Renovation of tombs of Hakims completed

Hyderabad: B Venkatesham, the Principal Secretary (Tourism), Government of Telangana, will preside over the completion ceremony for conservation works on Hakim’s and Commander’s Mausoleums at Qutub Shahi Heritage Park on January 4 in the presence of Karin Stoll, the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Chennai, a press release said.

The highly ornate mausoleums of Hakims and Commander were built by Sultan Muhammad Qutub Shah and are amongst the few prominent mausoleums in the Qutub Shahi necropolis built for non-royals. All three structures are profusely ornamented with stucco plaster and their majestic domes topped by copper finials. Conservation works on the three structures were carried out through 2017-2018 with co-funding support of € 75,000 from Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chennai.Conservation works on these structures were preceded with a 3D laser scanning that allowed a precise condition assessment of these significant monuments. Conservation works carried out by master craftsmen using traditional materials – lime mortar and stone and traditional building tools and techniques – were supervised by a multi-disciplinary AKTC team.

Over 15,000 man-days of work were carried out by stone carvers, masons, plasterers, and stucco plaster specialist craftsmen. Stucco works which were missing or were cemented over were restored in traditional lime mortar; similarly missing copper finial of Hakim’s tomb required to be restored to the structure. Everywhere, 20th century cement plaster was carefully and scientifically removed. Removal of cement also revealed hidden layers of mouldings and stucco ornamentation. The cement plinths of the monuments have been replaced with traditional granite stone blocks – to ensure long-term preservation of the structure.

Stone carvers were required to create missing stone blocks for the Hakim’s Tombs – carefully matching the original. Each of the minarets at Hakim’s mausoleums parapet were reconstructed to restore historic architectural character. Conservation works on the 80 monuments that stand within the Qutub Shahi Heritage Park commenced in January 2013 following a MoU between the Department of Heritage, Government of Telangana and Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Conservation works on the other monuments within the Qutub Shahi Heritage Park will continue up to 2023.