a place to cry

For food lovers, hyderabad is synonymous to biriyani and a large variety of delectable dishes that the city offers... dishes like the hyderabadi biriyani, haleem, firni would definitely top my countdown...and so would the famous eating joints serving those, my favorite being Hyderabad house, Paradise, and Shadab... Shadab would definitely grab a bigger heart/ stomach-share compared to its peers and competitors because of the authentic Hyderabadi/Muslim culture the place emanates....located in the old city at a stones throw from Charminar, the restaurant houses a separate block where guests are made to sit on cots while dining as lip smacking delicacies are served on the tool in front of them... the eatery looks more glamorous during the ramzan months; decorated with mini bulbs and multicolored light streamers, the hotel gets all posed to attract, greet and pamper the visitors' taste buds

Not delving deeper into the world of spices, aromas and flavors, let me come back to my blog topic... mention of Shadab brings to my memory another historical monument hiding right behind it, as if to grieve in peace and silence, escaping the glances of the hundreds and thousands who frequent the restaurant each day...the Badshahi Ashrukhana... sitting in its neighborhood on those Ramzan weekends as I devoured mouthful of chicken biriyani,little did I know of this beautiful, yet unimposing piece of Nizami architecture standing the test of time...in its heydays, the Ashrukhana had its wash areas, stables and rasoi operational in full swing...the interiors of the main building is inlaid with tiles embedded on a blue porcelain sheet... unlike the current day quadrangular tiles, the tiles used to decorate the inner walls of the Ashrukhana are much smaller in size, bearing shapes, colour and form of flowers, fruits, twigs and leaves...a layer of soft wet porcelain mould was spread on the wall, where the tiles were implanted....this is a very ancient form of Persian tile work, which is no longer prevalent in Persia too...in 1908, the flooded Musi river washed away the tile work till up to 6 feet from the floor...those portions could not be repaired, hence those zones are now painted, the design being the replica of the tiles above...i coined these pieces of information from the caretaker of the Ashurkhana, who inherited his job of supervising the monument from his great grand fathers... the Ashrukhana houses images of massive, old and sacred Shrines of Islamism, the mosques of Baghdad, Turkey, and Mecca Madina, where lakhs of pilgrims flock each year...every Thursday, the sticks are decorated and clothing are wrapped around those, making it resemble a well dressed human...the monument also had several metallic 3 dimensional structure of palms....a Congress man would have taken inspiration to market and brand his party in an innovative way...i was so engrossed in the beauty of the tiles and the blue glass chandeliers, i missed the significance of those palms....the oldest Islamic mourning place in India, the Badshahi Ashrukhana experiences more footfalls and tear drops during the Muharram months...

in introspection as i conclude this post, i realized that sorrow is as integral a part of life as is happiness....and while most religions emphasize and celebrate happiness, i kind of liked this unique concept in Islamism where this fundamental aspect of human life is accepted and observed with reverence....

last but not the least, click here to view the image gallery