Nizam

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 »

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 »

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 »

The Nizam of Hyderabad

The tradition of painted photography was a syncretic visual culture of photography and painting, which began in India in the 19th century, almost at the same time as photography came to India. This genre became extremely popular in the country for two main reasons. One, it brought colour to the relatively quiet world of black… Read more »