Where have all the Nizams Gone*

*Sung to the tune of Pete Seeger's "Where have all the flowers gone?" Well, in Hyderabad, you know where seven went along with a few of their close personal friends. As you recall, one of the things that was so attractive about our apartment was the view from the balcony. Now we've shown you the view back from the Golconda fort. And to the right of the fort from our balcony you can see the onion-shaped domes of the tombs of the nizams who ruled from the fort. Like so many of India's antiquities, the tombs have suffered from gross neglect from the British Raj, the Princely states from which they sprang, the state in which they reside, and the federal government. But the tomb complex showed the care and dedication that was given royalty. Far less grand than the Taj Mahal, these tombs are still stately. Note the minaret to the left of this tomb. It is a duplicate of the minarets that define the Charminar in the old city. Reason is, this nizam built the Charminar! How fitting that the mosque adjacent to his tomb echo his significant contribution to Hyderabad. The mortuary buildings are well preserved and have an extraordinary amount of "technology" built in to them for their functionality including features like solar water heating.

The best preserved tombs represent three generations of kings and queens and some spaces were even dedicated to courtesans, FOTK (friends of the king, and close and personal, no less). Our guide was a history graduate student at Osmania University, so we got a good background on the relationships. He also took pictures of Deb and I which was worth his rather steep fee, but Deb was happy with them, so that's good.

Many of the buildings are purposefully built with half the architectural features being Persian and half being Indocentric, a unique blend to be sure.

Stay tuned for more to come.