...first a warning: if you're the kind who gets yourself offended because you didn't get a joke, you may want to go read something else for the next couple of days.
(I also have a pretty controversial eponymous magazine.) But trust me, I'm not an anti-national!
(I also have a pretty controversial eponymous magazine.) But trust me, I'm not an anti-national!
I’m an architect with a BArch from CSIIT Secunderabad (the twin city that Hyderabad absorbed) and an MArch in Architecture + Urbanism from the Design Research Lab at the Architectural Association, London. Though my practice is very much driven by technology and experimentation...
...my passion also remains deeply-rooted in history and built heritage. Studying architecture in Hyderabad was a unique learning experience that was as valuable outside of the studio (if not more so) as within...
...The city is layered with the urban fabric and built heritage of many different dynasties and has always been a cosmopolitan amalgamation of cultures and communities. I’d like to begin by sharing a bit of the history and geography of Hyderabad and how it came to be...
...as well as its distinct styles of architecture. You're probably familiar with the monument that's a symbol of Hyderabad, the #Charminar, which was once the foundation monument and center of the city, and common in logos and graphic design, as it resembles an H for Hyderabad!
(Disclaimer: Almost none of the images I will be sharing are mine, they're from the Internet and I'll do my best to credit the sources if and when I can find them.)
Do you know who built the Charminar?
Here is Hyderabad, almost at the center of India as it is today. This region, even before the foundation of Hyderabad, was ruled over by many different dynasties...
The Kakatiya dynasty ruled over this region from 1163-1323 AD (~160 yrs) with its capital at modern-day Warangal (the second-largest metro in Telangana). The city of Hyderabad didn't exist at this time.
The Kakatiyas built the Warangal Fort and the Thousand Pillar Temple (or Rudreshwara Swamy Temple) in intricately carved stone...
...as well as the Kakatiya Kala Thoranam, a set of 4 granite gateways, which can be seen with the Charminar on the Telangana State emblem. The Kakatiyas were most probably followers of Jainism; note the architectural language. Granite was locally sourced in the Deccan Plateau...
...The Kakatiyas also build the majestic Golconda Fort in granite. Its name either means "round hill" or "shepherd's hill." Notice the similarities with the Warangal Fort. The hill on which it stands is itself entirely made of granite, making the fort appear to grow out of it...
...In 1321 AD, Warangal fell to Tughluq's forces from the Delhi Sultanate, and Golconda Fort had many different armies fight over it over decades, finally ending up as part of the Bahmani Sultanate in 1364, under which Golconda rose to prominence...
...Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, a governor of Telangana region, seceded from the Bahamani Sultanate 1538, establishing the Qutb Shahi dynasty in Golconda. Of course, the fort didn't always look like it does today; it was fortified with stone and expanded by the Qutb Shahis...
...The Kingdom of Golconda was famous for its diamond mines (the only known diamond mines in the world at the time) and the world's largest and most valuable diamonds originated here...
...like Kohinoor ("mountain of light"), one of the largest diamonds, stolen by the Mughals &from them by the British. It's now at the Tower of London as part of the Crown Jewels of the UK. "Golconda" is symbolic of wealth and is a diamond classification standard by gemologists...
Golconda Fort has multiple entries or doorways that lead into the outer fort walls. The outer walled fort contains a very dense, low-rise settlement that's centuries old and is filled with courtyard houses that share walls. The fort has many water tanks/ step wells or "hauz"...
...The heavy wooden doors have arches over them and are covered with scary metal spikes that could hurt army elephants and prevent them from laying seige to the fort. The inner fort has many feats of engineering, one being an acoustical design...
...You can stand below the dome of the main doorway, Fateh Darwaza ("victory gate") and clap your hands, and your friend standing at the highest point, Bala Hisaar, about a kilometer away, would be able to hear you. This worked as a warning system in case of an attack...
...On the way to #Golconda Fort you will find this little cafe with my name. Wondering what Takbir means? It's the name of the phrase "Allahu Akbar" (God is the Greatest)! Muslims use this phrase whenever we are excited, grateful or even scared...
...like me when I took this leap of faith in Rishikesh! Allahu Akbar! 😅 (Probably the one time someone jumped yelling "Allahu Akbar!" and wasn't jailed!) 😉
...Note the detail of the carvings above one of the doorways. The pairs of peacocks and lion-like creatures or "yali" are typical of Hindu architecture, probably an homage to Hindu origins of the fort. #Hyderabad is filled with many such symbols. #AmalgamationArchitecture...
Views of and from #Golconda are breathtaking. The majestic fort is visible from various high points around the city. These are two pictures I took of the fort, one from Film Nagar, and the other from my construction site within the fort itself (Qutb Shahi Tombs are also seen)...
...I had the opportunity to work on the design of a charity school for children of disadvantaged backgrounds in Golconda. The site is located within the outer walls of the fort, and was covered with sheet rock and a cliff runs right through the site, dividing it in two levels...
Our aim was to preserve the rock that's250+ mil yrs old,a part of our natural heritage. Unlike boulders that can be moved,sheet rock is a part of the mountain&can only be altered by blasting, which would damage the rock and impact the heritage structure of the 800+ yr old fort...
...We decided to design and build the school around the rock, incorporating it into the building. The school embraces the rock and is accessible from two different levels, two different winding lanes of the hill...
...Here you can see Golconda Fort on the hill and the school at a lower level (though still on top of the hill). All of the vast open areas are actually very steep slopes that are not buildable. Yet, there are houses nestled among the rocks here...
...I'd call their ingenuity in building (and their driving skills for getting their cars up there, as many of them own taxis) nothing short of a feat!
...This was an extremely challenging project because of the difficult terrain, and we had to learn as we were building, with a lot of the design process taking place on the site during construction...
...As it is a charity project, funds were halting and the school was built in phases. The upper floor is still under construction. In order to cut down on expenses, we kept the walls unpainted and exposed, which brings down the need for maintenance as well...
...The school has been awarded a Silver certification by the Indian Green Building Council @IGBConline in November 2018. I explain more about the design process in this video:
(Photography by Ashwin KV, Ujjwal Sannala & Akhila Rao)
(Photography by Ashwin KV, Ujjwal Sannala & Akhila Rao)
@IGBConline ...As this is a zakat-run school, it receives funds from various individual donations. We also run a social media crowdfunding campaign called #MakeProgressPossible every #Ramadan to collect used books, sports equipment, computers and funds for midday meals, textbooks, etc...
@IGBConline ...We receive generous donations all year round, and if you would like to contribute, please contact me on @talkistania and I'll put you in touch with the educational trust that runs the school...
@IGBConline @talkistania As architects, we believe we can play a significant role in building communities. We devote some of our time &efforts toward pro bono projects that allow us to use our skills for worthy causes. If you have a charitable project, please reach out to us here: designaware.org/yourproject/
@IGBConline @talkistania ...Getting back to the history of #Hyderabad after #Golconda, due to water shortage, the Qutb Shahis relocated their capital from Golconda hill to the bank of the River Musi, and founded a new city on completely untouched ground there. That city came to be known as Hyderabad...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...There are many theories about the nomenclature of Hyderabad, and I think whichever one you believe reveals a lot about you! One theory says Hyderabad was named after Muhammad Quli's son, Hyder. Another says it was named Bhagnagar ("city of fortune")...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...after a dancer with whom Quli had fallen in love and married. It was supposed to have been renamed Hyderabad in her honor after she accepted Islam and adopted the title, Hyder Mahal. Another theory says that the original name was actually Baghnagar ("city of gardens")...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...What do I believe? To me, the last theory seems the most plausible, as I don't believe powerful men such as kings made such grand romantic gestures (Taj Mahal, I know, I know, but that's a different topic), and there's no evidence of Bhagmati the dancer's existence...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...A city of gardens makes sense from an urban planning perspective as they moved from Golconda to fertile land due to shortage of water. Whatever the real story, there have been many campaigns over the years to change the name of Hyderabad to Bhag(ya)nagar...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...most recently by Yogi Adityanath: thenewsminute.com/article/will-r…
It's part of a greater movement to erase, distort and rewrite history. But the rock bastions of Golconda have been witness and bear mute testimony to many eras, rulers and sieges, and will see many more...
It's part of a greater movement to erase, distort and rewrite history. But the rock bastions of Golconda have been witness and bear mute testimony to many eras, rulers and sieges, and will see many more...
@IGBConline @talkistania Btw, this is a portrait of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah. Does it remind you of someone from your Indian childhood?
@IGBConline @talkistania ...It reminds me of the conniving Tantri the Mantri from Tinkle comics. I always wonder if the character was based on Muhammad Quli's appearance. It seems to me like a lot of negative characters are based on positive figures with Muslim backgrounds...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...and a popular children's cartoon character sends a subliminal message that gets embedded in impressionable minds. Or maybe I'm just wearing a tin foil hat/hijab! 🕵️♂️
@IGBConline @talkistania ...Apart from being the ruler of Golconda and the founder of Hyderabad, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah was a devout Muslim, a scholar of Arabic, Persian and Telugu, a patron of literature and a poet himself, who authored a celebrated collection of works called Kulliyat...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...Prominent and well-respected Hyderabadi historian who is also a former civil servant and a prolific writer on the history of Hyderabad, Narendra Luther, wrote "Prince, Poet, Lover, Builder, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah," the Founder of Hyderabad, among other books on Hyderabad...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...So who built the #Charminar? Most of you got it right! Muhammad Quli did in 1591. It was not only the founding structure of the city of Hyderabad, but also a monument to commemorate the eradication of cholera which had been widespread at the time...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...The Charminar is older than the Taj Mahal and its construction also marked the first millennium in the Hijri calendar (1000 AH). It has four kaman or arches oriented toward Makkah that lead to four key locations near the city, oriented towards the Ka'aba in Makkah...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...because the Charminar is actually a mosque! (Though not in use anymore.) As you can see, there's also a small temple in the corner of the structure, called Bhagyalakshmi Temple by proponents of the Bhagmati theory. It came into being as an old woman sat at the guardstone of...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...the SE corner in the 60s and began to pray. The guardstone was there to protect the structure from collisions by traffic. But when a bus supposedly collided with the stone and damaged it, a pucca (concrete) temple was constructed. #AmalgamationArchitecture
@IGBConline @talkistania While laying the foundation of Charminar, Muhammad Quli recited this couplet in Dakhani, a dialect of Urdu local to Deccan Plateau:
mera shehr logon se maamoor ker
rakho jo to darya mein machhli jaise
Fill this city of mine with people as
You filled the river with fishes O Lord
mera shehr logon se maamoor ker
rakho jo to darya mein machhli jaise
Fill this city of mine with people as
You filled the river with fishes O Lord
@IGBConline @talkistania ...The Charminar has a 66' x 66' (20m x 20m) base and is 184' (56m) tall including its minarets, as tall as an 18-storey building! The four kaman are as follows:
North: Macchli Kaman (Fish Arch): it leads to the highway that connects to the fishing town of Machilipatnam...
North: Macchli Kaman (Fish Arch): it leads to the highway that connects to the fishing town of Machilipatnam...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...in Krishna district, Andhra, the closest sea port to Hyderabad. It is said that every Hijri new year a large bamboo fish was suspended from it as a symbol of prosperity, later joined by a paper airplane.
South: Char Kaman: leads to Charminar
East: Kali Kaman (Black Arch)...
South: Char Kaman: leads to Charminar
East: Kali Kaman (Black Arch)...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...West: Sihr-e-Baatil Kaman (Arch of the Magic Breaker): lead to the Qutb Shahi palaces (I guess you could say this was to protect their residences from the evil eye.) The reason why the arches are so tall is to allow processions with elephants through them...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...To the SW of Charminar is the Mecca Masjid, so named because of bricks made of soil from Mecca were used in some part of it construction, which was started in 1614. Muhammad Quli called for the person who has never missed a prayer to come forward and lay the foundation...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...When no one came forward, Muhammad Quli himself laid the foundation stone, showing he had never missed a prayer. Though there is no designated women's section and the mosque is mostly attended by men, women also pray at the mosque and I've done so several times, especially...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...during the month of #Ramadan when many women stop for Maghreb prayer and iftar while shopping for Eid, and share a meal together. The mosque can accommodate over 20,000 worshipers. If you're wondering why you don't see many women in mosques, it's because...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...attending the congregational prayer at a mosque five times a day is obligatory for Muslim men, but optional for Muslim women. Why so? This is a special consideration given to women who have family and care-giving circumstances, especially mothers with small children...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...I've prayed at mosques all over India and the world, some that have dedicated sections for women and some that don't. The Great Mosque in Mecca, the most sacred Islamic site, has no gender segregation and families perform prayer and pilgrimage there together. #WomeninMosques
@IGBConline @talkistania ...Contrary to popular rumor, women in India are not prevented from entering mosques or attending prayers. I have stopped at remote mosques while on road trips, and the smallest of mosques have made provisions for me to pray, even if I was the only woman there...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...In my experience, no mosque in India disallows women from entering and praying there. However, in recent times, this nonissue has been made into a controversy by a PIL brought to the Supreme Court asking to lift the nonexistent rule "banning" women from mosques!
@IGBConline @talkistania Since there is no such ban in place, it doesn't make sense to lift it. (Just like the #TripleTalaq issue which stated that instant triple talaq is no longer allowed: but it was never allowed according to Islam!)
economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-…
economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-…
@IGBConline @talkistania ...Such manufactured issues only serve to further the deception that women have lesser rights than men in Islam, and that we need to be rescued from our own religion! Belief systems, unlike race or caste, are a choice and not something you can't change about yourself...
@IGBConline @talkistania ...If you have faith, you can choose to be a part of a religion, or not. It's a free country. As for women's rights in Islam, Muslim women have rights no other system can give us. In fact, Muslim women have more rights and considerations than Muslim men, and lesser duties...
