Ruins of Golkonda

When you travel westward eleven kilometers from the city center of Hyderabad you will be reaching the ruins of Golkonda Forte. This fort originally belonged to the Kakatiyas of Warangal. Subsequently it became the capital of Qutb Shahi kings between 1518 and 1687 AD. Golkonda Forte was fortified by these kings with massive walls having bastions and battlements. In 1687 AD Aurangazeb annexed it to the Moghal Empire and appointed Asaf Jha as the Subedar of the Deccan province. Twnety six years later in 1713 AD Asaf Jah declared independence as Nizam-ul-Mulk and the Nizams held sway over Hyderabad until 1948 AD. This is the short history of this fort.

 

 

 

Today the fort is in ruins and we can see only few structures in intact condition. This fort is on a hill and it has three lines of massive fortification walls. Overtime these walls were broken at various places due to bad maintenance, vagaries of weather and encroachments of modern civilization.

 

 

 

 

Like in any other place of tourist importance when you visit Golkonda the guides will tell you lot of stories some of  which are genuine and some fictitious! I guess the most authentic story would be that of the Light & Sound show. There is a very good Light & Sound show in the evenings with a voice over by Amitabh Bachchan. Both English & Hindi versions are available. This is done wonderfully and definitely worth seeing to know about the history of Golkonda Forte.

 

Most disappointing thing for my daughter and me in Golkonda is that there is NO tea shop around Golkonda which serves Hyderabadi Irani Chai! All the available space is occupied by modern tea joints like Café Coffee Day and others!

Palace after restoration

Popularly called as the city of Nizams, Hyderabad is a city full of history! It became part of Indian Union on 17th September 1948; thirteen months after India became an independent country! This city was ruled by Nizams and the last ruler was Osman Ali Khan who ruled the state of Hyderabad from 1886 to 1967.

Osman Ali Khan was ranked all time world’s sixth richest man. His wealth was $236 billion with a new inflation adjusted figure as per the British Newspaper ‘The Independent’.He died in the year 1967 at the age of 80 leaving behind his empire!

Chowmahalla Palace (Chow means four and Mahal means Palace. Chow-Mahalla means four palaces) was one of the palaces  of Nizam.

 

 

Chowmahalla Palace is renowned for its unique style and elegance. While Nizam Salabhat Jung is credited with initiating  the construction of the palace complex in 1750, it was Nizam Afzar-ud-Dawla Bahadur who ensured that it was completed  between 1857 and 1869.

 

 

This palace was the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty where the Nizam entertained their official guests and royal visitors!  Now this palace is meticulously renovated by the daughter of Nizam and it is now open for public.

 

 

Chowmahalla Palace has undergone massive restoration work after Princess Esra, wife of Prince Mukarram Jah Bahadur, Nizam of Hyderabad initiated a project for the royal palaces in August 2000.

 

Chowmahalla Palace, has bagged the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Merit Award for Culture Heritage Conservation. Chowmahalla Palace is the only palace in Andhra Pradesh and in the country which has got this prestigious award. 

Today where is the owner of this palace? Mukarram Jah Bahadur keeps to himself in the south of Turkey. He lives very simple life and doesn't love extravagance! He is living in a two room flat in Antalya, and spends his time reading and exploring Roman ruins.

 Picture of Princess Esra is from Outlook India.com

Birds Birds Birds

I like shooting birds. All you require to get some good pictures of birds are abundant patients and  reasonable zoom lens. 

I have posted some of the birds that I shot over time. Most of them were shot from the balcony of  daughter's house!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Varadharaja Perumal Temple

Varadharaja Perumal Temple was originally built by Cholas in the year 1053! Subsequently various rulers overtime have added many structures to this temple. During the reign of Kulottunga Chola and his son Vikrama Chola (in the 11th century) the temple was expanded to a great extent. Later the rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire added more halls, embellished the existing ones, and developed the entire 23-acre complex.

The architecture of this temple is a marvel characterized by several mandapams including a 100 pillar hall adorned with stone chains. The tower on the eastern side of the temple has 9 tiers and it is 180 feet tall while the one on the western side is 160 feet.

 

The 100 pillar mandapam (hall) has become a center of attraction to people who are interested in archeology. It houses exquisite carvings and delicate work of art. This mandapam is believed to be constructed by the Vijayanagara rulers. Most of the columns in this hall is made of single stones! Scenes from Ramayanam, Mahabharatham and Bhagavat Gita are engraved on the pillars! 

 

 

 

 

One can see a chain hanging from the roof in this hall which is sculptured from a single stone!