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Hyderabad, India, British residency 1880.minorsights.com
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| Hyderabad, India, British residency 1880. photo:Lala Deen Dayal.en.wikipedia.org |
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Abandoned British Residency, Hyderabad India .pinterest.com
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Like New Delhi, Calcutta (Kolkata), Madras (Chennai), Mysore and Bombay (Mumbai), the Hyderabad city of Telangana state is dotted with many monuments of grandeur and beauty. Among the countless colonial structures, the residency where the British Resident used to live is a heritage structure. This structure was heavily damaged and neglected until a few years ago and now it is repaired and restored.
James Achilles Kirkpatrick, a British Resident in the princely state of Hyderabad. between 1798–1805, was not atypical British officer and possessed certain compulsive passions quite different from his colleagues of his stature. Suitable to his style of living as a representative of the East India company, he built a rich mansion in the style of a Palladian villa called Koti or British Residency (also known as Hyderabad Residency) in the quiet suburb of Hyderabad. It is an important tourist spot in this big city, reminiscent of he early colonial rule and its impact on this city that was the capital of affluent Nawab of Hyderabad. The successor of the this dynasty was the richest man in the 1930s.
The building served as an embassy of the East India Company in the state of Hyderabad with enough space for living quarters for the employees and a Zanana (women's quarter) within the compound walls. Closely resembling that of the White House of the USA with an impressive classical portico which is a common feature in countless important European buildings, its architect was one Lt. Samuel Russell of the Madras Engineers. The construction of this building began in 1803 as a permanent seat of the British influence in this part of the subcontinent. as the rulers of the Nizam dynasty had a close alliance with the English company and later under the administration of the British Crown.
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| The Hyderabad residency, Telengana, Indiapinterest.dk |
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The Hyderabad residency, Telangana, India. .pinterest.com
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Why did James Kirkpatrick build an European style building in the southern part of the Indian subcontinent? Often referred to as the White Mogul, the spacious residency was built to his specification for him and his Indian wife
Khair un Nissa. There is a small building - a sort of replica on a small scale within the premises from where the Resident's wife Nissa in Purdah, could see the surroundings around here. Successive British Residents and their family also stayed there. Only recently a few years ago the Zanana and other parts of this old colonial structure were repaired and restored. In 1857, when the Indian Rebellion that started off in Meerut cantonment by the Indian soldiers, was hunting the English company's misrule, the residency at Hyderabad did not escape from the fury of the rebels who attacked and damaged the building. The mob was led by Maulvi Allauddin and Turrebaz Khan. To safeguard the building and increase the security of the structure and to face any eventuality in the future, the British had added
Martello towers in the later years. But, it 1954 for unknown reasons they became damaged. The arched gateway of the Residency faced environmental threats because of flooding during the
Great Musi Flood of 1908. William Dalrymple in his book White Mughals (2002) mentioned about its salient features as it happened to be a well- designed colonial building of that period. . The house was designed by Lt. Samuel Russell of the Madras Engineers and construction began in 1803.
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British residency, Hyderabad, India after restoration and repairs. firstpost.com/
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| Great Musi Flood,1908, Arched gate Hyderabad Residency. en.wikipedia org. |
After India's independence in 1947, the building had remained vacant till 1949 and soon it it was converted into Osmania University College for Women. It is now under the management of the Archaeological Survey of India and is classified as a protected monument of historical value..
The good news is this stunning and iconic residency was restored in Sept 2017. In the years after 2000 this grandiose building was in a dilapidated state reduced to a state of total neglect for various reasons. This building that was once the symbol of power, pelf and supremacy of the early colonial proxy government for the Crown was almost ready to collapse. After restoration, it looks nice and impressive in the busy area of this old city.
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Abandoned British Residency, Hyderabad India .pinrest.dk
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The building features massive tall columns that throw the shades on the veranda, a grand double stairway leading to a spacious ball room with high rise ceiling from which are hanging big chandeliers, a balcony for the guests to watch the gala - dancing couples and the grand music stand where the band would play numbers from the classical music, waltzes etc. Rooms next to the ball room were in ruins and, it is mentioned in the media, part of the roof caved in due to neglect, lack of repair work and aging.
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Abandoned British Residency, Hyderabad India .
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Above image: Note the tall ceiling apparently two-soy high and massive chandeliers in the ball room of the English residency, Hyderabad, India. The balcony is meant for the guests to watch the dance..
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