I was standing before Purana Pul (Old Bridge), which stands 53 feet above the riverbed, and has a row of 22 huge rounded arches. Owing to the incessant downpour since the last couple of days, there was a slight nip in the air. Though the actual dampener in this busy area was the putrid smell of the polluted river Musi and the stink of overripe fruits and vegetables. The innocuous Purana Pul is no different from any other bridge in India that has been standing for years on end. Amid the stench, a bevy of women in brilliant attires assembled on one side of the bridge. One of them, her eyes a fascinating deep, almost violet blue, stared at the cliffs under the bridge and the fringes of the foul-smelling bank.
Introducing myself, I asked her what in this graceless locality enamoured her so. She turned out to be Sree Vidya Chaturvedi, a dilettante of culture and history from Central University of Hyderabad. Instead of replying, she shot back a question to me – “Since how long you have been in Hyderabad?” “Twenty years”, I replied. “Can you see hundreds of young couples strolling across the bridge, celebrating their love, without a thought for caste and religion?” I looked intently, but only found swarms of people jostling, screaming, selling, gawking. “People who perceive Hyderabad as merely a capital city of Andhra Pradesh, cannot comprehend its profundity, in spite of living here for decades. No wonder you’re surprised when this old bridge, which is structurally compared to Pont Neuf in Paris, is referred to as the bridge of love,” said Sree Vidya.
I had scoured the streets of the Old City many times, looked at the peddlers, observed the physical fabric of the city being torn, old havelis being pulled down, neighbourhoods being broken-up to make way for development. But now, my Beatrice offered me another vision of Hyderabad as she took me to the city beneath the city, a replica of heaven on earth, the four minarets, the imperial palaces, shehnais, mushairas, gardens – the city as it was in times of yore! We both travelled straight into a conversation reminiscing of the city, its Nawabs, the role of Aurangzeb in the completion of South India’s biggest mosque – the Mecca Masjid – of the kings, of soldiers, of loyalty, the devastating floods of 1908 and a lot more.
Purana Pul is a heritage monument built circa 1595 AD. It is a structure which symbolises the love between Prince Quli Qutub and Baghmathi, a Hindu courtesan, who used to reside on the other side of the river, and for whom the Prince swam across the flooding Musi. It was the Sultan who built the pul (bridge) after he understood the depth of their love. Bhagmati got married to Quli Qutub and the newly built city was named after her as Bhagyanagar. With her subsequent name-change to Hyder Mahal, the city became Hyderabad. The history of Hyderabad began with the Qutub Shahi dynasty when Golconda was established as the headquarters, and later the capital was shifted to Hyderabad.
Introducing myself, I asked her what in this graceless locality enamoured her so. She turned out to be Sree Vidya Chaturvedi, a dilettante of culture and history from Central University of Hyderabad. Instead of replying, she shot back a question to me – “Since how long you have been in Hyderabad?” “Twenty years”, I replied. “Can you see hundreds of young couples strolling across the bridge, celebrating their love, without a thought for caste and religion?” I looked intently, but only found swarms of people jostling, screaming, selling, gawking. “People who perceive Hyderabad as merely a capital city of Andhra Pradesh, cannot comprehend its profundity, in spite of living here for decades. No wonder you’re surprised when this old bridge, which is structurally compared to Pont Neuf in Paris, is referred to as the bridge of love,” said Sree Vidya.
I had scoured the streets of the Old City many times, looked at the peddlers, observed the physical fabric of the city being torn, old havelis being pulled down, neighbourhoods being broken-up to make way for development. But now, my Beatrice offered me another vision of Hyderabad as she took me to the city beneath the city, a replica of heaven on earth, the four minarets, the imperial palaces, shehnais, mushairas, gardens – the city as it was in times of yore! We both travelled straight into a conversation reminiscing of the city, its Nawabs, the role of Aurangzeb in the completion of South India’s biggest mosque – the Mecca Masjid – of the kings, of soldiers, of loyalty, the devastating floods of 1908 and a lot more.
Purana Pul is a heritage monument built circa 1595 AD. It is a structure which symbolises the love between Prince Quli Qutub and Baghmathi, a Hindu courtesan, who used to reside on the other side of the river, and for whom the Prince swam across the flooding Musi. It was the Sultan who built the pul (bridge) after he understood the depth of their love. Bhagmati got married to Quli Qutub and the newly built city was named after her as Bhagyanagar. With her subsequent name-change to Hyder Mahal, the city became Hyderabad. The history of Hyderabad began with the Qutub Shahi dynasty when Golconda was established as the headquarters, and later the capital was shifted to Hyderabad.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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