HYDERABAD: Abuzz with activities celebrating the heritage of Hyderabad, World Heritage Week witnessed several heritage walks in the city. From the GHMC commissioner to the state heritage department, all history buffs seemed enthusiastic about preserving Telangana’s and Hyderabad’s unique heritage.
Telangana Department of Heritage and INTACH Hyderabad organised an event where government dignitaries were invited to a photo exhibition on restored monuments and heritage sites of Telangana as well as attend a talk on ‘Monumental Heritage—its protection for posterity’.
The event culminated with presentation of INTACH’s Heritage Awards 2024, where Secunderabad’s Anjuman Agiary was also bestowed with an award for its conservation and maintenance. The 103-year-old Agiary was built by Seth Jamshedji Edulji Chenoy and his brother in memory of their late father.
“We are thrilled that the Khan Bahadur Edulji Sohrabji Chenai Anjuman Dar-E-Meher has been honoured with the prestigious INTACH Heritage Award. This recognition holds special significance. It magnifies the importance of the Anjuman Agiary as a custodian of our collective history and tradition, symbolising the essence of our shared identity,” said Khorshed S Chenai, President, PZASH.
Another heritage walk was organised at Laxman Bagh Venkateshwara Swamy temple in Khajaguda and yet another at the stepwells of Golconda. The temple also bagged a heritage award by the INTACH. Focusing on ownership of monumental and cultural heritage, INTACH Hyderabad convener Anuradha Reddy highlighted the significance of preserving heritage. She also threw light on the contributions of Ghulam Yazdani in documenting the historical sites such as Ajanta and Ellora caves in Deccan, and under whose guidance, Hyderabad State’s first archaeological department was established on the orders of the last Nizam.
Co-convener of INTACH, Sajjad Shahid, emphasised on taking care of both tangible and intangible heritage. “In Deccan, Hyderabad and Telangana hold a special place. They have always been rich in terms of culture, language, monuments and geographical locations, due to which, people who come here plan to settle and never leave. We must remember the contributions made by the Seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan,” he said.
Commemorating World Heritage Day, INTACH also collaborated with Deccan Archive and Uniquely Telangana to organise a photography competition. The participants covered the heritage along the river Musi. The first prize was bagged by Emaduddin, for a picture of High Court’s domes, seen through an arch.
The second prize went to S Krishna Karthik for a snap of the British Residency and the third prize was won by Yerra Shashidhar Goud for his picture of the Shivalighat at Puranapul.
The chief guest at the event, Shailaja Ramaiyar, Principal Secretary, urged universities like MANUU and Osmania to host academic research, conferences and workshops to spread awareness aboutw conservation of heritage. She highlighted that the heritage department has always faced a shortage of funds but it is through collective will of the citizens as well as government bodies that helps in protecting heritage sites.
