“Everyone knows dying after death, but you (Hussain) taught us how to live after death.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Ashurkhanas in the Old City, Hyderabad, India
Since Maula Ali’s times, Hyderabad has been steeped in Shiite traditions. Qutb Shahi rulers being Shia gave royal patronage to these traditions. This continued during the reign of the Sunni Asaf Jahi rulers.
Hyderabad boasts of the second-largest Shia community in India and it shows in the rituals and cultural centres. I will take you through two such treasures in the old city of Hyderabad, linked with the Ashura rituals – The Badshahi Ashurkhana (a congregation hall used for the mourning rituals) and Bibi ka Alawa.
Traditions and rituals
Talking about Shia tradition, the most important one is observing Ashura (the10th day) in the month of Muharram, the first month in the Hijri (Arabic) calendar. 10 days of the mourning period for the Shia culminates on this day. The sect remembers and mourns the sacrifice of Hussain (Husayn) Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, and his family during the Battle of Karbala (680 AD).
Observance rituals include beating one’s chest, self-flagellation with knives, whips, etc., reading laments, processions re-enacting the events of the battle (Taziya) amongst others. These rituals differ across cities and countries and depend on the social fabric. One specific to the Deccan is the carriage of Alam (Shia processional standards) through important religious landmarks on Ashura.
Treasures of the Walled City
Hayat Bakshi Begum during the reign of her son Abdulla Qutub Shah in 1784 AD raised the Bibi ka Alam, in commemoration of Prophet Mohammed’s daughter Bibi Fatima Zahra. The Alam housed in the Bibi ka Alawa contains a relic – a piece of the wooden plank on which Janab Syeda received her final ablutions before burial. After being in Karbala for many centuries, it arrived in Golconda.
The outer gate and the roof of the Alawa are from the time of construction, although the seventh and last Nizam of Hyderabad renovated it in his times. It is one of the holiest places for the Shiite.
The Badshahi Ashurkhana
Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah built this Ashurkhana three years after Charminar. For the Shiite population of the city, the Badshahi Ashurkhana completed in 1594, remains the oldest and most revered one.
When constructed, this prayer hall boasted of fourteen Alams made of gold and decorated with jewels. The resplendent interiors are in large panels of blue enamel tile mosaic, added in 1611 and are middle-eastern in style. Islamic calligraphy in Indian hues of yellow, orange and turquoise grace the walls.
Of specific importance are the calligraphic roundels on the upper walls. The roundels contain two of the Asma al-husna (99 names of God), first written vertically and then in mirror image, eight times. Two rows of flame-like lacy designs surround the text. The side panels with these roundels represent the Alam.
A metal Alam sits on a raised platform in front of the central panel. It has staggered hexagons and jewel shapes with arabesque swirls. On the two side walls are panels with roaring dragons having flame-like projections. Another panel depicts an overflowing ‘Pot of Plenty’.
These mosaics are so well-fitted, they seem to be paintings. The hall is lit with dainty chandeliers in blue, red, yellow and white, giving a palatial look.
The Asaf Jahi Connection
In 1764 AD, Asaf Jah II added the wooden verandah with its high ceilings and is a remarkable example of 18th-century Iranian architecture. The roof with its wooden wainscoting displays the old Asafiya school of architecture.
Its courtyard has two fountains, a Naqqarkhana (Drum beaters platform) and few other buildings that have seen better times. The glad tidings are that the Aga Khan Trust and Telangana government are now working on restoring this splendid monument.
After researching these heritage gems, I am prompted to share an enlightening factoid – only serious researchers have explored and written about these monuments. While other travel writers have given it a miss, not ImageWrighter. I thrive in putting a spotlight on such less-explored travel treasures for my readers.
