Charminar: Cultural Hub

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Chow Mohalla was built in several phases in the rule of different Nizams. The pavilion where the rulers held court was known as Khilwat, built in the regime of the second Nizam. Some consider its style extremely baroque. The complex includes Jilu Khana facing Lad bazaar and Daulat Khana-e-Ali, both built by the first Nizam. The four palaces comprising the Chow Mohalla complex are Afzal Mahal, Mahtab Mahal, Tahriyat Mahal and Aftab Mahal. Afzal Mahal is the most imposing of them all.

Sandwiched between the Chatta bazaar and Dabirpura main road is Purani Haveli, the home of the first peshwa of Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah. This complex is in the shape of a horseshoe with a single storeyed building in European style separating two oblong wings of double-storeyed buildings tapering off into single storeyed structures with deep arched verandahs. Purani Haveli architecture combines European facades with Indian courtyards. The Haveli today houses a college for vocational training and religious education. Of the 11 buildings in the complex, only the Baradari is open to public.

From the Charminar, it is impossible to miss the Char Kamaan built three years after the grand old edifice was built. The four arches of Char Kamaan envelop a vast plaza with a tank with an octagonal enclosure. This is now known as Gulzar Hauz, flanked by shops, which, in the times of the Qutub Shahis, were antechambers to their palaces. The Mughals destroyed them in 1687.

Jamay masjid to the northeast of Charminar has the distinction of being the first mosque built in Hyderabad. Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah built it in 1598. The third Nizam, Sikander Jah, renovated it later, respecting the Qutub Shahi architectural norms combining the Indo-Persian and South Indian styles. Not far off from Charminar is the Lad bazaar, a shopping centre specialising in bridal ware, and bangles of great beauty and dazzle. This is now known as Choodi bazaar (Bangles Bazaar).

Some recent buildings, whose architectural trends were inspired by Charminar and Golkonda, and built during the last of the Asaf Jahs’ times, are the Unani hospital, the High Court, and across the Musi the Osmania general hospital. All of them flaunt features of Indo-Islamic architectural styles. Charminar is very much a part of the vibrant life of everyone in the city and its cultural life.

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