A heritage walk that is catching up

With an objective to narrate the great heritage of Hyderabad, members of ‘Hyderabad Trails’ organised an heritage walk to the ‘Monsur Raymond Tomb’ along with the Alliance Francaise of Hyderabad on Saturday.

The heritage walk started at Malakpet Police Station towards Monsur Raymond Tomb at 7 am with 25 members of the group. After a while they reached TV tower and discussed about its height and history. Along the way, the group visited Asmangarh Palace. Team leader, Gopala Krishna narrated ‘The life and times of Monsur Raymond’ at the destination. The group walked back to Malakpet Police Station at 9 am.

“This is the 425th year for Hyderabad. To celebrate it, we started a series of walks in the city under a festival called ‘Jashn-e Hyderabad. This is the first walk we decided to go Monsur Raymond Tomb. He is from France and he came to India for trading. Later he decided to join the army of Nizam Ali Khan (2nd). He commanded about 20,000 troops and he is responsible for upgrading the military weaponry.

He established several Gunfoundry, cannon and cannonball factories. Under his guidance guns, ammunition and cannons were forged,” said Gopala Krishna, the story teller. “He was also respected a lot by the people at that time for his kindness. He is called Monsur Rambagh by Hindus and Monsur Raymond by Muslims. He also became a good friend of Nizam. After his death in 1798, every year the Nizam celebrates his birthday by organising Qawwali rendition at his tomb,” he adds.

Speaking about the Hyderabad Trails he said, “Hyderabad Trails curates shared experiences of the city through organised walks and activities that explore its natural, built and cultural heritage. Hyderabad is established in 1591 and it has a great heritage. Hyderabad was a cosmopolitan city even in the 18th century. We have to know the history of it. The walks engage the participants through art forms like storytelling, sketching and music. ,” he concludes.