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A trip down the heritage lane
It was a hot and not so pleasant evening. Yet, the select invitees did not miss their date with the former British Residency at the Osmania College for Women in Koti. On the occasion of the World Heritage Day, the Durbar hall and the dungeons (that had been in a dilapidated condition and stayed closed until now) were opened to the guests who got to see the historic building after the completion of
It was a hot and not so pleasant evening. Yet, the select invitees did not miss their date with the former British Residency at the Osmania College for Women in Koti. On the occasion of the World Heritage Day, the Durbar hall and the dungeons (that had been in a dilapidated condition and stayed closed until now) were opened to the guests who got to see the historic building after the completion of the first phase of restoration work.
It was indeed a nostalgic moment especially for people, who were privy to the unfortunate decay of the once resplendent structure that recently underwent restoration under the aegis of World Monuments Fund and Department of Archeology and Museums – to see the structure if only partially, regaining its lost glory. There was a photography exhibition to mark the occasion, by Kamal Kasturi, that captured the beauty of the nooks and corners, the stairway etc, put on display in the hall.
The evening was made even more special by William Dalrymple, who took the story of the residency and the love story of the British Resident James Kirkpatrick (1798 to 1805) and Khairunnissa – a symbol of the syncretism prevalent during the period – to the world. He narrated snippets of history in his engaging style, and the Hindustani singer Vidya Shah accompanied him by presented ghazals and songs written by erstwhile poets of Deccan / Hyderabad in her mellifluous voice.
Vidya Shah began her concert with a dedication to Lord Ganesha that she found in Kitab-e-Navras by Ibrahim Adil Shah (1556 –1627). She followed it with a beautiful rendition – ‘Piya baaj pyaala piya jaayena’ penned by the poetically inclined Sultan of Golconda, Quli Qutub Shah.
It was indeed a perfect setting to render a few ghazals penned by the beautiful courtesan Mah Laqa Bai Chanda, who in addition to being a poet was a powerful lady of her times. She built libraries and was known for her philanthropy and was quite an influential personality.
While William reminded that in the very premises Mah Laqa Bai would have given a performance over two centuries ago; Vidya Shah sang Mah Laqa’a rendition celebrating spring – ‘Mauje Rang Gul hai’. She also made a compilation of Dohras where the courtesan defines the beauty of music ‘Sur ek raag ek taal ek’ where you get to hear the mention of many famous raags and of her Guru.
The programme ended with the popular ‘Aap ki yaad aati rahi’ by the 20th-century poet of the land – Maqdoom. The event also marked the signing of Memorandum of Understanding to begin the second phase of restoration, and Visalakshi, director, Department of Archeology announced that the building will be open to the public very soon. It is also to be noted that an amount of 12 crore is further needed to complete the restoration and interested people can make donations to fund the project.
By Rajeshwari Kalyanam
