The walled city and its aura

Hyderabad: Do you know why Hyderabad is referred to as a walled city? It is so because for around two centuries – a six-mile circumference wall guarded the city, protecting it from enemy attacks and standing as a sentinel for the dwellers then. The impressive wall – 18 feet high and 8 feet wide ran […]

Hyderabad: Do you know why Hyderabad is referred to as a walled city? It is so because for around two centuries – a six-mile circumference wall guarded the city, protecting it from enemy attacks and standing as a sentinel for the dwellers then.

The impressive wall – 18 feet high and 8 feet wide ran across the outskirts of the city then. The wall had 13 darwazas (gates) and 13 khidkhi’s (wicked gates) and it ran through Aliabad, Fateh Darwaza, Doodh Bowli, Puranapul, Petlaburj, Nayapul, Dabeerpura, Mir Jumla Talab and Lal Darwaza.

The wall was constructed using lime and granites. Its construction started during the rule of Abdul Hassan Tana Shah, the last Qutb Shah ruler, and ended during the Asaf Jah period. The wall had 12 darwazas initially, one – Afzal Darwaza – was added later due to the construction of Nayapul.

“Atop the wall at strategic places ‘burj” (a watchtower where cannons are placed) was constructed to wade off any enemy attacks. The wall was wide enough for guards to patrol by foot or mounted police,” explained historian Mohammed Safiullah.

Heritage tag for darwazas not wall
Ironically, while the darwazas are listed heritage structures, it is not the case of the wall. “That is why the wall was pulled down over a period of time and now only a few remnants are present here and there in the old city,” explained INTACH member, P Anuradha Reddy.

One can find traces of the wall at Fateh Darwaza junction (behind mithai bhandar), Lal Darwaza stretch (near banyan tree), Aliabad (in the playground behind the Sarai) and at Nashemnagar Valmikinagar colony border (Sultan Shahi road). Elsewhere also it exists but people have used the portion in their new constructions realizing its strength.

Only two gates still stand
According to historians, the large parts of the wall crumbled during the floods of 1908 and then in the 1950s, the decision to pull down the wall to allow free flow of traffic. “All the gates were being pulled down and people enthusiastically participated in the destruction of the wall. However, timely representation by the heritage activists saved two gates and portions of the wall,” points out another historian.

Near the gates, there were guardrooms where the sentries took rest. Also stables were constructed for the horses and a small room where a person recorded the entries of the visitors.

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