The Hyderabad Walking Company

27/10/2023

Here's a contemporary painting of Ali Adil Shah II, Sultan of Bijapur from 1656 to 1672 CE. Painting was one of the many arts he patronized, and this 1660 miniature portrait of his is a striking example. Painted in the style of Abdul Hamid Naqqash, most probably by one of his followers, the portrait would most probably have been approved by the Sultan himself.

The details are interesting - check out the emeralds, rubies and diamonds adorning the royal turban, with two pearls hanging from the very top.

This striking painting is currently on auction at Christie's - go on and place a bid if you have 50k pounds lying around!

19/08/2023

Introducing a brand new food experience - The Big Fat Hyderabadi Food Walk. Explore the Nampally and Mallepally areas with us and discover local eateries and stories from Hyderabad's past.

Check out complete details at https://www.thwc.in/tours/the-big-fat-hyderabadi-food-walk/

Call or WhatsApp us at 701 331 0387.

29/05/2023

While exploring the Paigah tombs, we had a chance to look closely at two different tombs that are adorned with colourful marble inlay work. Known as pietra dura or parchinkari work, this decorative art involves using different coloured marbles to create a frame, within which colourful botanical motifs are represented by inlaying the white marble with semiprecious materials like lapis lazuli, carnelian, jasper and mother of pearl.

1
The tomb of of Hussain-un-Nissa Begum. She was a daughter of Afzal ud Daula, the fith Nizam of Hyderabad, and was married to Kursheed Jah.

2
Detail of the different designs inlaind on Hussain-un-Nissa Begum's tomb

3
Close up showing inlay work using different coloured marble as well as semiprecious material

4
The tomb of Kursheed Jah

28/05/2023

Every once in a while, the beautiful chandeliers that adorn the Khilwat at the Chowmahalla Palace are carefully dismantled, each individual part cleaned carefully, and put up again. Here you can see a team enagaged in this painstaking task.

03/12/2022

Two pictures taken 180 degrees from each other!

1
Birds in the sky and explorers on the ground in front of the mosque of Mullah Khayali, master calligrapher at the court of Ibrahim Qutb Shah. There are signs of ornate decorations - we can see the holes where iron nails would have held colourful ceramic tiles in position. However, the Mullah did not bring his work to his mosque - there's no calligraphy to be seen anywhere in it. Nevertheless, it's a perfect example of early Qutb Shahi religious architecture, having been built in the mid to late 1500s.

2
Turn 180 degrees from the previous picture and you see the centuries-old baobab tree known locally as the Hathiyon ka jhad - the tree of elephants. The name comes from the sheer size of the tree trunk - it's so wide that an elephant could hide behind it. There's a large hole in the centre of the trunk which local folklore says was used by thieves to hide in. This African tree is yet another pointer to how cosmopolitan life was in the Deccan in the 1500s.

Photography made possible by and .hyderabad under the leadership of and

Photographs by

09/10/2022

Went on the City of Pearls walk after a long time today. Here are some images from Chowmahalla Palace.

1. The front of the Khilwat

2. A view of the musnud, or throne platform, and some of the chandeliers in the Khilwat

3. A view of the musnud and chandeliers from above

4. A beautifully decorated arch frames a tree in the courtyard

5. Detail of the intricate decoration of the hilt of a sword in the Palace collecting

6. A lion-headed dagger

7. Engraving on a curved sword, similar to the one on the news

8. Another engraving on the same sword

9. Intricate carvings adorn the pillars and the ceiling

10. The sumptuous interiors of Afzal Mahal, one of the four palaces that make up Chowmahalla

09/10/2022

Resuming the Old Hyderabad Food Walk with a happy group!

Brain fry, shammi kebab, seekh kebab and a cup of chai at Nimrah are just a few of the delicacies we tasted :)

02/09/2022

The Khazana Building Museum is a treasurehouse of artefacts from both the Qutb Shahi as well as the pre-Qutb Shahi period. The building itself was the treasury of the Qutb Shahis, and while it has seen modern renovations, the shell dates back to the 1500s.

This museum is currently closed to the public, and we were able to visit it thanks to and from and .hyderabad

Here are a few images of artefacts from the pre-Qutb Shahi Kakatiya and Western Chalukya periods.



1
A beautiful example of a Kakatiya yali carved out of black basalt.

2
A fragmentary inscription in hale Kannada - Old Kannada - probably dating back to the Western Chalukya period, around the 10th century CE.

3
A Nagini, a serpent warrior, with sword and shield. Inspiration for JK Rowling to create Voldemort’s sidekick with the same name.

4
Detail from a fragment of an elaborately-carved door post

5
A Nagini with a sword and shield

6
A depiction of Siva dancing the cosmic dance. His hair is flying and he’s wielding a variety of weapons - a sword, a trident and a belt sword are visible here. This form is called the tandava bhairava.

7
A close up of Siva dancing the wrathful version of the cosmic dance. The bulging eyes and bared fangs signify the wrathfulness.

8
Detail from a fragment of an elaborately-carved door post

9
An inscription in Old Kannada with a variety of symbols at the top - the sun and moon, a cow with a calf, a sword and Garuda. Quite possibly around a thousand years old and from the Kalyani Chalukyas, but only a real epigraphist can confirm that.

31/08/2022

The Fateh Darwaza was a prominent entrance to the city of Qila Mohammadnagar, the Qutb Shahi capital city of the kingdom of Golconda. This entrance was renamed the Fateh Darwaza when Aurangzeb made his triumphal entry into the city after the 8-month-long siege ended with a treasonous transaction. Before that, it was called the Baghnagar darwaza - it was the gate you took if you wanted to go to Hyderabad. The road led more or less in a straight line to the Purana Pul, the first stone bridge across the Musi, and then on to Char su ka hauz (today’s Gulzar hauz), from where you could head on the highway to the kingdom’s principal port of Machilipatnam. This made it the principal highway of the trade-focused Qutb Shahi kingdom

Here are some pictures from a heritage walk to Fateh Darwaza with and .hyderabad and and

26/08/2022

Last Sunday's heritage walk with and .hyderabad led by and was through the Paigah family palaces in Shah Gunj. Here are a few images from the walk.

1
The Mahboob Chowk clock tower, built by Asman Jah in 1892. It is a nice little park in the middle of the many busy businesses around it.

2
The European-style facade of Asman Jah's palace reflects the then-growing preference for European architectural styles in Hyderabad. It is also unsurprising in its grandeur - after all, he was the man who built a grand clock tower for the public!

3
Not all fascinating things on the walk looked attractive. This is a broken defunct water pipe which was installed about a century ago by the Nizam's water supply department to provide drinking water to the citizens of Hyderabad.

4
The now-abandoned Khursheed Jah devdi is an 18th-century mansion that experts say would have rivalled the British Residency in engineering prowess and opulence. It is built in European fashion - everything from the fancy flooring to the pressed-paper ceiling harks back to the splendour of its heyday. This is a view from one of its windows.

5
One of the inner doors at the Khursheed Jah devdi

6
The previous night's rain had left enough of a puddle in the grounds of the Khursheed Jah devdi to get a beautiful reflection picture.

7
The outside of the extensive Iqbal-ud-Dowla devdi

8
A view of the main entrance to the city residence of Iqbal-ud-dowla, also known as Viqar-ul-Umra and one of the principal nobles in the Paigah family. The impressive teak-framed gate is big enough for a howdah-ed elephant to enter easily, and features impressively strong ironwork similar to those found on the gates of Golconda.

Also, the full name of the nobleman who lived here is H.E. Nawab Sir Viqar-ul-Umara, Iqtidar ul-Mulk, Iqbal ud-Daula, Muhammad Fazl-ud-Din Khan Bahadur, KCIE, Kaiser-i-Hind, Secundar Jung

9
Detail in the teak door featuring the above-mentioned ironwork

17/08/2022

An advertisement from a 1936 Hyderabad Diary by His Exalted Highness the Nizam's Electricity Department. The ad is for Bijli Mahal, a showroom for electricity. The ad copy reads, "Have you visited Bijli Mahal? There you may discover how you may electrify your home ; How to save unnecessary labour ; To banish dirt ; To cook more perfectly ; To heat water ; To launder ; To cool your rooms ; To slim your figure ; Our demonstrator will be at your service to show you how these things may be accomplished, and to assist you with all necessary information at the publicity show room of H. E. H The Nizam's Electricity Department."

15/08/2022

Back on the walking trail! Had a fun afternoon exploring Golconda and the Qutb Shahi Tombs yesterday with Marco :)

22/05/2022

A very enjoyable City of Pearls tour this morning!

06/01/2022

Three images from Golconda:

1 You can buy a mask and engage a guide near the ticket counter

2 One of the two ceremonial buildings near the Golconda ticket counter - make sure you look at the decorative figures on them

3 A stone wall on top of a large rock. Granite is plentiful and was used liberally to build the city of Golconda

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19/04/2021

Here's a quick video of my 4th haleem of the season from Paradise B.H.E.L.

16/04/2021

Here's a quick video of my third haleem of the season from Bawarchi RTC X-Road, Kondapur.

14/04/2021

Here's a quick video of my second haleem of the season from Deccan Deewan.

11/04/2021

Here's a blog post about how we cross the street in Hyderabad!

https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/04/07/crossing-the-street-hyderabadi-style/

Crossing the street in Hyderabad is unlike anything else you have done in your life before. Read on to find out how nonchalance in the face of what others will consider deadly circumstances is an e…