HYDERABAD: The Nizam’s Jubilee Pavillion Trust chairman, Prince Muffakham Jah inaugurated the City Museum at the Jubilee Hall, Public Gardens here on Sunday. The museum, though, will be at the Purani Haveli where the Nizam’s Museum is already housed and the latest one will be an extension to it.
“The museum will tell the story of Hyderabad dating back to 4,000 years with megalithic evidence of habitations in the region to the modern times,” said Prince Muffakham Jah during the inaugural .
The Guest of Honour, Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court Madan B Lokur appreciated the trust’s move and pointed out that almost all the studies on medieval Indian history focus on the Mughal dynasty.
“The history of the South is not stressed,” he observed and expressed the hope that the museums will help more and more people understand the history of Hyderabad. The city museum has on display a collection of maps, artifacts, photographs, illustrations and written material. The maps are specially designed to trace Hyderabad’s fascinating journey from the 13th century to the present times. The museum sheds light on trade and commerce, weights and measures, textiles and communication, transport, education, calligraphy, architecture, art & craft, Hyderabadi cuisine and people.
The artifacts include exquisite qahwa cups, encrusted with Golconda diamonds, perfume bottles studded with pearls, ivory walking sticks, beautifully crafted swords and daggers, rare and old stamps and coins, intrinsic silver, filigree and many more art objects. “The city museum located adjacent to the Nizam’s Museum at Purani Haveli also has artifacts acquired from archaeological excavations at Patancheru, Gachibowli, Hashmatpur, Bowenpalli, Moula Ali, Kondapur etc.,” said Bhaskar Rao, chief curator, the Nizam’s Museum.
There is also a touch screen kiosk that will reveal to the visitors a pictorial history of 50 of the city’s mohallahs in four languages (English, Hindi, Telugu and Urdu). “A museum like this is never complete”, said Prince Muffakham Jah, adding that more research and additions to the museum will lead to the growth of the museum. The entry fee is Rs 70 for adults and Rs 15 for children