Defaced walls, defunct water fountains, and foul-smelling mortuary bath area greet visitors at Qutb Shahi tombs. :bash:
Khaleel Pasha, a resident of Bahadurpura, visited Qutb Shahi tombs on Sunday to spend some quality time with his family. But all his efforts went futile as he was forced to cut short his trip.
“It is one of the prominent historic places in the city and I am disappointed with the way things are being maintained here,” says Mr. Pasha. Except for a few drinking water taps and a couple of toilets, the authorities have failed in providing sufficient amenities to visitors.
This is peak summer and holiday time. Authorities should have provided many cold water kiosks all around the premises. It is a vast area and they cannot make visitors walk long distances to fetch a bottle of drinking water or force them to purchase foodstuffs at the canteen, fumes Mr. Pasha.
No benches
Everyday about 500 people, including those from the districts, visit the place. And on Sundays and holidays, the number more than doubles. The place can do with some facelift, visitors feel.
“Except for the city founder, Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah's tomb, other tombs lack landscaping. All the water fountains have gone defunct and there are no sufficient benches for visitors to sit and relax,” points out Kavitha, an amateur photographer.
People come here from far off places and there is no restaurant.
The only APTDC restaurant offers drinking water, soft drinks and snacks. Visitors are forced to depend on private eateries outside the premises.
Graffiti on walls
The less said the better about the way miscreants have defaced the tomb walls with graffiti. Due to poor maintenance, the area near the mortuary bath emanates foul smell.
About 30 employees, including contract workers, toil here and it is tough to maintain such a big area with limited manpower.
There are over 30 solar streetlights here and all of them have gone defunct since a year.
The magnificent tombs suffered damage when authorities took up restoration work last year.
Iranian government
Efforts are on to seek technical support from the Iranian government.
But nothing has materialised so far. Luckily, the Agha Khan Trust for Culture has come forward to take up conservation and landscape restoration of the tomb complex. :cheers:
One hopes the restoration spurs social, economic and cultural development.
Nowadays, testing one's athletic skills is the only way to have a glimpse of Monsieur Raymond's tomb at Asmangadh. Visit any time of the day, this monument jointly maintained by the Tourism and Archaeology Departments would be found inside the locked gates. Visitors often jump over the iron gates or the spiked compound wall to get a better view of the obelisk erected in memory of the most loved French General in Nizam's military during 18{+t}{+h}Century.
Never mind that General Michel Joachim Marie Raymond lent his Indianised name Moosaram to the locality. Never mind that the ammunition factory he set up has become a landmark with the name Gun Foundry. He remains an orphan posthumously, with not even his immediate neighbours aware of the importance of the site. No information about the General is provided for visitors who, if not already aware of its history, will leave clueless about the significance of the place.
The only plaque here with any inscription is the one informing about inauguration of the renovation works in 2009, followed by a list of dignitaries on the occasion. The obelisk has four plaques on all four sides, with nothing inscribed on them. Tree stumps surround the pavilion nearby, indicating the unchecked ravaging of greenery.
The compound wall displays a big hole leading to the adjacent slum Bhoolakshmi Colony from where slum dwellers find their way into the complex for a variety of purposes including defecation, consumption of liquor, and playing cricket. Incidentally the watchman from the same colony who is supposed to guard the structure is always absent along with the key.
Glass pieces and construction debris are strewn all around the other two tombstones, one erected in memory of the General's pets, another for one of his family members. Encroaching into the premises are two temples of varying sizes.
“A month ago, a group of people arrived, chopped off the huge trees inside the compound wall, and carried them away in a truck. When we complained about the large pits they left behind, they returned with construction debris and dumped it in them,” informed a neighbour.
No signage is kept on the main road to indicate the presence of the tomb, though an obscure display is present at the end of the lane leading into the premises.
The very steep approach road is full of pot holes and stones, making it difficult even to walk up.
Nevertheless, the place has visitors, some times foreigners. Unable to find the watchman, they often jump over the gates to have a better view of the tomb, neighbours say. Perhaps the delegates to the ‘Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity' too must prepare their limb joints for the forced exercise
A diamond in the dust. That's what it is. The magnificent Paigah Tombs, considered the Taj of south, are in utter ruins. One can notice official apathy and the stamp of neglect all over. :bash:
Be it ornamental pillars, beautiful trellises, roundels on tomb facades or stucco work – everything is in a state of decay.Visitors to the last abode of the Paigah nobles situated beyond the Owaisi Hospital in Santoshnagar are few and far between. Reason - not many know about the existence of the royal necropolis. Even the locals find it difficult to reach this protected monument hidden behind a cluster of houses.
The Paigahs had a yen for aesthetics. They wanted even their mausoleums to be architectural marvels. The tombs decorated in stucco work represent the Asaf Jahi and Rajasthani styles with unique geometrical patterns.
Unfortunately, the authorities seem to lack the creative streak - worse even the desire to protect heritage. How else can one explain the poor upkeep of the main complex where several generations of Paigah nobles, including Nawab Asman Jah, Viqar-ul-Umra and Shams-ul-Umra, lie buried. Even a cursory glance shows the gaping holes in the marble lattices and stucco panels.
In some tomb enclosures half of the jali work is missing. The exquisitely carved wooden doors and panels also show signs of decay.
The Paigah Tombs are a fine blend of marble and lime. But thanks to the vagaries of nature and poor maintenance the lime work is coming apart. A casual touch results in the plaster peeling off.
“There is practically no maintenance,” says the caretaker, Mohd. Rahamatullah.There are no amenities worth the name here – not even water, toilets or a cafeteria for visitors. Thanks to the efforts of Majlis legislator Mumtaz Ahmed Khan, the Paigah Tombs can at least boast of electricity.The Department of Archaeology and Museums has listed the Paigah Tombs among several heritage structures for beautification and illumination in view of the forthcoming biodiversity conference. Conservationists feel the authorities ought to first repair and strengthen the splendid structure which is damaged in several spots. The place can also do with a bit of greenery and a proper approach.
The city has added yet another feather to its cap for being chosen to host the prestigious 11th Conference of Parties to United Nations convention on Bio-Diversity. This is an ideal occasion to showcase our heritage to VIP delegates from 194 countries, participating in the conference. But the monuments shortlisted for the visit of the delegates woefully lack amenities and upkeep.
HYDERABAD: Everybody is eagerly awaiting the ensuing monsoon but not the authorities and patients at the AP General and Chest Hospital at Erragadda. Over the last few days, doctors here have been living on tenterhooks fearing that the hospital housed in the over-a-century-old Irranuma Palace might give way because of rain.
The building, though declared unfit for use by the AP Health, Medical Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation, roads and buildings department as well as the GHMC, is still being used due to space crunch despite weak walls and massive leakages in the roof. Currently, around 100 patients are being accommodated on the ground floor and what remains of the first floor of the two-storied structure. The roof of the other half portion on the first floor has collapsed.
Authorities said that the pulmonary department, acute respiratory unit, sterilization, X-ray units and the department dealing with lung problems are functioning from the dilapidated premises. "Fortunately we have been safe all these years but the structure has gone from bad to worse. We have been asking for a separate building for several years now but there is no headway," says a doctor.
Dr P N S Reddy, superintendent, Chest Hospital, said that the government would have to take responsibility for any eventuality. "Due to massive leakages, patients are forced to sleep under the cots whenever it rains. We have no right to play with the lives of patients," says Dr Reddy, who had earlier even put in his papers to protest the poor condition of the hospital, which was not accepted.
Doctors say that the 65-acre premise has vast vacant land and new construction can be taken up without any hassles.
The 740-bed teaching-cum-general hospital and medical college announced by the state government on the premises of the hospital in January 2008 has also hit a roadblock. The TB and Chest Hospital at S R Nagar currently sits on 65 acres, of which only a part is occupied by the hospital buildings and the rest is open space.
For close to two decades now, successive health secretaries and ministers have recommended that the hospital be turned into a general hospital but the plan has remained on paper.
Built nearly a century ago and donated by the VII Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, the structure was identified as a heritage building but its recognition is still pending with the heritage committee of the HMDA.
Bagging another project of international reputation, the CEPT University has been awarded the “Demonstration Programme for Heritage Management in Indian Cities”. Implemented by the World Bank at the request of Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, this programme is anchored by the Ministry of Urban Development.
The programme that will cover three pilot cities - Ajmer-Pushkar (Rajasthan), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) - has been taken off this week with the field trips by CEPT team members to these cities. It aims at providing national policy makers including the state governments and urban local bodies with practices, institutional arrangements as well as financial and management incentives that can assist them in incorporating cultural heritage into their overall city development planning framework.
“It was realised that cities are not able to cope up with rapid urbanisation. This has resulted in a major setback to the cities with a heritage legacy. For instance, Pushkar witnesses millions of visitors each year and in the absence of effective planning and measures from the local bodies and the residents, it is not only on the perils of a major devastation, of both culture and environment,” said Prof Saswat Bandhopadhyay from Faculty of Urban Planning at CEPT, who is coordinating the project.
The reason for selecting Ajmer-Pushkar, Varanasi and Hyderabad was the diversity in topography, history and culture of these cities. This one-year programme will be implemented in two phases. Phase one that is already started will test methodologies in these three heritage cities which will be further mainstreamed during phase two.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation commissioner M T Krishna Babu, on Wednesday, said that Hyderabad has been selected by the union ministry for Urban Development for Pearl City Networks, for the India Urban Heritage Demonstration program for Heritage Management". Hyderabad has been selected under the category of "mega cities" with a global character, along with Ajmer, Pushker and Varanasi, which were selected under the categories of cities of cultural and religious significance and hill cities, respectively.
The commissioner said that this project would be a Heritage Conservation Project aided by the World Bank.
Representatives from the World Bank and CEPT University visited GHMC on Wednesday, for the inaugural meeting of "Inclusive Heritage Based City Development Strategy" for Hyderabad city.
Addressing the gathering, the GHMC commissioner said that GHMC had taken up certain initiatives in the recent past for the restoration and conservation of Murgi Chowk at Charminar, and that a consultant has been appointed for the preparation of DPRs for the restoration and conservation of Mozamjahi Market and Mahboob Mansion (Malakpet).
He also said that the GHMC has initiated the strengthening of a heritage cell, and also appointed a conservation architect exclusively for the heritage cell.
The commissioner said that he felt that the Heritage Conservation Committee must conduct a sensitising program for civil engineers and architects, on the preservation of heritage structures at regular intervals.
He also suggested that the HCC recommend, through the HMDA, exemption of property tax for heritage structures.
Speaking on the subject "Inclusive Heritage Based City Development Strategy (IHCDS)", Saswat Dindyopadhyay of CEPT (Centre For Environmental Planning & Technology) University said that the university would provide 2 graduates / urban planners for the strengthening of the GHMC's heritage cell.
Chief city planner V Narender Rao, in his key note address on heritage management initiatives in Hyderabad and the Heritage Conservation Committee, made a presentation on "Heritage Regulations and Initiatives in Hyderabad".
The GHMC commissioner also announced that a meeting of stake-holders would be conducted on Thursday at the GHMC head office, in this regard. (INN)
"Better the rudest work that tells a story or records a fact, than the richest without the meaning. There should not be a single ornament put upon great civic buildings without some intellectual intention."
- The Seven Lamps of Architecture; John Ruskin (1819-1900)
Hyderabad has been fortunate to have a legacy of architectural excellence which is manifest in examples of its monuments. Most serve as an undisputable record of the times that they were constructed in. Unfortunately, contemporary architectural trends have produced almost nothing that stimulates either the mind or the senses. Even so, quite a few convoluted renditions in stone and brick executed in the recent past assume importance as they bear testimony to the erosion of intellectual intent. These often ghastly specimens of monumental disaster, faithfully record the idiosyncrasies of individuals who assumed power during different periods of history leaving indelible marks on the cityscape for posterity.
The grandeur commonly associated with Qutub Shahi architecture reveals quite a few traits of the individual sultan or noble who created a particular monument. It is thus interesting to note that the Toli mosque, arguably the most exquisite example of stucco decoration in the city, was the creation of a grandee and surpasses in beauty any other construction of the period. Interestingly Musa Khan Mahaldar, the renowned defender of Golconda during the first Mughal siege of 1656, was the builder of both the Mecca Masjid and the Toli Mosque. However even a cursory evaluation of the two reveals the differing dynamics in design, construction and embellishment. Unable to match the scale and proportions of the Mecca Masjid, Musa Khan resorted to profuse stucco decoration in his own mosque ensuring that it was comparable to the one commissioned by the king. The Toli mosque is undoubtedly a lasting record to the artistic caliber and ingenuity of this famed architect of Hyderabad. Similarly, if not overwhelmed by the seemingly 'immediately apparent splendour', even a layman rates Chowmahalla as being aesthetically far superior to the Falaknuma Palace. Not surprising as experts of European architecture have never acknowledged the latter as anything better than "a Victorian nightmare".
The change of guard at Hyderabad following merger brought about a major change in architectural dynamics with nondescript buildings reflecting the mood of the times. The abhorrence towards inherited styles amongst the changed order is amply evident in the 'piece de resistance' of this era; the Ravindra Bharati auditorium. The fact that its architect was the redoubtable Fayyazuddin, who had trained and worked under stalwarts like Jasper and Esch, underscores the degree of oppression which the city's population was subject to in that traumatic phase in its history. One can imagine the effort made by the architect in turning his back to numerous magnificent monumental edifices in the vicinity, to come up with a design which bore not a single feature which could suggest continuity. Even so, the end result serves as an ornament reflecting intellectual intent, albeit flawed, as it faithfully records for posterity the socio-political climate of the times when it was constructed.
The next phase of hectic activity in the field of architecture coincided with the coming to power of the Telugu Desam party. Championing linguistic and regional cultural chauvinism, this harbinger of disaster for Hyderabad brought about rapid change, sweeping aside the last vestiges of a syncretic culture which had been lovingly nurtured over centuries. With calculated precision, a new identity was thrust upon the city, clearly sending out the message of a complete break from the past. When confronted with an outcry, these self-proclaimed patrons of the arts attempted token reconciliation. The inherent animosity however, resulted in the commissioning of outrageous monuments and sculptures. One such monument depicted a scrawny avian clinging precariously to a cannonball; supposedly an artistic rendition of Iqbal's famed couplet reminding the mighty eagle of his true home amidst the rocky peaks. Nahi tera nasheman qasr-e sultani ki gumbad par / Tu shaheen hai basera kar pahadon ki chatanon mein (Thy abode is not the dome of a palace / You are an eagle and must dwell amidst the rocky peaks).
No wonder the message, intended and implied, failed to evict the desired result. The denizens remained unmoved and stayed rooted, refusing to fly away and desert their beloved city!
The idea that progress demands a distancing from the past has unfortunately gained acceptance in the country in the recent past. Hyderabad with its rapidly increasing population is on an expansion spree and the ready willingness to sacrifice inherited architectural identity at the altar of modernization is fast gaining momentum. In this scenario it becomes imperative to safeguard all evidences of culture, irrespective of architectural or artistic merit. For monuments like the Ravindra Bharati and Iqbal Minar tell tragic stories and record unpleasant facts.