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01:58, 8 April 2013: 217.195.202.39 (Talk) triggered filter 30, performing the action "edit" on Hyderabad Deccan 2. Actions taken: Tag; Filter description: Adding external images/links (details | examine)

Changes made in edit

== Hyderabad, India ==
+
fCukl6  <a href="http://uxixkdmdvbqm.com/">uxixkdmdvbqm</a>, [url=http://cpmylnbzkomb.com/]cpmylnbzkomb[/url], [link=http://mhlyeynbjxfs.com/]mhlyeynbjxfs[/link], http://ttmphtmifroy.com/
 
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{| class="wikitable"
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|-
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|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%">
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Title and authorship of the original article(s)</div>
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|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:150%">
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Grandeur and grace
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By '''Sirajuddin Aziz, Dawn''', c.2007 </div>
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|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:110%">
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[http://www.Dawn.com Dawn] </div>
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|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%">
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This is a newspaper article selected for the excellence of its content.<br/>You can help by converting it into an encyclopedia-style entry,<br />deleting portions of the kind normally not used in encyclopaedia entries.<br/>Please also put categories, paragraph indents, headings and sub-headings,<br/>and combine this with other articles on exactly the same subject.<br/>
+
See [[examples]] and a tutorial.</div>
+
|}
+
A delightful mix of rich culture and modern development, Hyderabad is a city that every tourist would love to visit
+
 
+
I recently had the pleasure of visiting, for the second time in less than 14 months, the historic and beautiful city of Hyderabad, India. This time I was there to attend the 39th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank.
+
 
+
To reach Hyderabad, I decided that the best route would be to take a direct flight from Dubai, so that the hassle of transit through Mumbai to Hyderabad could be avoided. My application to do so did not impress the Indian High Commission, Islamabad; and I was informed that as a “Pakistani” I could make an “aerial entry” into India, only through either New Delhi or Mumbai. So much for the CBMs, I wondered. The positive side was that being an ADB delegate, I was given a non-police reporting visa, which certainly saved much time, not to mention the agony that would have come in presenting oneself at police stations.
+
 
+
On a humid sultry May morning, PIA’s big bird Jumbo 747, carrying about 150 passengers climbed out of Karachi, en route to Mumbai. I got an aisle seat as per my habit and I realised that the window seat next to mine was occupied by Ms Manisha Koirala. She was wearing the biggest possible dark glasses, early morning. I was reminded of a childhood riddle. “Why did the elephant wear dark glasses?” “Because it did not want to be recognised.” Just as I was about to settle down into my seat, my colleague and boss, signalled me to come and sit next to him in the row behind. To keep my job intact, I obliged.
+
 
+
As soon as the flight was steadied by the captain at a height of 33,000ft, I walked over to Manisha Koirala and said, “Ms Koirala, no matter how big or large dark glasses you may wear, we recognise you. How can anybody forget eik larki ko dekha tu aisa laaga.” She smiled and spontaneously remarked, “You are amazing.” She mentioned that it was for the second time that she had visited Pakistan and it was in connection with the release of the movie Taj Mahal. She seemed overjoyed at the reception and hospitality she received in Pakistan. Her comments conveyed so much sincerity that I thought she would remain a good conveyor of our country’s culture of warmth and goodwill towards our guests to her country, unlike the drunken Khan brothers (Feroz Khan in particular).
+
 
+
Once inside the Mumbai Airport, I said a small, silent prayer and thanked God Almighty for the blessing that we have in the form of the Quaid-i-Azam Airport, Karachi. We Pakistanis do not express our gratitude for the small benefits and blessings we have. Instead we wait, without effort, for “Man-o-Salwa” to rain down from the heavens.
+
 
+
Mumbai’s airport is a far cry from the city’s glamour. For ordinary Pakistanis, Mumbai conjures images of an Indian TV channel’s soap’s glitter and glamour. But there are no mansions or beautiful dwellings shown in those soaps. Instead, it is a city of 2.5 million slum dwellers and a great part of the city is full of shanty towns.
+
 
+
The transfer to the domestic terminal was swift but extremely time-consuming, given the umpteen forms that we had to fill as a penalty for being citizens of Pakistan.
+
 
+
Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi terminal was far cleaner and better than the Mumbai Airport. From the airport, we moved at snail’s pace to the hotel. The streets were clogged with traffic.
+
 
+
The city of Hyderabad has emerged after Bangalore as the I.T. City of India and has become a “must-stop” for political and business bigwigs. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have recently paid a visit here.
+
 
+
The city was originally known as “Bhagyanagar” named after a local dancer Bhagmati. In 1512, Quli Qutub Shah overthrew the Bahamanii dynasty to establish the fortress city of Golconda, then gave it its name Hyderabad. Legend has it that the young Sultan rode out from the Golconda fort to meet his beloved braving floodwaters of the River Musi. He re-christened her Hyder Mahal and named the city Hyderabad in honour of her.
+
 
+
During the Qutub Shahi rule, the state of Hyderabad flourished with commercial and economic activity that drew merchants from Asia and Europe. The last (as in powerful) Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir, made the annexation of Hyderabad as part of his life’s ambition. Only after a long siege in 1687 did he mange to dislodge the Bijapir dynasty, Asaf Jah was nominated the prime minister. With the decline and disintegration of the Mughal Empire, Asaf Jah declared himself independent and assumed the title of the Nizam of Hyderabad. There are many legends and stories surrounding the Asaf Jahi rule — it is said that a faqir who was entertained to “seven chapati’s” (bread) by Asaf Jah told him that his dynasty would last for seven generations.
+
 
+
Coincidentally, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, His Exalted Highness (the British conferred this upon him) Mir Osman Ali Khan was the seventh Nizam. I had learnt from my father that the Nizam (Osman Ali Khan) was a great supporter of Pakistan’s cause. And that during our county’s initial years of independence, he used to send tons of money through an aeroplane that used to be flown by Captain Sidney Cotton every week from Hyderabad to Karachi. It was surreptitiously done during night and Sidney Cotton would ensure flying at such low heights to avoid appearance on Indian radars. I wanted to pay homage to this Pakistan-loving Nizam by visiting his gravesite. I was told that the Makki Masjid in old Hyderabad houses the tombs of the six Nizams, while Mir Osman Ali had willed that he be buried in the Judi Mosque that faced his fabulous residence, that is, the King Kothi. Due to paucity of time I wasn’t able to visit the Judi Mosque.
+
 
+
The Charminar is a major landmark of Hyderabad. The monument built by Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah in 1591 is a beautiful colossus in granite, lime, mortar and, some archeologists say, pulverised marble. The Charminar is a squarish structure with four towers in each corner, each of whose sides is 20 metres in length. Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which are shorter only than the minarets. The minarets soar skywards by 24 metres from the roof of the Charminar, are four-storeyed, covering 48.7 metres in height from the ground as if delicately carving a ring round the minaret. Climbing the 149 steps inside the minarets, one gets to the top from where a panoramic view of the city unfolds. The area, market place around the Charminar, brings to mind the bazaars of Cairo, Damascus and Istanbul. The Charminar over the centuries has actually become Hyderabad’s brand name.
+
 
+
The other most historically attractive destination in the city of Hyderabad is the Salar Jung Museum. Salar Jung was the title given to the prime ministers of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The treasure of world art housed in this museum comprising over 40,000 objects is from the rich collection mainly acquired by Mir Yusuf Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar Jung-III, who served briefly as prime minister (1912-1914) to the 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. The collection of the museum, which is breathtaking, comprises Indian art, Middle Eastern art, Far Eastern and European art. It has a library with over 50,000 books and some rare manuscripts in Arabic, Urdu and Persian. Amongst the most interesting items is the Veiled Rebecca, a delicate marble statue of a woman seen through her veil. A picture of Krishna dancing with Radha is also worth seeing.
+
 
+
Hyderabad, located on the Deccan plateau, lies 541 metres above sea level and today it reflects the lyrical beauty its founder and poet Quli Qutub Shah had envisioned in 1591, saying it should be, “a replica of heaven and unparalleled in the world”. When Vallah Bhai Patel ordered a police action in 1948 to annex Hyderabad into the Indian Union, its dominion was as large as France. The city then was a mix of multi-cultural traditions. Hyderabad to the people of U.P and Northern States was what Dubai is to most immigrant workers today. The fusion of culture of Hyderabad and Lucknow is still existent, but that it is waning also cannot be denied. The dedication of the Nizams’ to education is reflected in the beauty of the Osmania University, which is one of the oldest universities in India.
+
 
+
No account of the visit would be complete without the mention of the delicious Hyderabadi cuisine. I devoured at the Secunderabad club, courtesy a dear friend, the delicious Pathar Kabab, and of course Bhagara Baigun, Dum Ka Keema, and Mirchi Salan; and the Double Ka Mitha (which we refer to as Shahi Tukrae.
+
 
+
[[Category:India|H]]
+
[[Category:Places|H]]
+

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== Hyderabad, India == {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%"> Title and authorship of the original article(s)</div> |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:150%"> Grandeur and grace By '''Sirajuddin Aziz, Dawn''', c.2007 </div> |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:110%"> [http://www.Dawn.com Dawn] </div> |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%"> This is a newspaper article selected for the excellence of its content.<br/>You can help by converting it into an encyclopedia-style entry,<br />deleting portions of the kind normally not used in encyclopaedia entries.<br/>Please also put categories, paragraph indents, headings and sub-headings,<br/>and combine this with other articles on exactly the same subject.<br/> See [[examples]] and a tutorial.</div> |} A delightful mix of rich culture and modern development, Hyderabad is a city that every tourist would love to visit I recently had the pleasure of visiting, for the second time in less than 14 months, the historic and beautiful city of Hyderabad, India. This time I was there to attend the 39th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank. To reach Hyderabad, I decided that the best route would be to take a direct flight from Dubai, so that the hassle of transit through Mumbai to Hyderabad could be avoided. My application to do so did not impress the Indian High Commission, Islamabad; and I was informed that as a “Pakistani” I could make an “aerial entry” into India, only through either New Delhi or Mumbai. So much for the CBMs, I wondered. The positive side was that being an ADB delegate, I was given a non-police reporting visa, which certainly saved much time, not to mention the agony that would have come in presenting oneself at police stations. On a humid sultry May morning, PIA’s big bird Jumbo 747, carrying about 150 passengers climbed out of Karachi, en route to Mumbai. I got an aisle seat as per my habit and I realised that the window seat next to mine was occupied by Ms Manisha Koirala. She was wearing the biggest possible dark glasses, early morning. I was reminded of a childhood riddle. “Why did the elephant wear dark glasses?” “Because it did not want to be recognised.” Just as I was about to settle down into my seat, my colleague and boss, signalled me to come and sit next to him in the row behind. To keep my job intact, I obliged. As soon as the flight was steadied by the captain at a height of 33,000ft, I walked over to Manisha Koirala and said, “Ms Koirala, no matter how big or large dark glasses you may wear, we recognise you. How can anybody forget eik larki ko dekha tu aisa laaga.” She smiled and spontaneously remarked, “You are amazing.” She mentioned that it was for the second time that she had visited Pakistan and it was in connection with the release of the movie Taj Mahal. She seemed overjoyed at the reception and hospitality she received in Pakistan. Her comments conveyed so much sincerity that I thought she would remain a good conveyor of our country’s culture of warmth and goodwill towards our guests to her country, unlike the drunken Khan brothers (Feroz Khan in particular). Once inside the Mumbai Airport, I said a small, silent prayer and thanked God Almighty for the blessing that we have in the form of the Quaid-i-Azam Airport, Karachi. We Pakistanis do not express our gratitude for the small benefits and blessings we have. Instead we wait, without effort, for “Man-o-Salwa” to rain down from the heavens. Mumbai’s airport is a far cry from the city’s glamour. For ordinary Pakistanis, Mumbai conjures images of an Indian TV channel’s soap’s glitter and glamour. But there are no mansions or beautiful dwellings shown in those soaps. Instead, it is a city of 2.5 million slum dwellers and a great part of the city is full of shanty towns. The transfer to the domestic terminal was swift but extremely time-consuming, given the umpteen forms that we had to fill as a penalty for being citizens of Pakistan. Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi terminal was far cleaner and better than the Mumbai Airport. From the airport, we moved at snail’s pace to the hotel. The streets were clogged with traffic. The city of Hyderabad has emerged after Bangalore as the I.T. City of India and has become a “must-stop” for political and business bigwigs. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have recently paid a visit here. The city was originally known as “Bhagyanagar” named after a local dancer Bhagmati. In 1512, Quli Qutub Shah overthrew the Bahamanii dynasty to establish the fortress city of Golconda, then gave it its name Hyderabad. Legend has it that the young Sultan rode out from the Golconda fort to meet his beloved braving floodwaters of the River Musi. He re-christened her Hyder Mahal and named the city Hyderabad in honour of her. During the Qutub Shahi rule, the state of Hyderabad flourished with commercial and economic activity that drew merchants from Asia and Europe. The last (as in powerful) Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir, made the annexation of Hyderabad as part of his life’s ambition. Only after a long siege in 1687 did he mange to dislodge the Bijapir dynasty, Asaf Jah was nominated the prime minister. With the decline and disintegration of the Mughal Empire, Asaf Jah declared himself independent and assumed the title of the Nizam of Hyderabad. There are many legends and stories surrounding the Asaf Jahi rule — it is said that a faqir who was entertained to “seven chapati’s” (bread) by Asaf Jah told him that his dynasty would last for seven generations. Coincidentally, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, His Exalted Highness (the British conferred this upon him) Mir Osman Ali Khan was the seventh Nizam. I had learnt from my father that the Nizam (Osman Ali Khan) was a great supporter of Pakistan’s cause. And that during our county’s initial years of independence, he used to send tons of money through an aeroplane that used to be flown by Captain Sidney Cotton every week from Hyderabad to Karachi. It was surreptitiously done during night and Sidney Cotton would ensure flying at such low heights to avoid appearance on Indian radars. I wanted to pay homage to this Pakistan-loving Nizam by visiting his gravesite. I was told that the Makki Masjid in old Hyderabad houses the tombs of the six Nizams, while Mir Osman Ali had willed that he be buried in the Judi Mosque that faced his fabulous residence, that is, the King Kothi. Due to paucity of time I wasn’t able to visit the Judi Mosque. The Charminar is a major landmark of Hyderabad. The monument built by Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah in 1591 is a beautiful colossus in granite, lime, mortar and, some archeologists say, pulverised marble. The Charminar is a squarish structure with four towers in each corner, each of whose sides is 20 metres in length. Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which are shorter only than the minarets. The minarets soar skywards by 24 metres from the roof of the Charminar, are four-storeyed, covering 48.7 metres in height from the ground as if delicately carving a ring round the minaret. Climbing the 149 steps inside the minarets, one gets to the top from where a panoramic view of the city unfolds. The area, market place around the Charminar, brings to mind the bazaars of Cairo, Damascus and Istanbul. The Charminar over the centuries has actually become Hyderabad’s brand name. The other most historically attractive destination in the city of Hyderabad is the Salar Jung Museum. Salar Jung was the title given to the prime ministers of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The treasure of world art housed in this museum comprising over 40,000 objects is from the rich collection mainly acquired by Mir Yusuf Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar Jung-III, who served briefly as prime minister (1912-1914) to the 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. The collection of the museum, which is breathtaking, comprises Indian art, Middle Eastern art, Far Eastern and European art. It has a library with over 50,000 books and some rare manuscripts in Arabic, Urdu and Persian. Amongst the most interesting items is the Veiled Rebecca, a delicate marble statue of a woman seen through her veil. A picture of Krishna dancing with Radha is also worth seeing. Hyderabad, located on the Deccan plateau, lies 541 metres above sea level and today it reflects the lyrical beauty its founder and poet Quli Qutub Shah had envisioned in 1591, saying it should be, “a replica of heaven and unparalleled in the world”. When Vallah Bhai Patel ordered a police action in 1948 to annex Hyderabad into the Indian Union, its dominion was as large as France. The city then was a mix of multi-cultural traditions. Hyderabad to the people of U.P and Northern States was what Dubai is to most immigrant workers today. The fusion of culture of Hyderabad and Lucknow is still existent, but that it is waning also cannot be denied. The dedication of the Nizams’ to education is reflected in the beauty of the Osmania University, which is one of the oldest universities in India. No account of the visit would be complete without the mention of the delicious Hyderabadi cuisine. I devoured at the Secunderabad club, courtesy a dear friend, the delicious Pathar Kabab, and of course Bhagara Baigun, Dum Ka Keema, and Mirchi Salan; and the Double Ka Mitha (which we refer to as Shahi Tukrae. [[Category:India|H]] [[Category:Places|H]]
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext)
fCukl6 <a href="http://uxixkdmdvbqm.com/">uxixkdmdvbqm</a>, [url=http://cpmylnbzkomb.com/]cpmylnbzkomb[/url], [link=http://mhlyeynbjxfs.com/]mhlyeynbjxfs[/link], http://ttmphtmifroy.com/
Unified diff of changes made by edit (edit_diff)
@@ -1,54 +1 @@ -== Hyderabad, India == - -{| class="wikitable" -|- -|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%"> -Title and authorship of the original article(s)</div> -|- -|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:150%"> -Grandeur and grace -By '''Sirajuddin Aziz, Dawn''', c.2007 </div> -|- -|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:110%"> -[http://www.Dawn.com Dawn] </div> -|- -|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%"> -This is a newspaper article selected for the excellence of its content.<br/>You can help by converting it into an encyclopedia-style entry,<br />deleting portions of the kind normally not used in encyclopaedia entries.<br/>Please also put categories, paragraph indents, headings and sub-headings,<br/>and combine this with other articles on exactly the same subject.<br/> -See [[examples]] and a tutorial.</div> -|} -A delightful mix of rich culture and modern development, Hyderabad is a city that every tourist would love to visit - -I recently had the pleasure of visiting, for the second time in less than 14 months, the historic and beautiful city of Hyderabad, India. This time I was there to attend the 39th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank. - -To reach Hyderabad, I decided that the best route would be to take a direct flight from Dubai, so that the hassle of transit through Mumbai to Hyderabad could be avoided. My application to do so did not impress the Indian High Commission, Islamabad; and I was informed that as a “Pakistani” I could make an “aerial entry” into India, only through either New Delhi or Mumbai. So much for the CBMs, I wondered. The positive side was that being an ADB delegate, I was given a non-police reporting visa, which certainly saved much time, not to mention the agony that would have come in presenting oneself at police stations. - -On a humid sultry May morning, PIA’s big bird Jumbo 747, carrying about 150 passengers climbed out of Karachi, en route to Mumbai. I got an aisle seat as per my habit and I realised that the window seat next to mine was occupied by Ms Manisha Koirala. She was wearing the biggest possible dark glasses, early morning. I was reminded of a childhood riddle. “Why did the elephant wear dark glasses?” “Because it did not want to be recognised.” Just as I was about to settle down into my seat, my colleague and boss, signalled me to come and sit next to him in the row behind. To keep my job intact, I obliged. - -As soon as the flight was steadied by the captain at a height of 33,000ft, I walked over to Manisha Koirala and said, “Ms Koirala, no matter how big or large dark glasses you may wear, we recognise you. How can anybody forget eik larki ko dekha tu aisa laaga.” She smiled and spontaneously remarked, “You are amazing.” She mentioned that it was for the second time that she had visited Pakistan and it was in connection with the release of the movie Taj Mahal. She seemed overjoyed at the reception and hospitality she received in Pakistan. Her comments conveyed so much sincerity that I thought she would remain a good conveyor of our country’s culture of warmth and goodwill towards our guests to her country, unlike the drunken Khan brothers (Feroz Khan in particular). - -Once inside the Mumbai Airport, I said a small, silent prayer and thanked God Almighty for the blessing that we have in the form of the Quaid-i-Azam Airport, Karachi. We Pakistanis do not express our gratitude for the small benefits and blessings we have. Instead we wait, without effort, for “Man-o-Salwa” to rain down from the heavens. - -Mumbai’s airport is a far cry from the city’s glamour. For ordinary Pakistanis, Mumbai conjures images of an Indian TV channel’s soap’s glitter and glamour. But there are no mansions or beautiful dwellings shown in those soaps. Instead, it is a city of 2.5 million slum dwellers and a great part of the city is full of shanty towns. - -The transfer to the domestic terminal was swift but extremely time-consuming, given the umpteen forms that we had to fill as a penalty for being citizens of Pakistan. - -Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi terminal was far cleaner and better than the Mumbai Airport. From the airport, we moved at snail’s pace to the hotel. The streets were clogged with traffic. - -The city of Hyderabad has emerged after Bangalore as the I.T. City of India and has become a “must-stop” for political and business bigwigs. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have recently paid a visit here. - -The city was originally known as “Bhagyanagar” named after a local dancer Bhagmati. In 1512, Quli Qutub Shah overthrew the Bahamanii dynasty to establish the fortress city of Golconda, then gave it its name Hyderabad. Legend has it that the young Sultan rode out from the Golconda fort to meet his beloved braving floodwaters of the River Musi. He re-christened her Hyder Mahal and named the city Hyderabad in honour of her. - -During the Qutub Shahi rule, the state of Hyderabad flourished with commercial and economic activity that drew merchants from Asia and Europe. The last (as in powerful) Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir, made the annexation of Hyderabad as part of his life’s ambition. Only after a long siege in 1687 did he mange to dislodge the Bijapir dynasty, Asaf Jah was nominated the prime minister. With the decline and disintegration of the Mughal Empire, Asaf Jah declared himself independent and assumed the title of the Nizam of Hyderabad. There are many legends and stories surrounding the Asaf Jahi rule — it is said that a faqir who was entertained to “seven chapati’s” (bread) by Asaf Jah told him that his dynasty would last for seven generations. - -Coincidentally, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, His Exalted Highness (the British conferred this upon him) Mir Osman Ali Khan was the seventh Nizam. I had learnt from my father that the Nizam (Osman Ali Khan) was a great supporter of Pakistan’s cause. And that during our county’s initial years of independence, he used to send tons of money through an aeroplane that used to be flown by Captain Sidney Cotton every week from Hyderabad to Karachi. It was surreptitiously done during night and Sidney Cotton would ensure flying at such low heights to avoid appearance on Indian radars. I wanted to pay homage to this Pakistan-loving Nizam by visiting his gravesite. I was told that the Makki Masjid in old Hyderabad houses the tombs of the six Nizams, while Mir Osman Ali had willed that he be buried in the Judi Mosque that faced his fabulous residence, that is, the King Kothi. Due to paucity of time I wasn’t able to visit the Judi Mosque. - -The Charminar is a major landmark of Hyderabad. The monument built by Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah in 1591 is a beautiful colossus in granite, lime, mortar and, some archeologists say, pulverised marble. The Charminar is a squarish structure with four towers in each corner, each of whose sides is 20 metres in length. Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which are shorter only than the minarets. The minarets soar skywards by 24 metres from the roof of the Charminar, are four-storeyed, covering 48.7 metres in height from the ground as if delicately carving a ring round the minaret. Climbing the 149 steps inside the minarets, one gets to the top from where a panoramic view of the city unfolds. The area, market place around the Charminar, brings to mind the bazaars of Cairo, Damascus and Istanbul. The Charminar over the centuries has actually become Hyderabad’s brand name. - -The other most historically attractive destination in the city of Hyderabad is the Salar Jung Museum. Salar Jung was the title given to the prime ministers of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The treasure of world art housed in this museum comprising over 40,000 objects is from the rich collection mainly acquired by Mir Yusuf Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar Jung-III, who served briefly as prime minister (1912-1914) to the 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. The collection of the museum, which is breathtaking, comprises Indian art, Middle Eastern art, Far Eastern and European art. It has a library with over 50,000 books and some rare manuscripts in Arabic, Urdu and Persian. Amongst the most interesting items is the Veiled Rebecca, a delicate marble statue of a woman seen through her veil. A picture of Krishna dancing with Radha is also worth seeing. - -Hyderabad, located on the Deccan plateau, lies 541 metres above sea level and today it reflects the lyrical beauty its founder and poet Quli Qutub Shah had envisioned in 1591, saying it should be, “a replica of heaven and unparalleled in the world”. When Vallah Bhai Patel ordered a police action in 1948 to annex Hyderabad into the Indian Union, its dominion was as large as France. The city then was a mix of multi-cultural traditions. Hyderabad to the people of U.P and Northern States was what Dubai is to most immigrant workers today. The fusion of culture of Hyderabad and Lucknow is still existent, but that it is waning also cannot be denied. The dedication of the Nizams’ to education is reflected in the beauty of the Osmania University, which is one of the oldest universities in India. - -No account of the visit would be complete without the mention of the delicious Hyderabadi cuisine. I devoured at the Secunderabad club, courtesy a dear friend, the delicious Pathar Kabab, and of course Bhagara Baigun, Dum Ka Keema, and Mirchi Salan; and the Double Ka Mitha (which we refer to as Shahi Tukrae. - -[[Category:India|H]] -[[Category:Places|H]] +fCukl6 <a href="http://uxixkdmdvbqm.com/">uxixkdmdvbqm</a>, [url=http://cpmylnbzkomb.com/]cpmylnbzkomb[/url], [link=http://mhlyeynbjxfs.com/]mhlyeynbjxfs[/link], http://ttmphtmifroy.com/
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== Hyderabad, India == {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%"> Title and authorship of the original article(s)</div> |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:150%"> Grandeur and grace By '''Sirajuddin Aziz, Dawn''', c.2007 </div> |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:110%"> [http://www.Dawn.com Dawn] </div> |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%"> This is a newspaper article selected for the excellence of its content.<br/>You can help by converting it into an encyclopedia-style entry,<br />deleting portions of the kind normally not used in encyclopaedia entries.<br/>Please also put categories, paragraph indents, headings and sub-headings,<br/>and combine this with other articles on exactly the same subject.<br/> See [[examples]] and a tutorial.</div> |} A delightful mix of rich culture and modern development, Hyderabad is a city that every tourist would love to visit I recently had the pleasure of visiting, for the second time in less than 14 months, the historic and beautiful city of Hyderabad, India. This time I was there to attend the 39th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank. To reach Hyderabad, I decided that the best route would be to take a direct flight from Dubai, so that the hassle of transit through Mumbai to Hyderabad could be avoided. My application to do so did not impress the Indian High Commission, Islamabad; and I was informed that as a “Pakistani” I could make an “aerial entry” into India, only through either New Delhi or Mumbai. So much for the CBMs, I wondered. The positive side was that being an ADB delegate, I was given a non-police reporting visa, which certainly saved much time, not to mention the agony that would have come in presenting oneself at police stations. On a humid sultry May morning, PIA’s big bird Jumbo 747, carrying about 150 passengers climbed out of Karachi, en route to Mumbai. I got an aisle seat as per my habit and I realised that the window seat next to mine was occupied by Ms Manisha Koirala. She was wearing the biggest possible dark glasses, early morning. I was reminded of a childhood riddle. “Why did the elephant wear dark glasses?” “Because it did not want to be recognised.” Just as I was about to settle down into my seat, my colleague and boss, signalled me to come and sit next to him in the row behind. To keep my job intact, I obliged. As soon as the flight was steadied by the captain at a height of 33,000ft, I walked over to Manisha Koirala and said, “Ms Koirala, no matter how big or large dark glasses you may wear, we recognise you. How can anybody forget eik larki ko dekha tu aisa laaga.” She smiled and spontaneously remarked, “You are amazing.” She mentioned that it was for the second time that she had visited Pakistan and it was in connection with the release of the movie Taj Mahal. She seemed overjoyed at the reception and hospitality she received in Pakistan. Her comments conveyed so much sincerity that I thought she would remain a good conveyor of our country’s culture of warmth and goodwill towards our guests to her country, unlike the drunken Khan brothers (Feroz Khan in particular). Once inside the Mumbai Airport, I said a small, silent prayer and thanked God Almighty for the blessing that we have in the form of the Quaid-i-Azam Airport, Karachi. We Pakistanis do not express our gratitude for the small benefits and blessings we have. Instead we wait, without effort, for “Man-o-Salwa” to rain down from the heavens. Mumbai’s airport is a far cry from the city’s glamour. For ordinary Pakistanis, Mumbai conjures images of an Indian TV channel’s soap’s glitter and glamour. But there are no mansions or beautiful dwellings shown in those soaps. Instead, it is a city of 2.5 million slum dwellers and a great part of the city is full of shanty towns. The transfer to the domestic terminal was swift but extremely time-consuming, given the umpteen forms that we had to fill as a penalty for being citizens of Pakistan. Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi terminal was far cleaner and better than the Mumbai Airport. From the airport, we moved at snail’s pace to the hotel. The streets were clogged with traffic. The city of Hyderabad has emerged after Bangalore as the I.T. City of India and has become a “must-stop” for political and business bigwigs. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have recently paid a visit here. The city was originally known as “Bhagyanagar” named after a local dancer Bhagmati. In 1512, Quli Qutub Shah overthrew the Bahamanii dynasty to establish the fortress city of Golconda, then gave it its name Hyderabad. Legend has it that the young Sultan rode out from the Golconda fort to meet his beloved braving floodwaters of the River Musi. He re-christened her Hyder Mahal and named the city Hyderabad in honour of her. During the Qutub Shahi rule, the state of Hyderabad flourished with commercial and economic activity that drew merchants from Asia and Europe. The last (as in powerful) Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir, made the annexation of Hyderabad as part of his life’s ambition. Only after a long siege in 1687 did he mange to dislodge the Bijapir dynasty, Asaf Jah was nominated the prime minister. With the decline and disintegration of the Mughal Empire, Asaf Jah declared himself independent and assumed the title of the Nizam of Hyderabad. There are many legends and stories surrounding the Asaf Jahi rule — it is said that a faqir who was entertained to “seven chapati’s” (bread) by Asaf Jah told him that his dynasty would last for seven generations. Coincidentally, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, His Exalted Highness (the British conferred this upon him) Mir Osman Ali Khan was the seventh Nizam. I had learnt from my father that the Nizam (Osman Ali Khan) was a great supporter of Pakistan’s cause. And that during our county’s initial years of independence, he used to send tons of money through an aeroplane that used to be flown by Captain Sidney Cotton every week from Hyderabad to Karachi. It was surreptitiously done during night and Sidney Cotton would ensure flying at such low heights to avoid appearance on Indian radars. I wanted to pay homage to this Pakistan-loving Nizam by visiting his gravesite. I was told that the Makki Masjid in old Hyderabad houses the tombs of the six Nizams, while Mir Osman Ali had willed that he be buried in the Judi Mosque that faced his fabulous residence, that is, the King Kothi. Due to paucity of time I wasn’t able to visit the Judi Mosque. The Charminar is a major landmark of Hyderabad. The monument built by Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah in 1591 is a beautiful colossus in granite, lime, mortar and, some archeologists say, pulverised marble. The Charminar is a squarish structure with four towers in each corner, each of whose sides is 20 metres in length. Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which are shorter only than the minarets. The minarets soar skywards by 24 metres from the roof of the Charminar, are four-storeyed, covering 48.7 metres in height from the ground as if delicately carving a ring round the minaret. Climbing the 149 steps inside the minarets, one gets to the top from where a panoramic view of the city unfolds. The area, market place around the Charminar, brings to mind the bazaars of Cairo, Damascus and Istanbul. The Charminar over the centuries has actually become Hyderabad’s brand name. The other most historically attractive destination in the city of Hyderabad is the Salar Jung Museum. Salar Jung was the title given to the prime ministers of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The treasure of world art housed in this museum comprising over 40,000 objects is from the rich collection mainly acquired by Mir Yusuf Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar Jung-III, who served briefly as prime minister (1912-1914) to the 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. The collection of the museum, which is breathtaking, comprises Indian art, Middle Eastern art, Far Eastern and European art. It has a library with over 50,000 books and some rare manuscripts in Arabic, Urdu and Persian. Amongst the most interesting items is the Veiled Rebecca, a delicate marble statue of a woman seen through her veil. A picture of Krishna dancing with Radha is also worth seeing. Hyderabad, located on the Deccan plateau, lies 541 metres above sea level and today it reflects the lyrical beauty its founder and poet Quli Qutub Shah had envisioned in 1591, saying it should be, “a replica of heaven and unparalleled in the world”. When Vallah Bhai Patel ordered a police action in 1948 to annex Hyderabad into the Indian Union, its dominion was as large as France. The city then was a mix of multi-cultural traditions. Hyderabad to the people of U.P and Northern States was what Dubai is to most immigrant workers today. The fusion of culture of Hyderabad and Lucknow is still existent, but that it is waning also cannot be denied. The dedication of the Nizams’ to education is reflected in the beauty of the Osmania University, which is one of the oldest universities in India. No account of the visit would be complete without the mention of the delicious Hyderabadi cuisine. I devoured at the Secunderabad club, courtesy a dear friend, the delicious Pathar Kabab, and of course Bhagara Baigun, Dum Ka Keema, and Mirchi Salan; and the Double Ka Mitha (which we refer to as Shahi Tukrae. [[Category:India|H]] [[Category:Places|H]]
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<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/ind/index.php?title=Hyderabad_Deccan_2&amp;action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Edit section: Hyderabad, India">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Hyderabad.2C_India"> Hyderabad, India </span></h2> <table class="wikitable"> <tr> <td colspan="0"><div style="font-size:100%"> Title and authorship of the original article(s)</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="0"><div style="font-size:150%"> <p>Grandeur and grace </p> By <b>Sirajuddin Aziz, Dawn</b>, c.2007 </div> </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="0"><div style="font-size:110%"> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.Dawn.com">Dawn</a> </div> </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="0"><div style="font-size:100%"> <p>This is a newspaper article selected for the excellence of its content.<br />You can help by converting it into an encyclopedia-style entry,<br />deleting portions of the kind normally not used in encyclopaedia entries.<br />Please also put categories, paragraph indents, headings and sub-headings,<br />and combine this with other articles on exactly the same subject.<br /> </p> See <a href="/ind/index.php/Examples" title="Examples">examples</a> and a tutorial.</div> </td></tr></table> <p>A delightful mix of rich culture and modern development, Hyderabad is a city that every tourist would love to visit </p><p>I recently had the pleasure of visiting, for the second time in less than 14 months, the historic and beautiful city of Hyderabad, India. This time I was there to attend the 39th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank. </p><p>To reach Hyderabad, I decided that the best route would be to take a direct flight from Dubai, so that the hassle of transit through Mumbai to Hyderabad could be avoided. My application to do so did not impress the Indian High Commission, Islamabad; and I was informed that as a “Pakistani” I could make an “aerial entry” into India, only through either New Delhi or Mumbai. So much for the CBMs, I wondered. The positive side was that being an ADB delegate, I was given a non-police reporting visa, which certainly saved much time, not to mention the agony that would have come in presenting oneself at police stations. </p><p>On a humid sultry May morning, PIA’s big bird Jumbo 747, carrying about 150 passengers climbed out of Karachi, en route to Mumbai. I got an aisle seat as per my habit and I realised that the window seat next to mine was occupied by Ms Manisha Koirala. She was wearing the biggest possible dark glasses, early morning. I was reminded of a childhood riddle. “Why did the elephant wear dark glasses?” “Because it did not want to be recognised.” Just as I was about to settle down into my seat, my colleague and boss, signalled me to come and sit next to him in the row behind. To keep my job intact, I obliged. </p><p>As soon as the flight was steadied by the captain at a height of 33,000ft, I walked over to Manisha Koirala and said, “Ms Koirala, no matter how big or large dark glasses you may wear, we recognise you. How can anybody forget eik larki ko dekha tu aisa laaga.” She smiled and spontaneously remarked, “You are amazing.” She mentioned that it was for the second time that she had visited Pakistan and it was in connection with the release of the movie Taj Mahal. She seemed overjoyed at the reception and hospitality she received in Pakistan. Her comments conveyed so much sincerity that I thought she would remain a good conveyor of our country’s culture of warmth and goodwill towards our guests to her country, unlike the drunken Khan brothers (Feroz Khan in particular). </p><p>Once inside the Mumbai Airport, I said a small, silent prayer and thanked God Almighty for the blessing that we have in the form of the Quaid-i-Azam Airport, Karachi. We Pakistanis do not express our gratitude for the small benefits and blessings we have. Instead we wait, without effort, for “Man-o-Salwa” to rain down from the heavens. </p><p>Mumbai’s airport is a far cry from the city’s glamour. For ordinary Pakistanis, Mumbai conjures images of an Indian TV channel’s soap’s glitter and glamour. But there are no mansions or beautiful dwellings shown in those soaps. Instead, it is a city of 2.5 million slum dwellers and a great part of the city is full of shanty towns. </p><p>The transfer to the domestic terminal was swift but extremely time-consuming, given the umpteen forms that we had to fill as a penalty for being citizens of Pakistan. </p><p>Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi terminal was far cleaner and better than the Mumbai Airport. From the airport, we moved at snail’s pace to the hotel. The streets were clogged with traffic. </p><p>The city of Hyderabad has emerged after Bangalore as the I.T. City of India and has become a “must-stop” for political and business bigwigs. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have recently paid a visit here. </p><p>The city was originally known as “Bhagyanagar” named after a local dancer Bhagmati. In 1512, Quli Qutub Shah overthrew the Bahamanii dynasty to establish the fortress city of Golconda, then gave it its name Hyderabad. Legend has it that the young Sultan rode out from the Golconda fort to meet his beloved braving floodwaters of the River Musi. He re-christened her Hyder Mahal and named the city Hyderabad in honour of her. </p><p>During the Qutub Shahi rule, the state of Hyderabad flourished with commercial and economic activity that drew merchants from Asia and Europe. The last (as in powerful) Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir, made the annexation of Hyderabad as part of his life’s ambition. Only after a long siege in 1687 did he mange to dislodge the Bijapir dynasty, Asaf Jah was nominated the prime minister. With the decline and disintegration of the Mughal Empire, Asaf Jah declared himself independent and assumed the title of the Nizam of Hyderabad. There are many legends and stories surrounding the Asaf Jahi rule — it is said that a faqir who was entertained to “seven chapati’s” (bread) by Asaf Jah told him that his dynasty would last for seven generations. </p><p>Coincidentally, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, His Exalted Highness (the British conferred this upon him) Mir Osman Ali Khan was the seventh Nizam. I had learnt from my father that the Nizam (Osman Ali Khan) was a great supporter of Pakistan’s cause. And that during our county’s initial years of independence, he used to send tons of money through an aeroplane that used to be flown by Captain Sidney Cotton every week from Hyderabad to Karachi. It was surreptitiously done during night and Sidney Cotton would ensure flying at such low heights to avoid appearance on Indian radars. I wanted to pay homage to this Pakistan-loving Nizam by visiting his gravesite. I was told that the Makki Masjid in old Hyderabad houses the tombs of the six Nizams, while Mir Osman Ali had willed that he be buried in the Judi Mosque that faced his fabulous residence, that is, the King Kothi. Due to paucity of time I wasn’t able to visit the Judi Mosque. </p><p>The Charminar is a major landmark of Hyderabad. The monument built by Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah in 1591 is a beautiful colossus in granite, lime, mortar and, some archeologists say, pulverised marble. The Charminar is a squarish structure with four towers in each corner, each of whose sides is 20 metres in length. Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which are shorter only than the minarets. The minarets soar skywards by 24 metres from the roof of the Charminar, are four-storeyed, covering 48.7 metres in height from the ground as if delicately carving a ring round the minaret. Climbing the 149 steps inside the minarets, one gets to the top from where a panoramic view of the city unfolds. The area, market place around the Charminar, brings to mind the bazaars of Cairo, Damascus and Istanbul. The Charminar over the centuries has actually become Hyderabad’s brand name. </p><p>The other most historically attractive destination in the city of Hyderabad is the Salar Jung Museum. Salar Jung was the title given to the prime ministers of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The treasure of world art housed in this museum comprising over 40,000 objects is from the rich collection mainly acquired by Mir Yusuf Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar Jung-III, who served briefly as prime minister (1912-1914) to the 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. The collection of the museum, which is breathtaking, comprises Indian art, Middle Eastern art, Far Eastern and European art. It has a library with over 50,000 books and some rare manuscripts in Arabic, Urdu and Persian. Amongst the most interesting items is the Veiled Rebecca, a delicate marble statue of a woman seen through her veil. A picture of Krishna dancing with Radha is also worth seeing. </p><p>Hyderabad, located on the Deccan plateau, lies 541 metres above sea level and today it reflects the lyrical beauty its founder and poet Quli Qutub Shah had envisioned in 1591, saying it should be, “a replica of heaven and unparalleled in the world”. When Vallah Bhai Patel ordered a police action in 1948 to annex Hyderabad into the Indian Union, its dominion was as large as France. The city then was a mix of multi-cultural traditions. Hyderabad to the people of U.P and Northern States was what Dubai is to most immigrant workers today. The fusion of culture of Hyderabad and Lucknow is still existent, but that it is waning also cannot be denied. The dedication of the Nizams’ to education is reflected in the beauty of the Osmania University, which is one of the oldest universities in India. </p><p>No account of the visit would be complete without the mention of the delicious Hyderabadi cuisine. I devoured at the Secunderabad club, courtesy a dear friend, the delicious Pathar Kabab, and of course Bhagara Baigun, Dum Ka Keema, and Mirchi Salan; and the Double Ka Mitha (which we refer to as Shahi Tukrae. </p>
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[edit] Hyderabad, India Title and authorship of the original article(s) Grandeur and grace By Sirajuddin Aziz, Dawn, c.2007 Dawn This is a newspaper article selected for the excellence of its content.You can help by converting it into an encyclopedia-style entry,deleting portions of the kind normally not used in encyclopaedia entries.Please also put categories, paragraph indents, headings and sub-headings,and combine this with other articles on exactly the same subject. See examples and a tutorial. A delightful mix of rich culture and modern development, Hyderabad is a city that every tourist would love to visit I recently had the pleasure of visiting, for the second time in less than 14 months, the historic and beautiful city of Hyderabad, India. This time I was there to attend the 39th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank. To reach Hyderabad, I decided that the best route would be to take a direct flight from Dubai, so that the hassle of transit through Mumbai to Hyderabad could be avoided. My application to do so did not impress the Indian High Commission, Islamabad; and I was informed that as a “Pakistani” I could make an “aerial entry” into India, only through either New Delhi or Mumbai. So much for the CBMs, I wondered. The positive side was that being an ADB delegate, I was given a non-police reporting visa, which certainly saved much time, not to mention the agony that would have come in presenting oneself at police stations. On a humid sultry May morning, PIA’s big bird Jumbo 747, carrying about 150 passengers climbed out of Karachi, en route to Mumbai. I got an aisle seat as per my habit and I realised that the window seat next to mine was occupied by Ms Manisha Koirala. She was wearing the biggest possible dark glasses, early morning. I was reminded of a childhood riddle. “Why did the elephant wear dark glasses?” “Because it did not want to be recognised.” Just as I was about to settle down into my seat, my colleague and boss, signalled me to come and sit next to him in the row behind. To keep my job intact, I obliged. As soon as the flight was steadied by the captain at a height of 33,000ft, I walked over to Manisha Koirala and said, “Ms Koirala, no matter how big or large dark glasses you may wear, we recognise you. How can anybody forget eik larki ko dekha tu aisa laaga.” She smiled and spontaneously remarked, “You are amazing.” She mentioned that it was for the second time that she had visited Pakistan and it was in connection with the release of the movie Taj Mahal. She seemed overjoyed at the reception and hospitality she received in Pakistan. Her comments conveyed so much sincerity that I thought she would remain a good conveyor of our country’s culture of warmth and goodwill towards our guests to her country, unlike the drunken Khan brothers (Feroz Khan in particular). Once inside the Mumbai Airport, I said a small, silent prayer and thanked God Almighty for the blessing that we have in the form of the Quaid-i-Azam Airport, Karachi. We Pakistanis do not express our gratitude for the small benefits and blessings we have. Instead we wait, without effort, for “Man-o-Salwa” to rain down from the heavens. Mumbai’s airport is a far cry from the city’s glamour. For ordinary Pakistanis, Mumbai conjures images of an Indian TV channel’s soap’s glitter and glamour. But there are no mansions or beautiful dwellings shown in those soaps. Instead, it is a city of 2.5 million slum dwellers and a great part of the city is full of shanty towns. The transfer to the domestic terminal was swift but extremely time-consuming, given the umpteen forms that we had to fill as a penalty for being citizens of Pakistan. Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi terminal was far cleaner and better than the Mumbai Airport. From the airport, we moved at snail’s pace to the hotel. The streets were clogged with traffic. The city of Hyderabad has emerged after Bangalore as the I.T. City of India and has become a “must-stop” for political and business bigwigs. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have recently paid a visit here. The city was originally known as “Bhagyanagar” named after a local dancer Bhagmati. In 1512, Quli Qutub Shah overthrew the Bahamanii dynasty to establish the fortress city of Golconda, then gave it its name Hyderabad. Legend has it that the young Sultan rode out from the Golconda fort to meet his beloved braving floodwaters of the River Musi. He re-christened her Hyder Mahal and named the city Hyderabad in honour of her. During the Qutub Shahi rule, the state of Hyderabad flourished with commercial and economic activity that drew merchants from Asia and Europe. The last (as in powerful) Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir, made the annexation of Hyderabad as part of his life’s ambition. Only after a long siege in 1687 did he mange to dislodge the Bijapir dynasty, Asaf Jah was nominated the prime minister. With the decline and disintegration of the Mughal Empire, Asaf Jah declared himself independent and assumed the title of the Nizam of Hyderabad. There are many legends and stories surrounding the Asaf Jahi rule — it is said that a faqir who was entertained to “seven chapati’s” (bread) by Asaf Jah told him that his dynasty would last for seven generations. Coincidentally, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, His Exalted Highness (the British conferred this upon him) Mir Osman Ali Khan was the seventh Nizam. I had learnt from my father that the Nizam (Osman Ali Khan) was a great supporter of Pakistan’s cause. And that during our county’s initial years of independence, he used to send tons of money through an aeroplane that used to be flown by Captain Sidney Cotton every week from Hyderabad to Karachi. It was surreptitiously done during night and Sidney Cotton would ensure flying at such low heights to avoid appearance on Indian radars. I wanted to pay homage to this Pakistan-loving Nizam by visiting his gravesite. I was told that the Makki Masjid in old Hyderabad houses the tombs of the six Nizams, while Mir Osman Ali had willed that he be buried in the Judi Mosque that faced his fabulous residence, that is, the King Kothi. Due to paucity of time I wasn’t able to visit the Judi Mosque. The Charminar is a major landmark of Hyderabad. The monument built by Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah in 1591 is a beautiful colossus in granite, lime, mortar and, some archeologists say, pulverised marble. The Charminar is a squarish structure with four towers in each corner, each of whose sides is 20 metres in length. Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which are shorter only than the minarets. The minarets soar skywards by 24 metres from the roof of the Charminar, are four-storeyed, covering 48.7 metres in height from the ground as if delicately carving a ring round the minaret. Climbing the 149 steps inside the minarets, one gets to the top from where a panoramic view of the city unfolds. The area, market place around the Charminar, brings to mind the bazaars of Cairo, Damascus and Istanbul. The Charminar over the centuries has actually become Hyderabad’s brand name. The other most historically attractive destination in the city of Hyderabad is the Salar Jung Museum. Salar Jung was the title given to the prime ministers of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The treasure of world art housed in this museum comprising over 40,000 objects is from the rich collection mainly acquired by Mir Yusuf Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar Jung-III, who served briefly as prime minister (1912-1914) to the 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. The collection of the museum, which is breathtaking, comprises Indian art, Middle Eastern art, Far Eastern and European art. It has a library with over 50,000 books and some rare manuscripts in Arabic, Urdu and Persian. Amongst the most interesting items is the Veiled Rebecca, a delicate marble statue of a woman seen through her veil. A picture of Krishna dancing with Radha is also worth seeing. Hyderabad, located on the Deccan plateau, lies 541 metres above sea level and today it reflects the lyrical beauty its founder and poet Quli Qutub Shah had envisioned in 1591, saying it should be, “a replica of heaven and unparalleled in the world”. When Vallah Bhai Patel ordered a police action in 1948 to annex Hyderabad into the Indian Union, its dominion was as large as France. The city then was a mix of multi-cultural traditions. Hyderabad to the people of U.P and Northern States was what Dubai is to most immigrant workers today. The fusion of culture of Hyderabad and Lucknow is still existent, but that it is waning also cannot be denied. The dedication of the Nizams’ to education is reflected in the beauty of the Osmania University, which is one of the oldest universities in India. No account of the visit would be complete without the mention of the delicious Hyderabadi cuisine. I devoured at the Secunderabad club, courtesy a dear friend, the delicious Pathar Kabab, and of course Bhagara Baigun, Dum Ka Keema, and Mirchi Salan; and the Double Ka Mitha (which we refer to as Shahi Tukrae.
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