Charminar

“Oh God, bestow unto this city peace and prosperity.  Let millions of men of all castes, creeds and religions make it their abode, like fishes in the water.”  ~ Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, while laying the foundation of Charminar in 1591.

Charminar literally means "four minarets", soaring to a height of 56 meters (183.7 feet) above the ground. It is the most important landmark of Hyderabad, a 400-year-old city in India. A masjid occupies the top floor of the four-story structure.

Locally available granite, sand and lime mortar were used to build this monument. The design is an assimilation of Indo-Islamic style of architecture.

Charminar is surrounded by countless shops and restaurants, attracting people and merchandise of every description; it gets very busy after 4 pm. This isn't really my favorite place to be during the rush hour, where the crowd tends to get a bit less friendly (lots of pushing and shoving). But you can get the best deals on gorgeous glass bangles and pearls (if you know the art of bargaining). Tip: always go shopping with a local.

The Charminar is most beautiful at night. If, just for a brief moment, you stand and look at it, momentarily forgetting about the crowd and traffic, you'll find yourself transported into a different era.

The Chowmahalla Palace

Hyderabad, India.

Chowmahalla literally means "Four Palaces", and wasn't only a home to the Nizams of Hyderabad, but most importantly, this was the center of the city back in the 18th century.

Construction began in 1750, and took a hundred years to complete!

Tickets: Locals - Rs. 25 /Foreigners - Rs. 150. (I got in as a local for Rs 25)

Notice that clock on top? It's affectionately called the "Khilwat Clock", and has been ticking away for around 250 years now! An expert family of clock repairers winds the mechanical clock every week.

We sat and enjoyed ice cream under these trees while the birds cheerfully chirped in the background.

The design for all the four palaces was inspired from Mughal and Persian architectures.

The heart of the Chowmahalla Palace: Takht-e-Nishan (Royal Seat) in Durbar Hall.

Love the details!

Recently installed chandeliers made from delicate Belgian crystal.

Carriages that were used to transport royalties a long time ago.

I suppose more intimate meetings were conducted in this room here on the second floor.

The English Bracket Clock

The ladies in the house: preparing the bride for her wedding ceremony.

A great place to sit with friends or family and have tea.

Less glamorous carriages.

The enormity of the place amazes me!

The window - up close

I imagined a 'Romeo and Juliet' type of scene here.

There were a LOT of photographs of the nizams and their families within these palaces. Also on display are the weapons they owned/used, books, kitchen wares, letters, coins, important manuscripts, clothes, furniture, etc. I recommend people visiting Hyderabad to definitely visit the Chowmahalla Palace.

More beautiful pictures of the palace here.

Take a virtual tour of fabulous places from around the world by clicking on the image below:

For Your Eyes Only

He walked up to me, no longer wearing the eye glasses that he had regularly worn for more than twenty years, and said, “I can see your face so clearly!”  Though still red, his eyes shone with a special sparkle – his eyes are finally free!  His smile melted into my heart, and I felt his excitement.

Masood had LASEK surgery done to correct his myopia of more than 20 years.

What is LASEK?

Laser epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK) is a laser eye surgery used to correct both nearsightedness and farsightedness (even those coupled with astigmatism).  This procedure is ideal for people who have thin corneas.

Do you qualify for LASEK?

You should be at least 21 years old, to ensure stable vision and shouldn’t have any scars in the cornea.  Masood underwent a thorough evaluation (a lot of fancy eye tests) before his doctor finally concluded that he qualifies for the procedure.

How’s LASEK done?

In case you’re wondering, a local anesthetic is used before the procedure.

What happens post-LASEK?

Masood came out of the operating room 15 minutes later (I watched the entire procedure on the TV in the waiting lounge) wearing green protective plastic caps on both his eyes.  He sat with me for about half an hour, then we were called in the doctor’s office.  Masood’s eyes were examined, we were advised on the medications and precautions, and scheduled to meet the doctor in five days.

Although the flap edge heals in 24 hours, Masood was required to wear bandage contact lenses for 5 days to protect his eyes.  Once the effect of anesthesia wore off, he began complaining about mild pain and irritation.  “It feels as if there’s something in my eyes,” he often said.

For the next four days, Masood had barely been able to open his eyes.  And when he did struggle to open them up to look at me, I saw red, teary eyes.  He wasn’t allowed to take a head bath, nor splash water on his face (specifically the eyes).  I had to bring his meals, on the bed, and feed him myself.  I had to give him three different eye drops, four times a day.

I actually enjoyed looking after him.

Our Doctor:  Syed Maaz Mohiuddin

During the healing period, there was a time when Masood actually thought for a while, “Have I done the right thing?”  I assured him that he did.

One of the reasons why I had been confident about the procedure was the fact that we had a very good corneal and refractive surgeon, Dr. Syed Maaz of the New Vision Laser Centers.  The attention and compassion, along with the confidence that reflects his knowledge and expertise in the subject, is exceptional (MashaAllah).  Sitting there in his office, it felt like we were talking to a friend.

No wonder his clinic is always packed with people waiting to rid of their eye glasses.

Dr. Maaz, thank you so much!

You may check out the website of New Vision Laser Centers if you’re interested to have the procedure done in India, or may contact Dr. Maaz himself at +9140 66364808 between 3 to 6 pm local time.

A month after LASEK:

“I don’t understand how people manage to wear eye glasses,”  Masood teases a colleague of ours.

He still instills eye drops regularly, and will continue doing so for a couple more months.  His vision is as normal as mine now, Alhumdulillah.  And he proudly wears his Ray Ban sunglasses (which he bought last year and loves so much but couldn’t wear because of myopia).

A Second Look at the City of Nizams

Week 1.

The city reminded me of Karachi, except that Hyderabad has a lot of temples and fewer power interruptions.

Since this was my second visit, I realized that the place looks familiar and that I already knew my way home – but only after arriving at Medhipatnam, which is a mere 30 minutes drive from where our home is.  “Not bad,” I thought proudly.

I looked at Masood.  Poor guy.  The taxi was a small car and we were four adults with 3 large suitcases.  Masood still managed to give me smile, despite one of the suitcases already sitting on his lap.

It drizzled when we arrived.  The city didn’t change much in a year’s time, except that there’s a huge supermarket/department store right across our home now, and several clothing stores and a couple of big bakeries have opened nearby.  Oh, and the chocolate factory at the corner of the street has closed down.  I was, instead, greeted by a huge “Hot Chips” sign board, which also announced:  “We also sell minaral water”.

I found it a huge relief to not see any metal cranes at all.  It was refreshing to not see huge glass buildings being constructed.  It felt wonderful to look at the trees with their bright green leaves.  I smiled when I saw old buildings and structures.  I was greeted by chirping birds each morning, when the breeze is pleasantly cool.  And the city smelled of ripe, sweet mangoes.

Our home becomes the hub during the summer break:  imagine 15 of us, including four very active kids, living under a roof! My Mom-in-law and I had to cook 30 rotis in the morning for breakfast!  I’m in-charge for making and serving tea – twice a day.  The house is constantly abuzz with youngsters laughing, kids quarreling and aunties shouting at them.  Masood brought Play Station games, and the kids fought more over who gets to play first.  We would all sleep at 2 am, wake up for Faj’r at 5 am, then back to bed until 10 am.

Sometimes before going to bed, we would go to the terrace on the third floor and enjoy the cool evening breeze.  Often times, it would drizzle.  We would bring a straw mat and some throw pillows with us and spend time looking at the stars and tell stories.

Then there was this small party where close relatives were invited.  Masood’s four-year-old cousin got circumcised, and we all had biryani and sweets.  I decided to wear my colored contact lenses that evening.  As Masood put them on me (because I don’t have previous experience in wearing them), children gathered around, oohing and aahing, until the youngest of them declared, “Your eyes look like a cat’s.”

The picture below shows one of my favorite roads in Hyderabad. Please don’t ask for the names; I had a hard time pronouncing them, let alone memorize.

One of the quieter neighborhoods in the city …

Old city …

Qutb Shahi Tombs

Qutb Shahi Tombs is the burial ground of the seven kings of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, situated at Ibrahim Bagh near Golconda, Hyderabad, India. These kings ruled Golconda for nearly 170 years.

The Qutb Shahi dynasty was the ruling family of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India. They were Shia Muslims, and was the first Muslim dynasty to rule Telugus.

The Qutb Shahi rulers were great builders and patrons of learning. They not only patronized the Persian culture but also the regional culture of the Deccan, symbolized by the Telugu and Urdu languages.

The Qutb Shahis ruled from 1518 to 1687.

This approximately coincided with the reign of the great Mughals (1526-1707) that built Humayun’s Tomb (1565), Fatehpur Sikri (1571-1580) and finally the Taj Mahal (1631).

Mughal emperor Aurangzeb has offered prayers in this small masjid during his siege of Golconda in 1687.

Tomb of Hayat Bakshi Begum – daughter of Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah, founder of Hyderabad city and the man who built the masonry colossus Charminar.

Details, upclose.

Gorgeous Persian architecture

The Toli Masjid – built by Musa Khan, a chamberlain of Abdullah Quli Qutb Shah in 1671.

Inside the mosque

Just a fraction of the massive Ibrahimi Bagh (garden).

Ok, so you get the idea of the “danger” – you are, after all, warned in three different languages – a skull-and-bone sign included

This is the well that sign was referring to.

The mortuary bath

It contained a number of cisterns for both hot and cold water.

The tomb of founder of Hyderabad, Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah, is easily the most impressive, rising to a height of 139 feet with a large dome.

The seventh tomb lies unfinished as the 7th Nawab Abdul Hassan was taken captive by Aurangazeb even before he could finish the construction – bechara.

The graves were very prominent in some of the other tombs, therefore I didn’t take photographs of them. But still, I marveled at the impressive Islamic architecture of the Qutb Shah dynasty.

Date of travel: May 2008