays are closed on the eastern end with a wire metal frame. This
must be a recent addition for reasons of security. A guide brings two foreign
tourists, opens a gate for them, enters and closes it behind them. Meanwhile I
am contented in looking at the mosque from the outside. Each arch interplays
with the curves of another. Depending on how one looks, an arch frames other
arches in perspective. It closes as well as opens space. It sings its note
while the building is the song. Every pier, arch and domed ceiling is painted
white. It gives the interior lightness of mood.
Narrow carpets are laid out along the length of the mosque. They have
a design of cusped arches pointing to the qibla at the western wall. A man is
sweeping the carpets with a long broom. The broom is made of little feathers of
some sort. With each slow and sweeping motion he traces his curves on the
carpets. His movement is repetitive, almost meditative in the silence of the
mosque. It is like a time-honoured dance.
Chandeliers hang in a line
Chandeliers hang many feet from the high ceiling. They are all covered
with brown cloth. Perhaps they will see the light of day on some special
occasions. Covered in this way, they appear enigmatic. They are like the nests
of weaver birds hanging in the shades of palms.
Light is slanting through the open bays and casting sharp shadows.
Green bracketed shelves lining the piers catch this light cheerfully. It is
almost a prayer in itself, an obeisance to the light of nature. Prayers books
are stacked on these shelves. Little prayer caps made of cane are stacked neatly
on a stepped platform. A grandfather clock ticks. With each tick, I sense
pause, movement and pause again. It seems an age for a second to live to its
full purpose.
Along with Charminar, the mosque stands in an old part of town. Here I
find exotic shops and trades not easily found elsewhere. In a workshop men are
preparing thin plates of gold and silver, almost like paper. It is called
waraq. A small shop displays in its glass cabinet an array of glass bottles
containing colourful perfumes. Some of these perfumes may be quite old and
exotic. The bottles themselves are works of art. This is a piece of Nawabi
Hyderabad. But from everything there is of old Hyderabad, Mecca Masjid was
truly like a dream to me this morning. It has taken me to medieval India.
The Fort at Golconda:
Golconda is about 11 kms from Hyderabad, so close that it may be
considered a suburb of Hyderabad. I arrived a little late for breakfast at the
fort entrance. The fact is that I needed to get some proper sleep after the
overnight bus ride from Sri Sailam.
Once I arrived at the City Bus Stand (CBS), an auto-rickshaw driver
offered to take me to a lodge. I paid him only ten rupees for the ride but he
got a commission of hundred from the hotel manager. The room was decent but not
worth for Rs. 250 per night. Hyderabad has lots of options. Supply exceeds
demand at this time of the year and rooms as low as below hundred can be
obtained.
From CBS, bus service 80 goes right up to the fort entrance. Once
there, entry fee is a pathetic Rs. 10. These days, you don’t have to amass an
army and lay a long costly siege to get into the fort. Things have been made
rather simple in the 21st century. This is what I call progress.
The fort is fantastic. There are good views, both on the inside and
from outside the crenellated walls. As in the fort at Chitradurga, there is an
interplay between the natural boulders and the man-made walls, between the
curves of grace and the strict lines of order. The ruins are vast and the
perspectives endless. I don’t know the names of halls, buildings or passages.
All I can say is that every arch brings back an age long gone, every stone
tells the story as it stands and every rock hides history in its shadows.
A key architectural feature is that a clap at the entrance can be
heard at the citadel high up on the hill. There is a clear line of sight
between these two points which might at least 500 meters in separation. This
was the communication in those days. Guides will co-ordinate amongst themselves
to demonstrate this method of communication. Visitors rather dumbly will
continue to clap loudly in every building and space throughout the fort. It is
rather like shouting in the Whispering Gallery of the Gol Gumbaz.
Another architectural aspect to be noted is the way arches joint and
diverge. A wider arch will span two smaller arches, sometime one and a half.
Ribs will traverse to form arch netting around the base of the dome. The base
of the dome may have 24 or 16-pointed polygons. I walked in and out of such
buildings admiring the various perspectives.
From the summit, one can see the tombs of the Qutb Shahi kings. The
fort is largely attributed to this dynasty although it was first started on a
small scale by the Kakatiyas and later enhanced by the Bahmani Sultanate. I
tried to pick out the Char Minar from the top but I guess it is not such a tall
building to be seen easily from such a distance.
Postcards from Hyderabad - A mixture of
old & new
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