Singing pillars, living rocks & posh pineapples – Architecture of the Deccan
How medieval Deccani architecture evolved to encompass such a range of marvels, from monolithic cave monasteries to Dravidian temple art to Indo-Islamic minarets
Hyderabad
Empires of the Deccan – 1,000 years of shifting sands
The Deccan’s diversity of art, culture and language is the result of centuries of shifting politics. Let’s get to know the prominent early and late-mediaeval kingdoms of this vast region through Sarmaya’s rare photographs, coins, books, engravings and maps
Golconda Fort (Inside view)
This is a photograph of the interiors of the Golconda Fort complex in Hyderabad by an unidentified photographer. During the Qutub Shahi Dynasty (16th-17th centuries), the Golconda Fort became a prominent power house. Ibrahim Qutub Shah (1518-1580) significantly strengthened the fort with stone and mortar during his reign, and it was subsequently fortified throughout succeeding… Read more »
‘Sisters Who Watch Over Us’ – Telangana’s powerful local goddesses
Among the Dalits and Bahujans of South India, the seven sister-goddesses are revered as protectors of the land and preservers of its people. Meet the gramadevatalu of Telangana
Residency at Chaderghat, Hyderabad
This photograph of the British Residency in Hyderabad is attributed to Lala Deen Dayal (1844-1905). The British Residency, located on the banks of the Musi river, was built between 1803–1806 as a Palladian palace by Samuel Russell of Madras Engineers. It served as the official residence of the British officers appointed as the Resident at… Read more »
‘India’s Maharajas, Beyond Dancing Girls & Elephants’ by Manu S Pillai
Drawn from his book, ‘False Allies’, historian and author Manu S Pillai draws an intriguing portrait of the rulers of India’s princely states as we have rarely seen them before.
Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi, Nizam of Hyderabad
This is a Carte de Visite portrait of the sixth Nizam, Asaf Jah VI Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi, who reigned from 1869 to 1911. During this time, he developed the railways and established cotton and silk mills in the State. In popular culture, Mahboob Ali Khan is probably best remembered for his legendary collection of gemstones,… Read more »
Rai Bahadur Shankar Rao, Hyderabad
This is a cabinet card print of Rai Bahadur Shankar Rao, Hyderabad by Lala Deen Dayal & Sons. After graduating from the prestigious Thomason College of Civil Engineering, today’s IIT Roorkee, Deen Dayal (1844-1905) landed a government job as a draughtsman in the Public Works Department in Indore. In a field dominated by Europeans, Deen… Read more »
Rock & Ruler: Golconda’s Trail of Diamonds
What the chain of diamonds trickling from the marketplaces of Golconda tells us about the dynasties that branded and traded, and won and lost them
Qutb Shahi Tombs, Hyderabad
This photograph of the Qutb Shahi Tombs in Hyderabad, is by Lala Deen Dayal (1844-1905). Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah founded the city in 1591 by, moving away from the historic capital at Golconda. The Qutb Shahi empire was founded by his grandfather, Sultan Quli Qutb Shah. Hailing from Hamdan in Persia (present-day Iran), he travelled… Read more »
Kam Bakhsh, Silver Rupee of Haidarabad Dar ul-Jihad Mint
After Aurangzeb’s death in the year 1707, a war of succession emerged among his three surviving sons. Muazzam, the Governor of Kabul, Azam, the Governor of Gujarat, and Kam Baksh who was the Governor of Deccan, fought each other for the throne. Towards Ahmednagar, Azam had proclaimed himself emperor while on the other hand, the… Read more »
Visiting Lala Deen Dayal’s India
In the mid-1870s, an Indian engineer emerged as an unlikely documentarian of both the British Raj and princely India. The story of Lala Deen Dayal is tied to the fortunes of Hyderabad and its flamboyant sixth Nizam
The Hyderabad Affair
If you’ve never been to Hyderabad, you might associate certain stereotypical things with it, like the jaw-dropping Nizam’s jewels that leave the vaults of the RBI to make their appearances at crowded exhibitions now and again. Or what many consider the definitive dum biryani—and they’re willing to fight you over this. Or the behemoth that… Read more »
Echoes of Golconda – Seeking the Quli Qutb Shahs in Modern Hyderabad
Journalist and Hyderabadi Yunus Lasania traces the indelible ink of the Qutb Shahi dynasty’s Persian influence on the city’s living, breathing culture
City-Scape – Hyderabad’s Modern Masters of Art
Four masters of modern Indian art with one city in common. From the aesthetic to the spiritual, Hyderabad has affected these artists’ oeuvres in a multitude of ways
Deccan Chronicles: The Seven Nizams (and one Diwan) of Hyderabad
While the Nizams were alive, neither the Mughals, nor the French, nor the British, could wrest control of Hyderabad. On their watch, the city swayed to its own rhythm, breathing new life into Deccani art, music, dance and poetry
Living Out Loud: Great Indian Palaces
Roll back the years with vintage photographs of Indian palaces from Sarmaya’s collection