Chowmahalla Palace - Royal Grandeur in Hyderabad

Aflab Mahal

There are few beautifully maintained palaces in the world that allow photography inside. London's Buckingham's overflowing grandeur is, for example, merely left in the minds of her seasonal visitors. But then this is understandable because it is a lived-in palace with contemporary royals navigating its more private hallways. To my sheer delight, Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad is one (though flash photography is restricted in some sections of this four-palace compound).

 In 1724, the Asaf Jah dynasty ruled the land, headed by sovereigns called Nizam (short for Nizam-ul-Mulk, "Administrator of the Realm"). The kingdom was founded by Mir Qammar-ud-Din Siddiqi, an underling of the Mughal emperors of the north. When Aurangzeb perished, Siddiqi rightfully declared himself independent. Since then, he ruled over the state for two centuries. Hyderabad was under seven nizams until the independence of India in 1947. This, of course, wasn't an easy surrender, but the nizams had to eventually surrender their rule after they were attacked by the Indian military in 1948.

The Asaf Jahi rulers were great patrons of the art, architecture, culture and the jewellery trade, thus the impressive display of such wealth in the palace. The four palaces of this stately compound are, and I quote, "the Afzal Mahal, Mahtab Mahal, Tahniyat Mahal and Aftab Mahal", each one arranged around a courtyard garden with a marble cistern in the center. 

I went with a tour group composed mostly of local tourists. Unlike a tour of London's Buckingham Palace, this tour was relatively relaxed. Though you had to follow a flow of people (which wasn't much), this wasn't as stringent as the crowd in the British capital where every step seemed painfully calculated. Unfortunately for me, our local guide chose to vacillate his annotation between Hindi and the occasional English so a great part of his speech was lost in me. I totally understand this arrangement because I was the only foreigner in the lot, and like most democracy, majority rules.

One interesting thing about the palace's construction: it was modeled after the palace of the Shah of Iran. It was officially opened to public in January of 2005. It originally covered 45 acres of land, but only 14 acres remain today. My favorite is the opulent Drawing Room - punctuated by several low-lying chandeliers imported from Belgium. Imagine those frolicky parties and raucous balls held in these grandiose hallways? Probably these were more festive than those European aristocratic parties of long gone epoch.

This was exotic India. Once upon a time, there lived powerful rulers of immense wealth. They lived fairy tale lives. And they lived them in Imeldific grandeur. Such glimpses of a colorful past still exist today in the near-empty rooms of Chowmahalla.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

The place is close on Fridays so don't make the mistake of missing a visit just because you were there on a Friday.

The Clock Tower

The grand pillared Durbar Hall has 19 Belgian Chandeliers. 

Khilwat Mubarak

The Khilwat

Chowmahalla Palace (Chaumhalla) photographed by Deen Dayal as it was in the 1880s. 

Nehru Zoological Park of Hyderabad - Close Encounters with the Wild Kind

Visit a zoo? Not so hot with the idea. It isn’t usually a part of my travel itineraries. To be quite honest, I’d rather walk around a foreign neighborhood and watch people as they go about with their daily routine. But then, this was offered as part of an optional itinerary, so why not? It would be interesting to see what an Indian zoo looks like. The verdict? Not to shabby, thank heavens. I was glad I joined. Children, particularly, would love it.

Nehru, the first Indian Prime Minister.

Nehru Zoological Zoo opened in 1963. Named after India’s first Prime Minister - Jawaharlal Nehru, it’s one of the three biggest and most visited zoos in the country. Located near the Mir Alam Tank in the fringes of Hyderabad (it’s a considerable distance from the city central), the zoo is accessible through National Highway 7. The zoo is more specifically a part of Bahadurpurna in Toli Chowk, Hyderabad. It has an area of 380 acres (150 hectares). A complete visit would probably take half day to fully appreciate the zoological expanse.

I didn't have that much time; this being part of a tour. We were whisked off to a special safari jeep with bars protecting the windows. I settled on a window seat and relaxed.

The terrain was undulating, with dust-covered bushes and makeshift moats where animals could frolic in the warm sun. Once the gates slid open, our jeep was ushered into this artificial macrocosm. Not long after, we saw the 42-acre (17 hectares) span of what could be a jungle, parched but adequately vegetated. Punctuated by Lantana bushes and acacia trees, the land also has rocky outcroppings and concrete foot paths.

There were lions and bears, but its special attraction was those graceful tigers of India. Tigers, I was told, are the national animals of the country. The lions hail from the Gir Forest of Gujarat. The sloth bears, aka “honey bears” (like Pooh Bear, they love their honeys) were supposedly shy of visitors, but the few we saw  were particularly curious; one even peeped through our window. 

There were deers in another section of the park. There were supposedly more than these handful. In fact, the zoo has 250 species of animals so there was a lot to see. It’s also the perfect place to realize that these beautiful creatures are wild animals. They are not the cuddly stuffed teddies we could pat and hug. Having this in mind is important so we protect them, as well as ourselves, from fortuitous events - and accidents.

The safari is a special part of the zoo, thus requires a separate fee from the rather inexpensive zoo entrance fee; one of the cheapest in the region. I was glad that foreigners weren't taken advantage of. If this were in Delhi, I'd have been charged 250 rupees instead of 25 rupees.

If you were to go all the way to this zoological park, you might as well take the safari to make the trip well worth your while.  

Just outside the entrance, there are few auto rickshaws which can take you back to the city center. This was actually the last part of the tour (but decided to post this first) so we had the option to take our time here and hail a ride after.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Gate opens. Our safari jeep were allowed in. The gates closes again.

Sloth bear says hello.

Relaxed in her environment, a Gujarati lion moves towards us.

The zoo is open Tuesday to Sunday, so do not go on a Monday. Zoo facilities include a train, boat, elephant rides, a jeep safari, a cafeteria, and they even have a guest house.

Hours

April to June - 8 AM to 5:30 PM
July to March - 8:30 AM to 5 PM

Zoo entrance is 20 rupees; another 20 rupees for use of camera; 100 rupees for video cameras; the safari ride is just 25 rupees. For more information, email them here: info@hyderabadzoo.in.

A fruit and juice stand outside the zoo.

Their official website - http://www.hyderabadzoo.in/

Out and About in Hyderabad - A City Tour

Andhra Pradesh Tourism Center (APTC)

Hyderabad, like Bangalore, has a well placed tourism center that everyone calls APTC (Andhra Pradesh Tourism Centre). If you’re not local, you’re better off visiting their office to avoid excessive haggling with opportunist autorickshaw drivers: It saves you time, money, effort and, well, heartbreak.

This helpful center will book tours and share important information about your choice of activity, according to your interest. They will even organize a simple taxi ride to a particular site, shared or otherwise. There are few foreign tourists here so you’re able to hobnob with well heeled travelers from the north.

APTC reception

I chose a day tour that included places like Birla Mandir, Salar Jung Museum, Chowmahalla Palace and the Nehru Zoological Park (which has a safari ride almost similar to Bannerghatta Zoo, a park 22 kilometers from Bangalore). Along the way, you get a glimpse of the city, including the gorgeous all-white State Assembly and a magnificent view of a lake called Hussain Sagar where a concrete Buddha statue stands proudly as though the city’s answer to the Statue of Liberty.

The busy highway just in front of this branch of the APTC. The main branch is located elsewhere, closer to the  park

My takeaway breakfast

Assembly Hall

Birla Mandir

Birla Mandir is one of the several temples of the same name scattered all over India, constructed by a progressive industrialist conglomerate, the Birla Foundation. The temple in Hyderabad was constructed in 1966 and took 10 years to finish. For the tourist, what makes it unforgettable is its gorgeous architectural design and color: it’s made of 2,000 tons of pure white marbles transported from Rajasthan. The temple’s chief deity is Lord Venkateshwara. Its imposing beauty seems perched on a “pedestal” due to its elevation: it’s built on an 85-meter (280 feet) hill called “Kala Paahad”.

Unfortunately, I am not able to share the beauty of the temple compound because cameras are not allowed once you get through the gate. Though I find this thoroughly disappointing, there’s nothing much I can do. I do understand their concern to keep the place pious, thus it didn't even have the usual “bells” to make it a place perfect for meditation. My contention here is, beautiful places like this should rightfully be shared to the world, and what better way than the net which has a universal reach. Isn't it a far better option that netizens get exposed to the beauty of temples, churches, mosques and other places of worship? Than – the ubiquitous presence of violence and pornography lingering around! Whenever I visit such places, I never intend to desecrate these places, and photography doesn't too.

 Lord Venkateshwara

Just outside the temple, there's a row of small gift and souvenir shops. What’s better, you're provided with a magnificent view of Hussain Sagar Lake (is there a redundant terminology here?) as a towering Buddha rises right in the middle of the lake.

The lake itself was constructed in 1562 by Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali, for whom the lake was named after (a king’s homage to Shah Wali for helping him overcome an illness), during the reign of Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah to meet the irrigation needs of the people.

What’s interesting: aside from the lake connecting Hyderabad and Secunderabad, it is a notorious site for suicides. But pollution has, of late, allegedly controlled these deaths. Heck, even suicidal souls want to drown in clean waters, right? The monolithic statue of Buddha is a modern addition, erected in 1992. This view alone is worth your tour money (which isn't even much).

Buddha in Hussain Sagar Lake

Buddha at Hussain Sagar. This photo only courtesy of wikipedia's alosh bennett. 

A view from Birla Mandir's hill

A shop outside Birla Mandir

Reserve Bank of India

Salar Jung Museum in Darushifa

Next stop was the district of Darushifa, a 400 year old district named after a hospital that has since moved away from its original site. It lies south of the city on the banks of the Musi River. It has a heavy population of shia muslims. Like many Manila suburbs, a member of many families in Darushifa works overseas. We liked perusing the craggy, narrow streets.

Salar Jung Museum is one of the three national museums in India. As such, it houses some of the most priceless art pieces – from paintings and sculptures to ceramics and textiles. More importantly, this collection took 35 years to gather. Nawab Mir Yousuf Ali Khan Salar Jung III spent a fortune to gather them. Imagine its expanse: 38 galleries spread in a two-story building. How do you cover this collection in an hour-allotted tour? It would serve you well if you have a retentive memory, but if you don’t, how much would you remember from a visit? Yes, cameras are not allowed inside as well. People of the world, you have to just take my word for it when I say it is worth a visit.

Musi River

The museum is protected by iron gates facing a not-so-busy street, just beside a tributary of the River Musi. I went out ahead of the touring pack to check out the surroundings which I found to be as interesting as the camera-shy collections inside. From a distance, I could see the spires of the Assembly Hall. There were little shops selling street food; a vendor with a roving cart full of bananas; another selling dirty ice cream. Nearby was a makeshift stall selling doors! “Would you like to buy a door, mister?” Hmmm... tempting, but I’d have to secure a bigger backpack for that. A whole lot bigger.

From there, we were to be whisked off to the Chowmahalla Palace then, as an option, to the Nehru Zoological Park for an Indian-style safari. Sounded interesting already, right? But that’s for another post. For now, I’d rather bask in the serene view of birds perched on a nearby tree by the Musi. There are places that deserve poetry. This was one of them.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

One of those things is not like the other... (see inverted color below)

Assembly Hall from Salar Jung Museum

A roving banana vendor

From door to door...

Street food

Ice Cream