36 restored Nizam-era Qurans complete with precious gold and gem stone ink are on display at Chowmahalla

Today Chowmahalla palace will be teeming with visitors and lovers of history to see the unveiling of numerous Qurans some of which date back to early 1400 A.D. Princess Esra, of the erstwhile royal family, who has been an important part of the revival and restoration of the Qurans says, “It was a Herculean task but worth the sweat and effort. These valuable Qurans couldn’t have been let to rot in the state they were found. Once we discovered the collection we took notice of the work it needed and set out with a serious pace,” she revealed .

Esra adds, “It’s only for the sake of culture and heritage. When I came here as a bride I was shown night pictures of the lanes and areas and I was in awe of the silenceand solitude . My mother used to tell me ‘you will know once you get there,’ and after I came to Hyderabad I realised what it meant to be a part of the royal family,” she smiled. In awe of the grandeur and the luxury as well as the love that people had for the royal family, she felt humbled. “When I returned after years to see the dilapidated state of the things I had touched and felt, including the Qurans, I was grief-stricken; I couldn’t let them rot away. I am sure even the Nizams themselves didn’t know how many of the precious holy book of scriptures they owned. When the final discovery was made, the total number of the Qurans, of all sizes, stood at 36. There are some very tiny ones as well,” she says.

Esra also speaks with pride of another cloth Quran that was found; the entire Quranwritten on cloth. The cloth’s dimensions stood at 9.5 feet x 5 feet. The Qurans are of immense value not only because of their heritage but also the quality of ink used in them. “Besides gold and silver ink, inks made from powdered gems and semi precious stones were also used. In some Qurans mother-of -pearl has also been used as ink,” informs G. Kishan Rao, director of Chowmahalla Palace.

Since no royal item is permitted to go outside the Palace, specialists from The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) have been approached. “They worked continuously for two years to revive the precious books, with Esra’s continual monitoring. The restored Qurans will be displayed in the room opposite the Council Hall in the palace,” informs Kishan Rao.

The Qurans will be unveiled by Esra and Muffakham Jah’s son at Chowmahalla Palace today.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Events / by Prabalika M. Borah / Hyderabad – February 06th, 2014

Photographer Thomas Luttge has captured the Golconda Fort and its vicinity since 1970s and urges photography enthusiasts to look past postcard images

Last weekend, a small group of photography enthusiasts walked along the wall of Naya Qila with their cameras in tow. “It was the first day of the workshop, which I chose to call the day of discovery,” says Thomas Luttge, who mentored participants through the three-day workshop conducted as part of Hyderabad Literary Festival 2014. His methodology of mentoring took a few by surprise, even left them a tad disappointed.

He wasn’t going to hand-hold them and explain different angles from which the area could be shot. “This was a creative workshop and I wanted them to observe; it had to be their discovery, I was always available if they wanted to talk but I wouldn’t interfere,” says Luttge, who conducted a survey of the area prior to the workshop. “I chose one section of the wall assessing its accessibility. I limited the (field) area from the under-path of the golf club till the area leading to a flight of stairs. We could see the historic wall in the background, an old pond which is now dirty and people who have, with limited resources, built their own little houses very close to the wall,” says Luttge.

The participants took their time to walk around the area and draw their inferences. “Some were interested in how large stones were placed one over the other to build the wall; a few others observed people living there and others liked the entire atmosphere,” says Luttge. The second day of the workshop saw students taking photographs and analysing them and the third day saw them presenting select photographs.

Clicking photographs was only one part of the workshop. Learning to document and present their work formed the rest. “Documentation doesn’t mean clicking a photograph and showing it to others; I am critical of this easy talk of documentation. One should make up his mind on why he likes some photographs over the others. The best part was participants standing up and presenting their work, which some of them were doing for the first time,” says Luttge.

Thomas Luttge knows the topography of Golconda Fort and its surroundings rather well, having photographed the area since his first visit to the area, in 1975, along with Hans Winterberg who was then the director of Max Mueller Bhavan in Hyderabad. “When I was here for the first time, I felt as though I had stepped back a 100 years year into a dream culture where everything was slow and a bit dusty but the people were very friendly. So much has changed. There is a rush and people are under different pressures today,” he observes.

An avid traveller, Luttge has documented his impressions on large cities — New York, Paris, Munich, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad among others — over several decades through photographs that give us insights into places, people and culture beyond touristy, postcard images. Beginning February 7, he will be holding an exhibition of some of these photographs, all in black and white, titled Cityscapes, at Goethe Zentrum. “Some people viewing my images feel I’ve arranged those photographs. But real life is beyond imagination. I try to find powerful images from big cities that would concentrate imaginations of that city; I look for small corners where life goes on with spontaneity,” he signs off.

Ideas for the present

During the recent workshop, Luttge recalls participants coming up with their ideas on how historical places can be reinvented to suit our time. “A student of city planning and architecture from Iran, now learning German here, suggested that the different platforms along Naya Qila wall could be used by people to gather and talk about relevant issues — different platforms for performing arts, social concerns and ecological concerns and so on. These areas were probably used as observation towers in the past to keep tab on intruders. She felt these can serve as platforms. Another participant liked the entire area and suggested that it could perhaps be used to host music sessions. These are marvellous ideas,” commends Luttge.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo / Hyderabad – January 30th, 2014