Hyderabad - Where Love Lives On
When a poet, architect and an aesthete supervises the building of a city, beauty, balance and symmetry are to be expected.
What leads romance to the city of Hyderabad, is the love story of a young prince and a village belle that resulted in its very foundations being laid.
There is a love story related to the founding of the city of Hyderabad. As a young prince, Muhammad Quli fell passionately in love with a maiden from Chichlam village across the river Musi. He would even venture to cross the river in spate to keep his tryst with his beloved.
Fast Facts
Population
3,058,093 (1991)
Altitude
537 metres above the sea level
Languages:
Telugu, Urdu and English
Best Time To Visit:
October-February
STD Code:
040
History
Hyderabad was modeled after Isfaan in Iran and built under the supervision of the prime minister Mir Momin, a poet, architect and an aesthete-like his master. He tried to create a replica of Paradise itself to suit Muhammad Quli's status as the greatest of the Qutb Shahi rulers. The city was completed in 1592. It has a grid plan of two broad intersecting streets with the Charminar as a kind of triumphal arch at the center. The French traveler, Tavernier in 1652, compared Hyderabad to Orleans 'well built and opened out' and in 1672, Abbe Carr was much impressed by the city as the center of all trade in the East.
The Nizams Of Hyderabad
Aurangzeb died in 1707, seven years after the death of the last Qutb Shahi ruler, Abul Hasan Tana Shah in prison in 1700. The Mughal governor of Hyderabad, Mir Kamruddin Khan, titled Nizam-ul-Mulk, declared independence and started the Asaf Jahi dynasty. The waning Mughal power found itself helpless against forces of disintegration. But the Nizams were fabulously rich and stories of their hordes of gold, diamonds and pearls spread far and wide. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam before Hyderabad merged into the Union of India, was among the world's wealthiest individuals. Prior to their treaty with the British, the Nizams had good relations with the French. Monsieur Raymond, a French adventurer and commander of the Nizam's troops, earned great respect of the people. A 23-feet-high granite obelisk inscribed JR stands on a hill in Saururnagar in memory of this trusted lieutenant of the Nizams, who couldn't stand the growth British influence.
Best Season
Hyderabad is pleasant during the winters and hot during summer. Thus, the months from October to February form the best time to visit Hyderabad.
